Bray Wyatt has yet to wrestle since returning to WWE has the host of “Firefly Fun House”, so all eyes are on his first opponent.
WWE SummerSlam 2019 will take place on August 11 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and wrestling fans could be headed for a great crop of champions with Kofi Kingston, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Seth Rollins currently holding main titles. But one wrestler not holding a championship has been the source of plenty of intrigue over the past few months.
Bray Wyatt is a former WWE Champion and looks poised to be a major player in the promotion again after taking some time off to “better himself” (yes, that’s kayfabe). He is currently the host of the twisted children’s show “Firefly Fun House”, and the storyline has been a stroke of genius. Though Wyatt is even sicker than ever, he sees himself as being a rehabilitated soul, which makes wrestling fans even more intrigued to see him back in the ring.
WrestleVotes reported that prior to the Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff takeover of Raw and SmackDown, respectively, Wyatt’s scheduled return date was SummerSlam 2019. If those plans still hold – and it would be strange for Heyman or Bischoff to drastically change something that has been working well – then we could see Wyatt back in a WWE ring on Aug. 11 with a SummerSlam return.
So if that’s the case, here are three possible opponents for Wyatt at WWE’s second-biggest show of the year.
Aleister Black
When Aleister Black kept cutting promos about wanting someone to “knock” on his door for his first main roster singles match, most WWE fans assumed that he would be facing Bray Wyatt. After all, Wyatt is the one you just have to “let in”, so the back-and-forth promos between them would have been perfect for a rivalry.
Black’s first opponent on the main roster will actually be Cesaro at Extreme Rules, and that match should be an absolute barnburner between two of the world’s best in-ring performers. So not a soul will complain about that.
However, WWE fans would still love to see Black and Wyatt tussle inside the ring. The promo battle, of course, would be the bigger draw for fans. Both men are articulate and sinister, capable of cutting their opponents down a peg with their words while operating in mysterious ways. Black and Wyatt would be great foils for each other, producing an excellent, slower-paced match with plenty of psychological warfare in between the ropes. In short, it would be a great addition to a SummerSlam card that will probably feature more fast-paced matches.
And then afterwards, Black and Wyatt can have a killer feud. What’s not to love about this?
The Undertaker
Bray Wyatt and The Undertaker faced off at WrestleMania 31, and it was probably the best WrestleMania match “The Deadman” has had in the last six years. The promo battles were predictably memorable, and Wyatt did his best to make fans wonder if he could actually pull off a victory one year after Brock Lesnar shocked the WWE Universe by breaking the streak.
It’s honestly become hard to watch Taker now that he’s in the twilight of his career, but he’s still interested in putting on his boots and doing what he loves most. The Undertaker, in fact, is teaming up with Roman Reigns to face the heel duo of Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon at Extreme Rules, not long after his woeful match with Goldberg in Saudi Arabia. (OK, the less said about that, the better.)
There really aren’t many (if any) matches we’d want to see The Undertaker compete in at this stage of his career, but a match with “The New” Bray Wyatt (apologies to Daniel Bryan for the steal) is one of those select few exceptions. Wyatt vs. Undertaker is a timeless battle of wits, and Wyatt is experienced enough to where his wrestling style wouldn’t tax Taker physically. This match would be all about slower pacing and story-telling, which The Undertaker definitely can still do.
So why not highlight Taker’s strengths? There doesn’t have to be a winner here so that both men are kept strong, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing for Bray to be the one to retire Taker at SummerSlam. Sure, it would seem weird for that moment not to happen at WrestleMania and maybe Roman Reigns should be the last person to beat Taker, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of this match happening with Taker still going at it in 2019. The timing could be right for Wyatt, after all.
Finn Balor
A more realistic opponent for Bray Wyatt is Finn Balor, though Balor is currently locked in a rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura, who pinned him on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live. There’s no doubt that a feud between Nakamura and Balor could be one of the main roster’s best in 2019, and it may just be exactly what the Intercontinental Championship needs after sagging slightly in prestige over the last several months.
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That said, if Balor and Nakamura conclude their feud before SummerSlam, a match between Wyatt and The Demon could be intriguing. Of course, Wyatt would ideally win a redebut match, but if Wyatt debuts sooner, then he could potentially afford to lose to “The Demon”.
And in any case, there’s nothing wrong with Wyatt losing his redebut to someone as powerful as “The Demon”, then suffering a meltdown if he loses. In fact, the inner struggle and fallout Bray faces from losing to a powerful opponent like The Demon or Taker could be far more intriguing than the fallout from a potential victory at WWE SummerSlam 2019…
Then there’s the matter of unfinished business. See, Balor embarrassed Wyatt two years ago at SummerSlam 2017 as “The Demon” in the midst of an embarrassing feud from creative and a match itself that was booked disastrously, necessitating a final match months later, involving an apparent “Pumpkin” version of The Demon, at TLC 2017.
This match never happened. Wyatt was struck with an illness. Instead, Balor defeated AJ Styles as “The Demon” in a battle of former “Club” leaders that fans absolutely loved.
But we didn’t get Wyatt vs. Balor. Furthermore, a good rivalry between them, whether it’s for the Intercontinental Championship or not, could be a great way to call back and rectify a doomed feud from nearly two years ago. Wyatt can bring the best out of Balor with this new version of his character and potentially better writing from the Heyman/Bischoff regime, so consider me intrigued about this as a potential SummerSlam/post-SummerSlam feud for these two stars.