Bray Wyatt's Injury is a Blessing in Disguise

Bray Wyatt now looks to be out of action for 6-8 weeks. This is the best thing that could have happened to him.

On Wednesday, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Bray Wyatt’s calf injury, initially thought to sideline him 4-6 weeks, now looked like a 6-8 week layoff for the Eater of Worlds. While on the surface this looks like bad news and an extension of months of WWE injury bug concerns, It’s probably the best possible thing that could have happened to Wyatt’s character and his Family at this point in their careers, creative-wise.

It’s obviously no secret that for what seems like forever, the Wyatt Family has been adrift in a company that doesn’t seem to know what to do with them. The company has taken advantage of their seemingly Teflon status with the fan base for a couple years now and constantly booked the backwoods cult to end up on the losing end of every feud they’ve entered. Just scant weeks ago, they may have hit a creative Rock Bottom–literally–when the only thing creative had for them at Wrestlemania was an awful segment that involved getting punked out by The Rock and a returning John Cena, leading to Erick Rowan eating a pin from Rocky in six embarrassing seconds. If WWE had less of an idea what to do with these guys, they’d be a group of four Damien Sandows.

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Wyatt’s calf injury, sustained against Roman Reigns in Milan, is the perfect excuse to take the Wyatt Family off TV for a bit and let the gimmick catch its breath. It’s in no need of any sort of revamp–even misused, they remain some of the most compelling characters on WWE television–but the stable will benefit from the time off. Creative won’t be pressured to scramble for something for the team to do week-to-week and can instead plan ahead for their eventual return, make it memorable, and most importantly, plan an effective follow-up.

Just before Wyatt went down, the Family was starting to be booked against heels, giving the fans carte blanch to feel free to cheer them full-throat. It seemed like a “what the hell, let’s try this” see-if-it-sticks move, but one that may have worked with, again, effective follow-up. Obviously, there was no guarantee that creative knew what to do after establishing the Wyatts as faces; now, they’ve got that chance.

For the better part of two years, fans have been screaming that the Wyatts are being “buried,” even though they’ve been prominently featured on WWE television week in and week out. That’s not burial, but their characters have been sent through the wringer by a creative crew that’s gotten them lost in the woods. Hopefully with some time away, they can regroup and come out of the woods and into the light with a refreshed direction and sense of purpose. The pop they get when they show back up on television after two or three months will certainly be immense. Hopefully, they can follow up on it.

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Bray Wyatt’s Injury is a Blessing in Disguise

By DJ Hostettler | Apr 30, 2016

Bray Wyatt now looks to be out of action for 6-8 weeks. This is the best thing that could have happened to him.