Timeline: How The Fiend became the biggest thing in WWE

How did The Fiend manage to catapult himself to the very top of WWE?

How did Bray Wyatt manage to go from children's television host to arguably one of the most over Superstars in the modern era. As if that wasn't puzzling enough, how did he do it with a supernatural gimmick, which has been a virtual death sentence in WWE for years now ?

Fortunately for WWE and its fans, Bray Wyatt already had some pretty messed up things in his noggin and was ready to show them to the world. Beyond that, he was also ready to do so in such spectacular fashion that it made you wonder if this is what he had in him all along.

Whether that's the case, or if he just had to experience a few failures before morphing into his final form remains to be seen, but here are the eight defining moments of The Fiend in 2019. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to let us know what your favorite Fiend moment of 2019 was.

---

#8. Let him in

Who would have thought Bray Wyatt would become a children's show host?

It was early 2019. Bray Wyatt hadn't been seen on WWE television in several months and there was doubt about whether the company had any plans for him. Interestingly enough, creepy vignettes started to play during RAW and SmackDown that seemed to allude to some kind of childlike gimmick.

Those suspicions were confirmed a short time later when Bray Wyatt started to appear in pre recorded segments called The Firefly Fun House. These segments came complete with a set of dolls, creepy topics, and absolutely disturbing imagery. It was almost as if WWE was trying to tell the fans something about the character that would later be revealed in Wyatt's terrifying alter-ego.

#7. The secret

WWE was trying to tell us something with The Firefly Fun House segments.

WWE was trying to tell us something! This became apparent on an episode of The Firefly Fun House where Bray Wyatt teased having a huge secret to tell the WWE Universe. This was an exceptionally enticing cliffhanger, especially since fans were eager to know where the company was going with this and the reality lived up to any and all expectations.

Wyatt eventually revealed that he was able to channel his anger and darkest desires into a creature he called The Fiend. He also told fans that The Fiend helped prevent him from going back to his previous self and was there to protect everyone. The only caveat, however, was that they needed to let him in.

This was all insanely vague and downright scary at times, but it finally gave fans that first glimpse of The Fiend character they were waiting for. It also gave fans a hint as to where things might be going next and that had them even more excited about the potential of this otherworldly character.

Maybe it was the fact that WWE doled it out slowly, or maybe it was the world building that they used, but It was becoming clear that Bray Wyatt's new gimmick was destined for success.

#6. First victims

The Fiend has racked up quite a few victims during his initial rampage.

Bray Wyatt warned The WWE Universe about The Fiend for weeks at this point, but no one was prepared for what would happen next. It all started out innocently enough with Finn Balor celebrating in the ring after a match and then everything went to black. Suddenly, laughing could be heard throughout the arena and the audience sat in awed silence.

After a few seconds of darkness, The Fiend appeared for the first time on live television and hit Balor with a Sister Abigail. He then posed over Balor's prone body before the lights were shut off again. While this was only a small taste of what was to come from WWE's newest creation, it had the fans chanting after it was over.

And then it happened again with Mick Foley. Only this time, The Fiend hit the WWE legend with the mandible claw and forced the WWE Universe to watch him choke his victim out. This theme continued with The Fiend attacking Kurt Angle, Jerry 'The King' Lawler, and even Kane at one point.

No one was safe from The Fiend and his segments made that quite clear. Maybe the scariest part of all it was the fact that the creature could strike anywhere and at any time, which made him virtually unpredictable.

#5. The Fiend debuts at SummerSlam

The Fiend defeating Finn Balor at SummerSlam was only the beginning.

It may have taken months of seriously creepy symbolism, horrifying attacks on WWE veterans, and random Twitter rants to get to this moment, but it was beyond worth it. In fact, from the moment hurt and heal blared over the sound system, to The Fiend slowly emerging from behind the curtain with his head lantern, this was a moment worth waiting for.

Not only was that evident by the way the fireflies lit up the arena during his entrance, but also by fans chanting "holy crap," after what they had watched. They knew in that moment The Fiend was going to be something WWE took a lot of time working on and that the company would absolutely protect the character at all costs.

They also knew that Bray Wyatt, a man that had gone through so many failed runs on the main roster, was finally getting the push he deserved. Beyond that, they definitely knew that whatever was about to take place would be nothing short of amazing.

The Fiend ended up being all that and more, decimating Finn Balor in matter of minutes. What was interesting about the SummerSlam match, however, is that it started to show that The Fiend was impervious to pain. This would end up becoming a major plot point in his character and even lead to several conspiracy theories, including one later about red lights.

#4. See you in hell

Remember when The Fiend said "see you in hell?"

