WWE has completely and utterly lost the plot with The Fiend

It wasn’t that long ago when WWE had one of the hottest acts in all of professional wrestling.

That act was “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, yet another reinvention of the third-generation superstar over his time in WWE. A combination of unique vignettes and savage in ring work made this gimmick one of the best in the business.

But throughout the pandemic era of WWE, the company has completely mismanaged the character, dragging Alexa Bliss down with Wyatt. At this point, the question becomes not how to redeem The Fiend but if WWE should even bother.

The Firefly Fun House arrives

As of April 2019, Bray Wyatt had been off TV for quite some time. After years as the head of The Wyatt Family, Bray teamed up with Woken Matt Hardy to form The Deleters of Worlds. It was a fan favorite tag team that became champions.

After their team was disbanded due to Hardy’s injuries, Wyatt faded into the background. When weird puppets began showing up in the background of backstage interviews and in their own vignettes, the most likely culprit was Wyatt.

That was confirmed when The Firefly Fun House debuted. Wyatt returned in a series of prerecorded segments stylized like a really creepy children’s show. It was cute, funny, and off-putting as there was obviously more going on than met the eye.

The Fiend, Wyatt’s violent, unrelenting alter ego, eventually arrived. He demolished everyone he faced, visiting vengeance upon anyone who had ever wronged him. Fans were immediately invested in the whole gimmick and were highly engaged in it.

Building and wasting The Fiend

WWE made some smart moves with this whole premise. Bray Wyatt did all the talking while The Fiend did most of the fighting. Plus, he rarely wrestled on weekly TV shows. That was saved for pay-per-views, making it feel like a big deal when The Fiend fought.

While he was supposed to be a heel, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt could not have been more popular with fans. He quickly won the Universal Championship, which was the right move. But nobody knows how to piss away a good thing like the WWE.

They booked Bill Golberg of all people to snap The Fiend’s winning streak and take the title at Super ShowDown in 2020. This was just before the pandemic kicked into high gear, and was one of the last big WWE events to have a live audience for a long time.

The Fiend would recover the title at SummerSlam 2020, only to lose it to a week later at Payback when a returning Roman Reigns pinned Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat match. Things have only gotten worse since then.

The Fiend and the pandemic

WWE’s booking of Bray Wyatt throughout the pandemic has been atrocious, utterly ruining a good thing. Even worse, Alexa Bliss got dragged into this mess, which should have been a perfect pairing. Instead, fans have gotten terrible, nonsensical segments and feuds that often use magic.

The Fiend reappeared just before WrestleMania 37 after being burnt alive by Randy Orton. But the whole feud between them was ludicrous, earning derision from most fans. While Wyatt was away, Bliss continued the feud by proxy, then betrayed Wyatt at WrestleMania 37.

At this point, Wyatt has been mostly gone for months, reputedly dealing with mental health issues, something that should be taken seriously. Bliss rarely wrestles these days, instead of hanging out on a swing and talking to a doll. No one knows what’s happening at this point.

Alexa needs to move on from The Fiend as the gimmick is dragging her down. She needs to get back to being The Goddess, again, and wrestle more. When Wyatt is ready to return, the time of The Fiend is over. Reinvention is around the corner for a man who has become the master of it.

The Fiend is no longer the unstoppable force of nature he once was, suffering some high-profile matches. To be blunt, the mystique is gone and the spell is broken. WWE needs to cut their losses by finding something new for these two talented superstars.