Daniel Wyatt

This week, Daniel Bryan -- er, Wyatt had his first match as a member of the Wyatt Family.

That's right. I may have failed to mention this, but Daniel recently surrendered to Bray Wyatt and joined his sheepish cult of bearded, backwoods alligator wrestlers. Apparently, he did this because he was tired of them beating him up -- but his true motive could've been anything. Maybe he wants to increase his odds in the Royal Rumble (my favourite match type) by having 3 powerful allies, or he means to destroy the Wyatts from the inside. Or maybe the authority, the real life authority, wants Daniel Bryan out of the title picture heading into Wrestlmania, so they're keeping him occupied.

But I could speculate all day -- and I will.

Daniel's match this Monday on RAW was clearly meant to keep his involvement with the Wyatts vague. There were frequent tags, preventing Daniel from getting too great a pop from the crowd. No hot tag, no hype -- he was simply on the Wyatts' team. This works, since it  makes Daniel's role somewhat mysterious, and it seems to be leading to a bigger payoff down the road.

The Wyatts lost due to miscommunication, leading Daniel to demand that they (Luke Harper and Eric Rowan) let him contribute. As they should -- Daniel is by far the single strongest Wyatt Family member now. The segment led to the announcement of Daniel teaming with Bray Wyatt next week -- and I imagine this is when the storyline will really start to unfold. This story could go in many different directions, and I believe the planned direction will be a bit more defined next week.

I still think Daniel has a good shot at winning the Royal Rumble. Cena or Orton will come out of Royal Rumble the champion, and it makes sense for Daniel to fight either one of them at Wrestlemania. If not for the new Wyatt angle, I'd say his victory is assured, but now I'm not 100% sure. Batista is returning for the Rumble, a surprise that was supposed to be...well, a surprise, until the info got leaked. Shaemus may return, and that's not to mention any other big superstars that usually appear around this time, like The Rock and Brock Lesnar. And THAT'S not to mention other contenders for the main event of Wrestlemania, such as CM Punk.

In any case, I can't wait for the Royal Rumble. I look forward to it every year, what with the Superstars getting their order numbers, and the surprise comebacks, and the unforgettable moments -- and the confirmation of Wrestlemania's main event. The road to Wrestlemania is long -- roughly 3 months of hype -- but this is when WWE produces its best content. Should be fun.

Until next time, have a nice day, and don't be a jabroni.