The Fiend Retains Over Daniel Bryan After This Week's WWE SmackDown Episode

WWE Universal Champion "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt did not appear live in the ring on this week's WWE SmackDown episode, but he did work the dark main event after the show went off the air.

The dark main event after this week's SmackDown from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan saw The Fiend retain his title over Daniel Bryan.

Our correspondent noted that Wyatt came out with his custom Fiend title belt for the match, and received the loudest pops of the night before, during, and after the bout. The Fiend used Sister Abigail and the Mandible Claw on Bryan during the match. The red light stayed on over the arena during and after the match, and was not well-received by fans in attendance.

UPDATE: Two additional correspondents, John Elway's Boss and JudgmentDay, noted that this may not have been a full-fledged title match. Judgment Day wrote in the WrestlingInc comments section, "I could be wrong, but I don't even recall it being a title match. He just came in and they fought briefly out of the ring, and then in the ring. He eventually left with his laugh on loop for about 30 seconds. There certainly wasn't an announcement of a winner."

As noted at this link, Bryan vs. The Fiend is now official for the 2020 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view as well. You can click here to read about the Dolph Ziggler vs. Roman Reigns match that was taped after SmackDown to air next week on the FOX New Year's Eve special, which featured Maria Menounos as the guest ring announcer and a post-match speech from The Big Dog.

Stay tuned for updates on Bryan and Wyatt as we get closer to their big Survivor Series 2019 rematch at the 2020 Rumble. Below are a few photos from Friday's dark main event at SmackDown, which was the final blue brand show of the year and the decade:

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