While a former WWE Champion, Bray Wyatt failed to reach his potential during his first run with WWE. Even though Wyatt tasted success during the early days of his career, his character had become rather stale up until Wyatt decided to undergo a complete makeover and returned to WWE as The Fiend this year.
Starting with 'mind-boggling' vignettes called the Firefly Funhouse segments, Wyatt also gave us a peek into his new character 'The Fiend'. This avatar of Bray Wyatt finally made his in-ring debut at SummerSlam completely mesmerizing the fans at home and in attendance.
Let us look at the 6 most buzzworthy rumors and news regarding Bray Wyatt recently:
#6 Reason behind Wyatt's absence after SummerSlam
While SummerSlam was filled with enjoyable moments, it is hard to deny that it was Bray Wyatt who made the biggest splash on the show.
The Fiend finally made his in-ring debut and made quick work of former Universal Champion Finn Balor. However, surprisingly, Wyatt had no mention on RAW or SmackDown following SummerSlam. Forget Wyatt making another in-ring appearance, we did not even get a Firefly Funhouse segment.
As per Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin, the reason behind Wyatt's absence was that WWE wanted it to feel special. Here is what Satin had to say:
From what I’ve heard, Bray Wyatt wasn’t shown on WWE TV this week to follow up on “The Fiend” debuting at SummerSlam because they want his character to be special and for it to feel like you’ll never know when he’s going to strike next.
WWE needs to be careful in booking Bray Wyatt, as he is probably one of the hottest Superstars right now, and having too much time in-between his appearances could lead to disinterest among the fans.
There have been reports stating that Wyatt will, indeed, be a part of this week's Monday Night RAW.
#5 Wyatt warned the fans 4 years ago
Bray Wyatt has been known to send out cryptic Tweets and make creative vignettes. One such video has resurfaced and it shows Bray Wyatt 'warn' the fans about The Fiend.
In the video, Wyatt can be seen talking about a creature with yellow eyes and someone who Wyatt wanted to get away from. Bray may have already envisioned a gimmick change all those years ago, or it could also be that Wyatt modeled his current Fiend character on this promo he cut 4 years back.
#4 Surprising reason behind Wyatt's push
While Bray Wyatt is in every way deserving of a major push, one of the reasons behind it could be the fact that he has already become a top performer when it comes to merchandise sales.
As per Cagesideseats.com, Based on the quantity of merchandise for Bray Wyatt’s new gimmick that was available in Toronto for SummerSlam, expect a big push for The Fiend and Firefly FunHouse.
While there are no current plans for The Fiend we know of, SportsKeeda's Gary Cassidy and Kory Gunz speculate that The Fiend should go on a rampage at the debut show of SmackDown on Fox and decimate the legends who will be present on the show.
#3 Wyatt calls out Vince McMahon
WWE Games has announced that Bray Wyatt will be a playable character in WWE 2K20 as The Fiend. Wyatt tweeted his reaction to the announcement and had an announcement of his own to make.
While on the surface, it may look like an out of character Tweet by Wyatt, we can never be too sure of what is going on in the mind of the Eater of Worlds. It would be wise for Vince McMahon to pay heed to what The Fiend has to say.
#2 Who created the Firefly Funhouse?
The Firefly Funhouse vignettes completely took the WWE Universe by storm and provided the WWE Universe with a breath of fresh air. The promos were very unique and unlike anything the WWE fans had ever seen.
However, this idea was not from the WWE creative team but Bray Wyatt himself. A source close to WWE writers was part of Wade Keller's podcast and stated:
The Firefly Fun House stuff is all Bray Wyatt’s idea. Bray is described is an “absolute genius” and he helps other wrestlers with their promos. “He’s one of the best guys in the locker room.”
#1 WWE unsure of 'The Fiend' Character
While the fans and critics are busy praising Bray Wyatt and his new gimmick, many in the WWE are not very happy with the new version of Wyatt.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that there have been very few instances in the recent past where a Superstar has been able to generate so much buzz around him as Bray Wyatt has ever since the vignettes of Firefly fun house started.
Bray Wyatt made one of the most remarkable entrances at SummerSlam when he made his in-ring debut as The Fiend besting Finn Balor. The only problem, however, is that WWE feels that The Fiend scares away half the audience.
Here is what the source of Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue had to say on the matter:
They want a happy medium. This is something special but it needs to be special without scaring half the audience away.
“Bray should have been on TV to follow up after SummerSlam but there was an argument over what Bray should appear…changes might need to be made to get a character everyone is happy with.”
This could mean that WWE will tone down Wyatt's demonic creation going forward and make it much more kid-friendly. While we can't blame the WWE for taking this decision, it certainly is highly disappointing, to say the least.