Despite being now being on separate brands, Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt are still set to battle at Payback. However, the WWE Championship is to be defended in what has been dubbed the ‘House of Horrors’.
Now, Bray Wyatt has his own gimmick match in the form of the ‘House of Horrors’. Nobody knows what it’ll consist of but Randy Orton is set to defend the WWE Championship in it at Payback.
Over the years, many were given their own gimmick match. Dean Ambrose had the Asylum Match, Kane had the Inferno match, and The Undertaker had quite a few. Now, it’s Bray Wyatt.
Expectations could be high as the match is set to conclude the pair’s feud before they go on to feud on their separate brands. However, you aren’t to be blamed if you think it’ll disappoint, just like the Asylum match was.
The key to a good asylum match is to not over complicate things. Just think of the great gimmick matches over the years. In the Inferno Match, you only had to burn your opponent. In the Casket Match, you only had to get the opponent in the casket.
Too many stipulations and there’s a chance that the match won’t get over with the audience. Even worse still is that if it doesn’t work, it makes Bray Wyatt look bad. And, with the feud with him and Finn Balor now under contention, looking bad is the last thing Wyatt wants on RAW.
So then, what should be in the ‘House of Horrors’?
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Wyatt’s Followers
The lamb-mask bearing followers of Wyatt, or “Sheeple”, are bound to be in this match. It is, after all, Wyatt’s match, not Orton’s.
We’ve already seen in the past these followers ganging up on Orton backstage.
Despite losing Luke Harper, Wyatt still retains his ‘Cult Leader’ feel and persona. Gimmick wise, the Sheeple of Wyatt seem a safe bet when it comes to the House of Horrors.
Erick Rowan recently returned from injury and is back at Wyatt’s side. However, with Wyatt now on RAW and Payback being a RAW pay-per-view, can his presence in the match still be considered? With his new (and improved?) lamb mask, could he possibly come out as the chief lamb man amongst the other Sheeple?
With it being a ‘House’ of Horrors, it connotes a strong image of imprisonment. So, if Wyatt’s followers were to be part of the match, could they be ringside enforcers? This, however, makes it very similar to a Lumberjack Match.
It’s not too crazy to think that these Sheeple are going to be in the match. WWE recently had a survey asking fans what they wanted in the match; “Sheeple” was an option.
If they were included, the extent of their inclusion is unknown.
Insects
After Randy Orton burned down the Wyatt compound, Wyatt went to bathe in the ashes of Sister Abigail. This, in turn, instilled him with special powers. These powers, it turns out, were to project images of insects and maggots on the ring at WrestleMania.
Despite this, he lost. It would be pointless to have that be a one-time thing. WWE could bring Wyatt’s new power back but take it a step further. And by a step further, that could mean actual insects.
That wouldn’t be the focal point of the match though. The match can’t just be won once one of them feeds maggots to the other. That would be an anticlimactic end to the feud.
WWE could look to include them by having Wyatt rain them down on Orton form above.
Whether or not the inclusion of bugs is a good idea, we at least need some continuity when it comes to Wyatt’s character.
Wyatt Compound
Bray Wyatt has already had a match at the Wyatt Compound. He and the Wyatt Family battled New Day at the compound.
It was something very reminiscent of the Total Deletion matches in TNA.
Similar to the ‘Sheeple’, a match set outside the arena was also an option in the fan survey.
With Orton burning the Wyatt compound, the match could be set in its remains or a new compound. It also allows all the aforementioned elements to also be a part of the match.
It also fits the name of the match — “House of Horrors”.
Additionally, it doesn’t over complicate things. I could just be a no-disqualification match set outside the arena. Similar to Total Deletion, there can even be a ring.
Better still, a match at the compound may finally give fans more to see about Sister Abigail. Though we’ve been told that she was buried under the Wyatt compound and that Orton burned her grave, we can only hope that we get to see more of her in the future.
There is but one downside to making their Payback match a gimmick match. With the Universal Title still on RAW, the WWE Championship staying on Smackdown seems predictable. A loss for Wyatt in his own match as well as in his first match for RAW won’t do him any favors.
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What do you think the House of Horrors match will include? And will it be any good?