Little surprised they turned Bryan before the new year, but the writers have been building this heel flip for months. Not shocked with the turn as much as the timing. With the Shield breaking up soon and Reigns getting a singles push, they needed another big heel stable. The Wyatt Family needed someone that was over, could talk on the mic, was solid in the ring, and a worker. Bryan has been one the hardest, if not the hardest worker the past 6 months, so doubtful they are going to stop booking just because they turned him.
If the writers dont screw it up, the Wyatt family should have a good run in 2014. This will allow them to use Bryan every hour with backstage promos as well as in the ring. They had too many baby faces right now and Bryan would be stuck behind Cena and Punk forever unless they flipped him. Not sure if Batista can handle working every week at his age, but they are going to put him in the Main events for probably the next 6 months. Sheamus is supposed to return soon as well, but he will more than likely sit at the middle of the card until he complains.
Combining the belts makes the title picture even more crazy. Bryan with the Wyatt Family also allows them to take on the Authority and finally see Bryan take them down some. I thought once they had Kane go over to the authority, they would be the heel stable, but they havent done much with that storyline. Bryan turning heel allows them to open up a lot of angles leading up to WM. Cena, Punk, Bryan, Sheamus, Big E and Reigns would be too many main event faces. They had to turn someone and Bryan makes the most sense at this point.