Bray Wyatt’s top five career moments while in WWE
With the shocking news that WWE released yet another superstar this weekend in the incomparable Bray Wyatt, I figured we’d get nostalgic and take a look back at the top 5 moments of Bray Wyatt’s WWE run.
5. WrestleMania 37
Why not start with one of the most recent memories, and what would ultimately end up being his last moment in WWE for the time being. We can’t forget that he could return in the future, maybe agreeing to a lesser salary. There are talks of Braun Strowman coming back under those same terms, so why not Wyatt?
But alas, for now, this is the state of affairs we’re stuck with. His last appearance in the ring was at WrestleMania and a storyline that had been developing over quite a few months came to fruition.
It was at WrestleMania 37 that WWE would be in front of a live audience for the first time after the pandemic and of course, Wyatt was there, and in what would mark the conclusive battle between Wyatt, Randy Orton, and Alexa Bliss.
WWE had been hinting at the return of Wyatt in vignettes, Randy playing the part of victim to a T, and as was expected and essentially promised, Wyatt made a return and in all his horrific glory in what can be called a moment where Hollywood Horror met professional wrestling to cataclysmic results.
4. Entering The Wyatt Family Compound—July 8th, 2013
Bray Wyatt kind of always provided the WWE audience with that same feeling one can get from Horror films, as we stated earlier. But with Wyatt, you kind of got a little extra in terms of conviction.
We’ve gotta say it: Wyatt has got the chops to make it as a decent actor, if not a great one. He was the perfect superstar to personify his first incarnation at WWE, as well as his second incarnation.
It was early in the initial portion of his run that the WWE Universe got a glimpse at his realm and at his inner sanctum.
Besides, what’s a villain, an epic villain, without his inner sanctum?
The perfect guide for the tour was none other than the late Brodie Lee, a man who had quite a wee bit of conviction himself when it came to playing his character and selling in the ring.
3. John Cena gets done-in by a creepy child—Extreme Rules (2014)
John and Bray Wyatt had quite a few run-ins over the years and there’s a very good reason for that: it works. The typical hero vs. monster; it’s the quintessential story of good vs. evil and in this memory, Cena had his work cut out for him.
“He’s got the whole world, in His hands…”
Hearing that demonic voice come out of that little guy definitely sent Cena for a loop, resulting in a distracted John getting attacked from behind and pinned by Wyatt.
Gee…thanks, Kid.
John Cena is very popular with young children, just as the heroic Hulk Hogan was in the eighties. What better way to get back at John Cena than to have a child mess with his brain, and Bray Wyatt did a lot of messing with the heroic characters on WWE TV over the years.
2. WrestleMania 36
This is what brings us to WrestleMania 36. The pandemic had hit and WWE needed to hit a homer even without an audience in attendance. They had to put on a whole event, but what’s more, their biggest event of the year.
They certainly pulled it off and this match has always stood out for me. It was so abstract in its undertones; it was the perfect break from what we were already seeing on the program. It was suggestive, odd and by the end of it I had more questions than I had answers, but I found myself thinking about it as Monday rolled around, writing a new article and going about my day. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about that moment as a masterpiece. It was definitely one of Wyatt’s lasting memories for sure within that company.
1. Firefly Inferno match with Randy Orton—TLC (December 2020)
In the greatest moment of all, he and Randy—very much like he and John—had very good chemistry together, and it would have been amazing to see them paired up once more. You can never get enough of a good thing as they say. But, as The Rolling Stones once said: “You can’t always get what you want.”
As we learned from the legendary Kane and the plethora of feuds he had…the only way to win an inferno match is to light any part of your opponent on fire. Duh, right? And lit on fire, somebody definitely was. Only it wasn’t Randy as perhaps many had expected. At the end of the match, simply having set The Fiend on fire wasn’t enough; Randy poured gasoline on Wyatt and lit a match…
That was the last time The Fiend was seen until Fastlane as a lead-in to WrestleMania 37.
This memory of Wyatt’s stands as one of my favorite because it represented a culmination…a culmination of everything Wyatt had accomplished within the company. Even in losing, he vanished from that match with a stigma attached to him…a stigma enjoyed only by the likes of the Undertaker and perhaps no one else.
An interesting moment of symbolism if you will permit me to delve deeply into the artistic side of wrestling, was when Wyatt set fire to his own rocking chair…a symbol of where he used to be. I find it interesting now that this moment led—amongst other things—to his final appearance in the company.
It’s too bad WWE couldn’t figure something else out to keep him at the company.
Really, in the end, there were so many epic memories to choose from (The New Day at the Wyatt compound…Jeff and Matt Hardy and the Lake of Reincarnation…) but I picked five that stood out in my mind. Yet even as I edit this piece, I can remember so many more moments that Bray Wyatt created with his time in WWE.
A piece like this is always bittersweet to write, as I’m saddened by his dismissal from the company, but relish in the memories we were all able to enjoy. Another high spot is that he follows suit of so many wrestlers rejected by WWE and maybe we’ll see him in AEW. Fingers crossed, friends.