5 signs that 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt is the new Undertaker

Bray Wyatt has long been compared to The Undertaker. Even when he was The Eater of Worlds, a more cult-like character, the nature of it drew instant comparisons to The Deadman.

Bray Wyatt and The Undertaker have faced off once before in a singles match at WrestleMania 31, where The Undertaker won. The other time they crossed paths was at Survivor Series later that year also including Kane and Luke Harper (now Brodie Lee).

The Eater of Worlds character had, unfortunately, run its course. Not due to Bray Wyatt, but due to WWE's handling of the character, where he always ended up losing the big one. He took 10 months off to create 'The Fiend' gimmick and while it's more psychological-based than surreal, the Firefly Fun House adds a new element to it.

We could argue that this is the closest he's come to The Undertaker's character. Even though they're two Superstars with their own legacy, the comparisons won't stop, even at the end of Bray Wyatt's incredible career.

Here are five signs that 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt is the next Undertaker.

#5 The surrealistic/supernatural character of Bray Wyatt and The Undertaker

It's not often in wrestling that a supernatural or surrealistic character can work. If you were to introduce The Undertaker 20 years on, the reality is that his gimmick would never have worked. Luckily, he debuted at such a time where it just so happened to work and he established his legacy long enough for people to still be enamored by his character.

It's Mark Calaway who made the gimmick work. While it's easy to assume that anybody could have pulled it off, it takes a special kind of talent to create something that incredible out of it.

Bray Wyatt is arguably the only Superstar in this generation that can pull off a surrealistic character of sorts. As mentioned above, it could be argued that 'The Fiend' is more of a split personality, the Firefly Fun House adds a supernatural element to it.

They're closely related but not the same. Even so, The Undertaker as a gimmick would be far more likely to work in the modern era if it was psychological and supernatural-based. This alone is a big sign that 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt could be the next Undertaker. Who else could be?

#4 Mystique

Mystique has helped The Undertaker keep the longevity he's enjoyed

When you think of WWE Superstars who have had a great mystique to them, the singular name that will pop up at first will be The Undertaker. While many argued that his mystique went after his first loss at WrestleMania and then his second in 2017 to Roman Reigns, there's a reason why he's had such longevity in his career.

When you heard the gong of the bell, the crowd reaction would always speak for itself. To be able to have a supernatural character and run with it for over 25 years of his three-decade career takes something special and The Undertaker's mystique is perhaps the biggest thing that kept him going.

Similarly, 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt has a mystique about him. While WWE could easily have achieved a similar mystique while he was The Eater of Worlds, they dropped the ball by using Bray Wyatt to help build other Superstars.

However, the mystique is a big trait that the two share and it's something that helps Bray Wyatt in the long run.

#3 Reserved appearances for the gimmick

'The Fiend' at Royal Rumble 2020 before his strap match

Over the last year, WWE has done a great job with keeping 'The Fiend' to a limited number of experiences. If you've noticed, Bray Wyatt has outright stopped wrestling on free television and the general appearances of 'The Fiend' have been kept for special occasions.

While losing to Goldberg was and always will remain the wrong decision made by WWE, it won't take too much effort to bring the "specialty" of 'The Fiend' back to what it was. The Undertaker would appear a lot in his prime, but his appearances noticeably reduced over the last decade.

After retiring Shawn Michaels in 2010 in the main event of WrestleMania 26, The Undertaker officially moved to part-time status. Bray Wyatt isn't a part-timer yet, but the fact that his appearances as 'The Fiend' are so limited is a sign that WWE wants to keep it in the reserves and only utilize it when needed. It draws a parallel to The Undertaker and his career.

#2 Ability to command a crowd

We've always emphasized how having a strong character will always help a WWE Superstar more than having a strong in-ring ability. While the current WWE roster is stacked with the best in-ring talent in the company's history, what's missing is a lack of special characters like The Undertaker.

Since wrestling is a soap opera in its own right, casual and larger audiences will always pay more attention to a great character over a great wrestler. When you talk about The Undertaker, he doesn't demand respect - he commands it.

Through his career, he's become the most well-respected wrestler among fans, and despite many of us complaining that he should retire for the last 5-6 years, it's hard not to respect Undertaker's ability to constantly command a crowd and earn their respect.

Similarly, Bray Wyatt's ability and strength might not lie in his in-ring work, but his ability to command a crowd. Go to the WWE Network and watch 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt's debut against Finn Balor at SummerSlam 2019. In just a few minutes, Wyatt was able to mesmerize the crowd like nobody on the card.

#1 Backstage respect and high wrestling IQ

One of the great things about the top crop of talent in the past wasn't just that it was filled with larger-than-life characters such as The Undertaker. It was the fact that their talent was so great and their wrestling IQ was off the charts.

Just watch Edge vs Randy Orton at Backlash 2020. Whether you consider it 'The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever' or not, it was a masterpiece of storytelling and in-ring psychology. While there are many Superstars with good wrestling IQ, perhaps nobody from the current generation on the roster has great wrestling IQ the way Bray Wyatt does.

Unfortunately, we can't go inside the mind of Bray Wyatt and how he works creatively, but it's evident that he stands out from the rest. His promo and character work proves this. Also, most backstage stories suggest that The Undertaker is almost unanimously respected by people in WWE, from talent to higher-ups and backstage staff.

While Bray Wyatt hasn't reached The Undertaker's level yet, it's clear from rumors and interviews of other Superstars that he's one of the most respected Superstars backstage.

Edited by Raunak J