Swampholm Syndrome – Cageside Seats

Falls Count Anywhere Universal Championship Match
Braun Strowman (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Braun Strowman will once again have to defend his Universal Championship against his former teammate, leader, and friend. Only this time, there will be no moss-laden journeys to the memory lane. Tonight, Strowman must face off with The Fiend in what is sure to be a unique psychological falls count everywhere match.

The road to SummerSlam

The last time these two competitors were tangoed Extreme Rules: Horror Show in the appropriate name “Swamp Match.” Strowman was subjected to the psychological horror of reliving his past (no thanks!), Bitten by a snake, and his unanswered crutch appeared to him like a siren, luring him to a (almost) water grave.

After apparently drowning in the swamp of Wyatt Family, we have not seen Strowman for several weeks. Bray Wyatt was pleased with the results of the swamp fight, but he seemed to know that the battle was not over – it was now The Fiend’s turn. But how can you lure “The Monster” out of the swamp (it’s organic, after all)? It turns out that all that was needed to do was great attacks on Alexa Bliss unprovoked to get Strowman’s attention.

But his time in the swamp changed Strowman. He just came back SmackDown to save Bliss. He came for one thing and one thing only: to oppose the Enemy. He claimed that “The Monster” was finally released and that no one – not Alexa Bliss, not Bray Wyatt and, certainly not the WWE Universe – was ready for it.

The Enemy did not seem disturbed by this threat, while Alexa was both hurt and angry about her friend, claiming “this is not the Brown I know.” Alexa took her anger toward Braun and confronted him in the ring that lived up to the saying “even though she’s small, she’s furious.” Unfortunately for her, this “new” Braun had no qualifications about picking up his one-time partner and throwing her in the ring like garbage. This prompted De Fiend to appear, but whether that was to save Alexa or play more mind games with Braun remains unclear.

Of course, we could have a go-home show without a bit of confrontation and again SmackDown in front of SummerSlam! Brown, full of Wyatt’s actions, chased him through the ThunderDome, eventually hitting him so hard that he ended up in an ambulance. An ambulance from HELL! With Superman-style flair, The Fiend emerged from a smoking car with a smile on his face and a certain gleam in his maniacal eyes.

What’s up?

This is again a moment for Braun to prove to the WWE Universe that he is in fact a “monster” and not just any random big boy pretending to be a choo-choo train. If he defeats Wyatt – especially as The Fiend – he will become one of the most formidable enemies on the roster – and not just because of his size. His mate plus an evil (perhaps magical tendency) behavior would be a disaster for the roster. Of course, if he loses, he does not lose that much. He’s still a big strong giant, and losing to The Fiend is not exactly uncommon. Like others before him, he can claim temporary madness and return to the fun love giant he once was.

But what does The Fiend want? He seemed happy to hear that the monster had been released … almost as if this was his plan the whole time. Lose control, lose the title. But maybe it’s more than that. If the Fiend The Monster exists, he might be able to exercise his dominance over him again. Between the trip down memory lane for Strowman and his interactions with Alexa, De Fiend seems kind of lonely and it never hurts to have spooky friends by your side! It looks like this is exactly what he wanted to happen when he pushed himself into the swamp. (Swamp of Indoctrination anybody?) Of course, if The Fiend loses, we’ll be in classic “Bray Wyatt should have won that territory” with a stunted character and direction.

And Alexa? Now, Alexa seems very confident about her feelings and her place in this feud. On the one hand, she has been friends with Braun for years and is disappointed and hurt by his biting words. On the other hand, she is completely favored with The Fiend, attracted to him like – I dare say – a moth to a flame. It’s unclear what The Fiend wants with Alexa at this point. Is she just a pawn to get to Braun, or does he miss having a stable rule by his side? Will he use Alexa to distract Braun long enough to win the title, or was she just a mechanism to get him to dance? Maybe she won’t come up at all.

If she does, however, I hope she gets a little more agency in this feud. I love what she’s done because I think it makes canonical sense for Braun, and it challenges her as a performer, but Alexa is too strong of a character to be a pawn. When she goes bad, let her go evil. We may not need Sister Abigail anymore, but who says we can not have Fiendess?

Call SummerSlam tonight at 7E / 6C on the WWE Network to see how this plays out and don’t forget to check back here at Cageside Seats for all your current coverage!