WWE News: Bray Wyatt Being Taken Out of WWE Title Picture, Will Feud With Randy Orton After ‘WWE SummerSlam’

WWE Superstars are generally judged by their accomplishments. They’re judged by the WWE Universe based on their biggest moments, their biggest matches, and their title runs. That is the standard for most professional athletes in sports. The number of Super Bowl rings or overall wins in their career is the proof that a competitor is among the elite or just another good athlete.

Wrestling does the same thing. WWE can argue that John Cena is better than Shawn Michaels because he is a 15-time WWE World Champion, but even Cena would tell you that The Heartbreak Kid was the better wrestler by a mile. In WWE, how many championships a superstar has isn’t the only standard to live by, but wrestling doesn’t have stats either, so how do you measure success in WWE? The truth is that title reigns are an extension of having the biggest matches and moments for the WWE fans.

For example, Bray Wyatt hasn’t won a single WWE Championship. As a matter of fact, you could count on one hand the number of times Wyatt has even challenged for WWE gold. However, he’s faced off against John Cena, The Undertaker, and The Rock in all three of his WrestleMania appearances. That’s the wrestling equivalent of being a good regular season player and being excellent in the playoffs but always failing to win the championship. If Bray Wyatt became WWE Champion, his stock would skyrocket.

After the WWE Draft and brand extension, The Wyatt Family was disbanded. Bray Wyatt was drafted to SmackDown along with Erick Rowan. Braun Strowman was drafted to Raw and repackaged, and Luke Harper is still recovering from a torn ACL, so his fate has yet to be determined. However, SmackDown presents great opportunities for Bray Wyatt’s future in WWE.

During last week’s show, Bray Wyatt targeted Dolph Ziggler, who was the No. 1 Contender for Dean Ambrose’s WWE title, and The Eater of Worlds goaded him into putting up his chance for the WWE title in the main event of the show. Although Bray Wyatt ended up losing the match, there was a clear indication that he is finally ready for the WWE title picture on SmackDown.

However, Wyatt suffered a sprained ankle during the match with Ziggler that has resulted in some speculation about WWE’s plans for him heading into WWE SummerSlam and the rest of the year. Fortunately, his minor ankle injury isn’t expected to keep him out the ring long despite his history of ankle problems. After last week’s SmackDown, many believed that Bray was entering the WWE title picture soon or even get involved in Ambrose vs. Ziggler at WWE SummerSlam and force the issue.

It has been reported that Bray Wyatt may also have some backstage heat on him that stalled his push recently and was the direct cause of WWE’s decision to split up The Wyatt Family across Raw and SmackDown. Wyatt isn’t in the doghouse, but it seems he’ll be kept busy outside of the main event in a big feud with Randy Orton after WWE SummerSlam in a few weeks.

Bray Wyatt’s role at WWE SummerSlam has yet to be revealed on WWE programming, and Randy Orton has been very busy since returning to WWE at WWE Battleground. WWE announced before UFC 200 that Orton would be taking on Brock Lesnar at WWE SummerSlam in one of the most anticipated matches in recent memory. Lesnar vs. Orton has been heavily featured on WWE television, with both men invading Raw and SmackDown to build their program.

However, the belief is that The Beast Incarnate will be getting the victory over The Viper at WWE SummerSlam despite all the issues he’s currently facing with the United States Anti-Doping Agency. There have been reports about Randy getting the win as well, so no one knows for sure what direction Lesnar vs. Orton will take. However, WWE seems to have a plan for Orton afterward that will finally bring him into a conflict with The Eater of Worlds after his shoulder injury canceled those plans last year.

According to a rumor from Cageside Seats, WWE has released some new advertising that Dean Ambrose will be feuding with AJ Styles after WWE SummerSlam, and Randy Orton will be working with Bray Wyatt. It seems that WWE has thought against bringing Bray Wyatt into the WWE title picture for the time being, and he’s being taken out of the WWE Championship hunt at least until his feud with Orton concludes, which could go either way based on the result of Lesnar vs. Orton in a few weeks.

If Orton becomes the one to defeat Lesnar clean, his momentum is going to skyrocket. Wyatt may not be able to get the win over The Viper if that is the case, but it’ll add another big feud to his resume. If Randy ends up losing to Brock, there is a much better chance of Orton vs. Wyatt leading to the latter’s ascension into the WWE title picture sometime this fall.

Ultimately, the success of that feud will be what WWE does with Bray Wyatt after feuding with Randy Orton because that could be the final boost he needs to become a main event player for WWE on SmackDown. If having big matches and moments lead to WWE Championships, then Bray Wyatt is long overdue. Time is on his side, so it is really just may be a matter of time for Wyatt.

[Image via WWE.com]