WWE SmackDown: 5 reasons why Bray Wyatt is Braun Strowman's first Universal Championship opponent
We wondered who WWE would go with as the first challenger after they decided to put the Universal Championship on Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 36. The Monster Among Men wasn't scheduled to be on the card, but Roman Reigns pulling out of the event meant that Strowman would be put in that spot in the last minute - squashing Goldberg in a matter of 2-3 minutes to finally capture the Universal title that has eluded him for close to three years.
At the start of SmackDown, he was confronted by former Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, who he faced in the main event in a non-title match. Despite Cesaro's presence, the Universal Champion got the job done.
However, his celebrations were cut short as the Firefly Fun House popped up on screen, with Bray Wyatt reminding the two of their history together and asking Strowman to apologize.
Wyatt will be Strowman's first challenger for the Universal title and here are five reasons why.
#5 Their history together
We'll get the most obvious one out of the way to begin this list. The entire basis of this feud is the fact that the two have a history together. From August 2015 until July 2016, Braun Strowman was a part of the Wyatt Family - the platform for his debut.
He even skipped the entire NXT process and just wrestled a bunch of live events before getting the call to RAW. In hindsight, he did great to learn the job, but being with The Wyatt Family was a great start.
While he's grown much more in his singles run, it's not easy to brush aside their history together. The timing is great and the two have a great reason to feud against each other.