In an era of reality based WWE Superstars, Bray Wyatt has succeeded in developing a larger than life character.
When Bray Wyatt debuted back in May of 2013, the character and the Wyatt Family was something that fans could not take their eyes off of. Everything Wyatt did was against the mold of the average WWE character. The way that his promos were filmed, how Wyatt spoke, and the cult like charisma that Wyatt showcased felt fresh.
In the years since his debut, Wyatt has wrestled and interacted with some of the greatest talent in WWE history. The challenge with Wyatt is that every time the character has gotten on the verge of greatness, WWE took the wind out of his sails.
By now, Wyatt – as the character was originally intended to be showcased upon his debut – should be one of the top characters in WWE history. Unfortunately, there have been more deflating moments with the Wyatt character than there should be.
Regardless of the amount of losses he has taken over the years, Wyatt has consistently and successfully been able to portray himself as one of the most intriguing characters in WWE history, even prior to his run as The Fiend. Still, WWE has had multiple chances to launch Bray Wyatt into super stardom and failed.
Here are four times where WWE has failed to cement the Bray Wyatt character as a legitimate main eventer.
WrestleMania 30 vs John Cena
WrestleMania has always been a launching pad for new stars. When WrestleMania 30 took place, one of the most exciting matches heading into the show was Bray Wyatt vs John Cena. Adult fans were fatigued of the “Super Cena” character. There had been countless attempts to “turn Cena into a monster” by competitors. Those attempts fell flat, but Wyatt’s attempts felt different because the character was believable.
Fans were ecstatic when Wyatt and Cena began their feud at the Royal Rumble 2014. Wyatt was an up and coming star and a credible opponent for Cena. This appeared as the right time for an established mega star like John Cena to lose to Wyatt in order to make Wyatt a bigger star in the process. Their feud would lead to a match at WrestleMania 30.
Wyatt was red hot going into WrestleMania 30. Fans believed that they were on the verge of watching the next mega star climb to the top of WWE. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. Cena would defeat Wyatt at WrestleMania 30 in a match that was a letdown. Cena gained nothing with the win. His character traits were already established with fans. There was more value in Wyatt defeating Cena than Cena defeating Wyatt.
This was not the end of their feud. Wyatt would defeat over Cena at Extreme Rules. This would lead to their final match at Payback where Cena inexplicably defeated Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match. When this feud was settled Cena gained little in the fans eyes. Wyatt ended up going from the next mega star to just another obstacle for the “Super Cena” character.
WrestleMania 31 vs The Undertaker
Every wrestling fan can remember where they were when “The Streak” ended. It was one of the most memorable moments in WWE history. It was not only the end of “The Streak” but what was thought to be the end of The Undertaker as a wrestling character. Fans have been long conditioned as a way to pass the torch to the next generation; a legendary pro wrestler loses their last match.
There were similarities to the early versions of The Undertaker character and the Bray Wyatt character. Both men led lives of darkness and blended their charisma with in-ring violence. They were not portrayed as men but as destructive creatures.
Before WrestleMania 31, Wyatt would call out The Undertaker character. Wyatt carried the entire feud itself with no sign of The Undertaker. Wyatt had the task of making fans interested in a match with a legend, with no help from the other party. This built up Wyatt in the eyes of fans; he was seen to be the new face of darkness.
Their match at WrestleMania was more about a resurrection of The Undertaker than it was the ascension of Bray Wyatt. Undertaker would go on to be victorious in the match. Fans saw a wrestler on the rise, who shown the ability to make a match interesting by himself, and then he was defeated by an aging veteran who they hadn’t seen in a year.
If The Undertaker was to win that match at WrestleMania, that could have been effective. The disappointment was that Wyatt was not stronger. The Undertaker did nothing before or after the match to convey to fans that Wyatt was valuable. This only ended up hurting Wyatt more than helping him in the long term.
WrestleMania 33 vs Randy Orton
By 2017, fans had lost hope of Bray Wyatt becoming WWE Champion. That isn’t to say they weren’t behind Bray Wyatt, but disappointment after disappointment would tarnish the perception of Bray Wyatt. Fans grew accustomed to Wyatt getting close to the top of the WWE, but would fail in every attempt.
Bray Wyatt became WWE Champion at Elimination Chamber 2017. The emotion that Wyatt showed and the emotion of the moment made this special. Wyatt had overcome piss poor character development and inconsistent pushes by WWE to finally reach the top of the company. Finally, the fans had the moment they wanted. Wyatt was set to be WWE Champion for a while.
WrestleMania 33 was Wyatt’s first WrestleMania match since his disastrous match with The Undertaker. It would be Wyatt’s first WrestleMania as WWE Champion. Wyatt would face multi time champion Randy Orton at WrestleMania. This was a match at the biggest WWE show of the year, against a wrestler who was established for a decade in the eyes of WWE fans.
This match was remembered for the baffling moment when an image of roaches appeared on the WWE ring. The idea was to solidify Wyatt as a dark character and scare Orton. It came across incredibly cheap and was universally panned by fans.
Wyatt would lose the match and the championship to Orton at WrestleMania 33. This would not be the beginning of a feud that would strengthen Wyatt as a championship contender. Orton’s reign as champ lasted no longer than Wyatt’s did. At the end of Wyatt’s championship reign, he was as a transitional champion and lost to another established star at the biggest showcase of the year.
Hell in a Cell 2019
For all the career disappointments that Bray Wyatt had, he still had a connection with fans. When he returned in 2019, he was a different character. He went from “The Eater of Worlds” to “The Fiend.” The Firefly Fun House was creative and had fans focused on every word that Wyatt spoke. Fans wanted to tune in every week to see where this story would go. That has been an emotion that has been absent more than present in recent WWE storylines.
Wyatt had debuted as a new character that was more outlandish than his previous character. It was the perfect blend of realism and creativity. Wyatt would slowly morph into the alternative persona of The Fiend. The Fiend was captivating. He was the most exciting thing on every RAW he was on. Everything from the way he was introduced as The Fiend, to the mask, to the new theme music. WWE had struck gold with The Fiend.
Wyatt set his sights on Seth Rollins, all roads led to Hell in a Cell where Wyatt would face Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship. Midway through the match, there was a negative reaction from the fans at the Golden 1 Center. Fans were seeing that Wyatt was being portrayed as just another character for Seth Rollins to disperse of.
This was not the continued ascension of The Fiend to new heights. This was another moment where Bray Wyatt was on the verge of greatness to have it not fulfill its potential. The fans in Sacramento revolted against the match due to their desire to see The Fiend win and become WWE Universal Champion. The fans had grown tired of believing in WWE to properly portray Bray Wyatt as the next mega star only to fail the Bray Wyatt character.