As twisted as WWE Champion Bray Wyatt is, what has become apparent lately is that his WrestleMania opponent, Randy Orton, might be even more deranged. In the battle between the two on the biggest state the WWE has to offer, Orton shined and won the WWE championship.
The theme of this match was the weirdness. Only a few minutes into their match for the title, the lights went out, and all that was left were projections of crawling, nasty maggots on the ring. Moments later, it was gnarly worms. Weird, for sure. Although it fits the theme of what their storyline has become -- unhinged, if not demented -- it was an odd scene that seemed to garner little reaction from the crowd, other than a quick reaction fueled by their befuddlement.
The match began slowly, with each taking the offensive for brief pockets, but when it finally moved to outside the ring, the action picked up. Wyatt landed his signature move, Sister Abigail, on the floor before Orton struck Wyatt with an RKO.
Finally, back in the ring, Orton hit Wyatt with a nasty DDT from the second rope -- to little avail. Wyatt countered with his second Sister Abigail.
For the third time, the lights went out, and all that was left was a projection of cockroaches. Wyatt was stunned. It was only moments later that Orton caught Wyatt with another RKO, this time for the pin.
Orton has become a 13-time champion, fourth all time behind John Cena, Ric Flair and Triple H.
It begs the question: Why? Wyatt is the new face of darkness, but it took the WWE brass years to make Wyatt into the bona fide star so many thought he should have been a long time ago.
In mid-February, Wyatt won the title in an enthralling match in which he beat Cena and AJ Styles, among others. It was his moment. On Sunday night, Wyatt had a stadium full of fans with lit cellphones waiting for him to capitalize on his WrestleMania moment that never happened. The audience was stunned, even flat, when Orton prevailed.
For months leading up to this day, Wyatt and Orton have engaged in a twisted, demonic narrative in which they have worked together to wreck their opponents or promised to ruin each other's lives. The feud delved deep into the dark side when Orton decided a few weeks back to not only turn on his one-time master but also destroy the very thing that triggers Wyatt, the resting spot of his beloved Sister Abigail.
Granted, the storytelling was a bit over-the-top, even for Wyatt, who thrives in his own maniacal world, but the bottom line is the storyline eventually worked. It just would have worked a lot better if Wyatt had been given his chance to shine when it mattered most.