WWE Raw: Bray Wyatt’s return to TV comes at the perfect time
The July 15 edition of WWE Raw was the post-Extreme Rules edition of the red brand and a night that focused on the fallout from Extreme Rules, but it also started building towards next month’s SummerSlam event.
Last night’s WWE Raw was a pretty significant night in some regards for future storylines, but one development, in particular, that took place last night came courtesy of the long-awaited in-arena return of Bray Wyatt, or in this case, The Fiend, after a couple months of Firefly Funhouse segments taking the WWE Universe by storm.
The career of Wyatt has been one that can be summed up as a missed opportunity so far. No matter how creative and how much potential his character has shown over the past few years, the WWE has never truly bought into Wyatt, resulting in far more key losses than key wins. That might be starting to change now with his recent run, which was brought to the screen last night.
Fans were speculating for weeks about when Wyatt would make his in-arena return after so many memorable moments on the Firefly Funhouse segments. And after Finn Balor lost to Samoa Joe last night on Raw, fans got their wish when the lights went out in the middle of Balor’s post-match antics. When the lights came back on, The Fiend had finally arrived.
Wyatt, while wearing the mask of his alter ego The Fiend, hit Balor with the move formerly known as Sister Abigail and stood menacingly in the ring while staring a hole through the camera. The crowd erupted and the excitement was palpable after his return. Wyatt’s return has been long-awaited, but when you really think about it, his return comes at the most opportune time possible with what’s looming.
Some of the most creative developments the WWE has produced in arguably years have been these Firefly Funhouse segments. Wyatt had been off of TV for the better part of a year after his tag team with Matt Hardy fizzled out, but once he returned, it was unlike anything else his character has ever seen before. His transformation from The Eater Of Worlds to a demented children’s talk show host with inner demons of his past still prevalent was downright fascinating.
These segments had the WWE Universe buzzing for weeks and anticipating what would be next for Wyatt. Many fans thought that he would make his in-arena return before SummerSlam, and that rang true last night. That is the best time he could have made his return because SummerSlam is arguably the second biggest pay-per-view of the year, it needs big matches and storylines to build its show.
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Giving Wyatt a match with Balor at SummerSlam creates a lot of buzz and makes fans excited to tune in. Not to mention, it could likely be The Fiend vs. The Demon, which would be even more enticing. The creative direction for Wyatt is really endless right now. and that’s what really sticks out the most in this scenario. With Paul Heyman’s creative power apparently in full force now on Monday nights, he could do even more wonders for this version of Wyatt.
This new Wyatt has been great to see, but the creative powers that be have to learn from past mistakes. Wyatt’s previous character that he used for several years had all the potential in the world and should have been universally recognized as the new version of The Undertaker, but thanks to many creative mistakes and too many losses, the fans never quite bought in and believed in Wyatt as a legitimate threat.
Even when he won the WWE Championship, it still felt a bit underwhelming and most realized it was only to drop the title to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33. That bad trend cannot continue this time around if the WWE wants Wyatt to reach his fullest potential. This version of Wyatt is one of the most interesting and unique characters in a long time, so it would be a shame to see it go to waste.
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After several years of never quite reaching his fullest potential or getting a fair shot, it’s time for Wyatt to break through and reach the level that he is more than capable of reaching, and it should start at SummerSlam after several weeks of building towards the projected Fiend vs. Demon battle.