"See you in hell" were the words uttered by Bray Wyatt during an episode of The Firefly Fun House and they sent fans into an absolute frenzy over their potential implications. Of course a lot of that had to do with the upcoming pay-per-view at the time being Hell in a Cell, but the events that took place before it were simply surreal.

It all started with Bray Wyatt's show being interrupted by puppet Vince McMahon, who berated him for challenging Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman to a match at Hell in a Cell. McMahon droned on about the two Superstars being way too valuable to risk, before being interrupted by Wyatt, who stuffed money in his mouth.

While this moment might seem innocent on the surface or just a way to show the grossly exaggerated caricature of Vince McMahon, it also demonstrated the blurring of the lines between fiction and reality. This was an important moment in The Fiend's storyline due to the fact that it showed just what WWE was willing to do here.

If nothing else, this moment proved that WWE was breaking new ground with this storyline and that the audience would constantly have to decipher what was reality and what wasn't. It also made The Firefly Fun House segments must see moments, as fans did their very best to decode what Wyatt was actually getting at.

#3. Hurting and healing

WWE will never be the same after Bray Wyatt won the Universal Title at Crown Jewel.

Mistakes happen.

Unfortunately for WWE, they made their biggest mistake during the Universal Championship match at Hell in a Cell, where the contest was ended by referee stoppage. The reason for this is that Seth Rollins hit The Fiend with a sledge hammer while he was already trapped under quite a few other foreign objects.

The problem with this is that it was a Hell in a Cell match and brutality was supposed to be a selling point of this stipulation. With that stated, WWE's official explanation of the ending didn't make sense and it took away what many thought should have been a crowning moment for The Fiend character.

Of course one could argue that this was too soon and that WWE was only furthering the storyline by doing this, but it happened in such a way that it just didn't make sense. WWE did manage to make up for some of it after the match by having The Fiend rise up Undertaker style and choke Rollins out, but there was still a lot of damage control to be done.

Interestingly enough, WWE changed all that a month later by having The Fiend defeat Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel for the Universal Title, which fans went absolutely wild for. What made the moment even bigger, however, was that Wyatt survived a pyrotechnic explosion, several curb stomps, and anything else Rollins could throw at him.

This moment firmly drove home the fact that The Fiend was going to be the company's next big thing and that fans should buckle up for the upcoming ride.

#2. Changes

What did The Fiend do to Daniel Bryan?

You are never the same person after facing The Fiend and the company has been trying to cement that fact into the brain of fans all year. It all started when Finn Balor made a surprise return to NXT and claimed that he was coming back to the Black and Gold Brand full time.

This was interesting all on it's own, but then Balor followed that up by turning heel for the first time in his WWE career and trashing NXT every chance he got. WWE started to chalk it up to his encounter with The Fiend changing him in some way and have continued on with that narrative since then.

The Fiend's next victim was Seth Rollins, who ended up turning heel two months later and joining The AOP. Again, the change was blamed on his matches with The Fiend and how it made him a different man - that it somehow changed him into the heel that now wreaks havoc on RAW.

After that, Daniel Bryan was his next victim and while the former WWE Champion survived the match relatively intact, he was dragged to the depths of hell a week later by The Fiend. This forced The Miz to start searching for Daniel Bryan and put an end to The Fiend's mind games, but the character responded by messing with Miz' family.

WWE took this opportunity to start exploring the new Bray Wyatt character and had him face off against The Miz at TLC. The Miz did manage to put up a pretty good fight in this contest, but was ultimately unable to defeat Wyatt. Things didn't go perfectly for the sinister children's show host, however, as Daniel Bryan came out of nowhere and hit Wyatt with a running knee. The leader of The Yes Movement then did a full face reveal and showed the audience the results of Wyatt ripping his hair off.

It was almost like everyone had just time traveled back to 2010!

#1. Laying in wait

What will WWE do with The Fiend next?

While WWE made The Fiend and Bray Wyatt a mainstay on WWE television over the last couple of months, they have chosen not to feature him over the last couple of weeks. WWE did do a Firefly Fun House segment after Daniel Bryan's victory over The Miz and Baron Corbin, but it was nothing compared to his usual antics.

It's almost as if WWE is trying to start a trend of saving The Fiend for special occasions. This would make sense, especially given the fact that Vince McMahon has reportedly hinted at wanting this in the past, but this is the first time that the company has actually put the idea firmly into practice.

The Fiend has proven himself to be a valuable entity to WWE and this is likely why the company wants to preserve him for something even bigger further down the line. That's probably the safest strategy to employ so close to WrestleMania and should help to make sure that the character doesn't become played out.

In the end, it might not be as fun without The Fiend being on weekly, but that's what makes his eventual return so enticing. It's the fact that you don't see him appear every week anymore and that he only does so under special circumstances. If nothing else, that's what separates The Fiend from the rest of the roster and should lead to great things in the future.