The Fiend Defeats Daniel Bryan to Retain Universal Title at WWE Royal Rumble

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt beat Daniel Bryan in a strap match at the Royal Rumble on Sunday to retain the WWE Universal Championship.

Like others before him, Bryan threw everything he had at The Fiend and it still wasn't enough. He hit the champion with a running knee, only to see him kick out and rise to his feet.

Bryan attempted to fell Wyatt with multiple strap shots, but The Fiend eventually locked in the Mandible Claw. The challenger had no escape, and the referee counted his shoulders down for three.

While the pair faced each other at Survivor Series in November and have gotten physical many times since then, Sunday's match put an entirely new spin on their rivalry, as Bryan called for a strap match in order to prevent his rival from running.

After The Fiend beat Bryan at Survivor Series, they were seemingly preparing for a rematch at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December, but the titleholder pulled Bryan under the ring and pulled his hair out, which led to the match getting delayed and the Firefly Fun House version of Wyatt facing The Miz instead.

Bryan made a surprise return at TLC to prevent Wyatt from seriously injuring The A-Lister, and he took the fight to the universal champion.

Wyatt tried to play mind games with Bryan during the ensuing weeks, but the former WWE titleholder insisted he wouldn't allow his archrival to get in his head.

In fact, Bryan turned the tables on Wyatt a couple of weeks ago during a segment on SmackDown. When Wyatt interrupted Kane's promo with a Firefly Fun House segment and The Fiend emerged in an effort to destroy the veteran, Bryan sprung into action.

With The Fiend focused on Kane, Bryan hit him with a running knee. The Fiend retreated back under the ring but not before Bryan pulled out some of his hair, just as The Fiend did to him previously.

It was an uncommon sight to see The Fiend retreating considering how dominant he had been previously, but Bryan didn't want to give him any way out, which is why the strap-match stipulation made sense.

The rivalry between the two men is based largely on issues between Bryan and Wyatt several years ago, which led to a memorable encounter at the 2014 Royal Rumble.

Sunday's match was much different and had far bigger stakes, but the result was largely the same, as The Fiend came out on top.

Barring an unforeseen speed bump, The Fiend is now in line to carry the Universal Championship into WrestleMania 36, while Bryan is left to ponder how he can get back into the title scene.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).