Bray Wyatt Beats Luke Harper on SmackDown Ahead of WWE WrestleMania 33

Just five days prior to his match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33, WWE champion Bray Wyatt defeated Luke Harper on Tuesday's episode of SmackDown Live.Harper looked to have the match won after he connected with his discus clothesline. Wyatt was close enough to the ropes, though, to grab the bottom rope and break up the pin.A stunned Harper stood in the ring, and Wyatt hit Sister Abigail for the victory. The WWE shared a photo of Wyatt kneeling in celebration:After the match, Orton left Wyatt with a parting shot before WrestleMania, courtesy of WWE:Wyatt and Harper debuted together on the main roster in 2013 as two-thirds of The Wyatt Family, and while they remained allies for much of the time since then, their relationship changed leading up to the Royal Rumble.The Eater of Worlds showed favoritism toward Orton, which prompted Harper to turn on them and attack both of his former Wyatt Family brethren in the Rumble match.Harper also attempted to cost Wyatt the WWE Championship by jumping him prior to a Triple Threat match against John Cena and AJ Styles on SmackDown, but Wyatt still managed to retain.After Orton seemingly gave up his No. 1 contendership, Harper faced Styles for a chance to take on Wyatt at WrestleMania, but Harper fell short before The Viper eventually reclaimed his spot as Wyatt's challenger.Orton turned on Wyatt a few weeks ago by burning his compound and the remains of Sister Abigail, but The New Face of Fear has remained resolute and made it clear last week that he is stronger than ever, according to WWE's official Twitter account:Harper warned that Orton had opened up Pandora's box and that Wyatt needed to be destroyed.He then vowed to do precisely that to his former mentor on the final episode of SmackDown Live prior to WrestleMania 33.Although the title wasn't on the line, the stakes were high for both Superstars with the biggest show of the year so close.Wyatt needed the win to maintain momentum and head into arguably the biggest match of his career on a positive note.Conversely, Harper needed to make a statement since he isn't currently advertised to take part in a match at The Showcase of the Immortals.Harper may have other opportunities to get revenge moving forward, but Tuesday night belonged to Wyatt, as he continues to run roughshod over SmackDown's brightest stars.Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player above (warning: some language NSFW).
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