WWE could repeat an old mistake with Randy Orton vs. The Fiend

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The Fiend has chosen his next target

During the “A Moment of Bliss” segment on last night’s RAW, The Fiend made his prescreens felt. He appeared behind new WWE Champion Randy Orton on the ramp after the latter's altercation with Drew McIntyre.

While a Fiend-Orton feud seems inevitable, WWE is on the verge of repeating the same mistake they made last year with Bray Wyatt's evil alter-ego by rushing him into the title picture. 

If you remember back to when Seth Rollins won the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2019, the Fiend was his first major feud after Braun Strowman.

At the time, everyone knew there would be no good ending to the match. Rollins had just won the Universal title, while The Fiend was a fresh, monster heel who could not lose. WWE was in a lose-lose situation, with fans at the peak of their discontent after the pair's infamous Hell in a Cell match. 

Fast forward a year, and we are in the same spot. Orton has just won the WWE Championship and The Fiend has recovered from his loss to Goldberg earlier in the year.

While the feud makes sense, given the history between the two, neither can afford to lose. Even if you add Drew McIntyre and make it three-way feud, the Scotsman taking another loss wouldn’t do him any favors.

This is the problem with having The Fiend in the title picture. WWE books themselves into a corner, where they either make The Fiend look bad, or make his opponent look worse.  

The Fiend vs. Randy Orton would've worked without the title

WWE could have done an Orton-Fiend feud without the title involved. They could have had Orton lose at Hell in a Cell, then come out on RAW the next night to be attacked by The Fiend.

They also could have had The Fiend cost Orton his match at Hell in a Cell to kickstart the feud. The point is, WWE could have showcased an Randy Orton vs. The Fiend match without having the WWE Championship involved.

As for Drew McIntyre, he would have gone on to face Roman Reigns at Survivor Series in the champion vs. champion match. After that, you could have had a heel that looked great at Survivor Series challenge McIntyre for the title at TLC in December. With this, you have your Fiend-Orton feud without the title and McIntyre continues his reign with no issues. 

The Fiend never forgets

If WWE is so persistent in wanting The Fiend in a title picture, they should have him go after the WWE United States or Intercontinental Championship. By doing this, you make the US or IC titles feel important, since they would feel like a second World title, much like they did in the past.

You then also make whoever defeats him feel like a huge star, especially if The Fiend had a long reign. Whoever defeats The Fiend would feel like a World Champion in the making, which would make the mid-card titles feel like a huge deal. 

So, while The Fiend is a great character and deserves to be in the World Championship picture, WWE always seems to book themselves into a corner when they put him in a feud for the title.

WWE needs to be careful with how they proceed with him not only in the pending Orton feud, but moving forward into the future. If they keep making the same mistake, then they may be in danger of completely ruining one of the greatest characters they have had in recent history. 

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