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Bray Wyatt hasn't been seen on WWE television since the RAW After WrestleMania 37. On Saturday, WWE announced that the former three-time world champion was released from the company. The 34-year old became the latest WWE superstar to be released due to budget cuts, according to the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer.
Bray Wyatt was just set to return to the promotion this month and was even advertised for live events. His release from the company has caused plenty of shock throughout the wrestling world for fans, critics and wrestlers alike. Many different WWE superstars have posted their support for the Wyatt Family leader.
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Bray Wyatt is known for his creative mindset, storytelling and compelling feuds. With his time in WWE having come to an end, it has become an ideal time to revisit some of the rivals for the former WWE superstar. In this article, let's take a look back at the five greatest Bray Wyatt rivals of his career.
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#5 Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor
Following Bray Wyatt's brief run as WWE Champion in 2017, he made the transition over to Monday Night RAW, looking for redemption. After a rivalry with Seth Rollins, he would cross paths with Finn Balor. At Summerslam that year, Balor and Wyatt clashed for the first time, with Finn bringing out "The Demon" to win.
Bray Wyatt then made a challenge to Finn Balor to leave "The Demon" behind and wanted to face the man. Despite Balor accepting the challenge, he gained the victory over Wyatt at No Mercy 2017. The rivalry wasn't over there as both men prepared for another battle with Wyatt threatening to bring out Sister Abigail for their showdown at TLC 2017, but Wyatt would get sick and cancel the match.
When Bray Wyatt introduced "The Fiend" in 2019, he set out to right the wrongs of his career so far. This started with targeting Finn Balor. On the July 15th, 2019 WWE RAW, "The Fiend" showed his intentions of destroying Balor. At Summerslam 2019, "The Fiend" defeated Finn Balor in his in-ring debut. He totally destroyed Balor and sent him back down to NXT.
Although Bray Wyatt couldn't beat Balor in 2017, he got the last laugh and changed the course of Finn's career. It kickstarted "The Fiend" on the right foot and set the tone for what the character would be like in getting vengeance on Wyatt's former rivals. The Summerslam encounter also started the trend of "The Fiend" changing his opponents after defeating them.
#4 Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
Bray Wyatt has had intricate stories told throughout his career. One of the best was his rivalry and partnership with Randy Orton. The two men started out as rivals, but Orton soon aligned himself with Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper. Wyatt and Orton became a surprisingly good team, winning the SmackDown Tag Team Titles from Heath Slater and Rhyno.
The Wyatt Family found a rebirth, but this proved to be short lived. Luke Harper was always skeptical of Orton's intentions and didn't trust the snake in the family. However, Wyatt chose Orton over his most loyal follower, which came back to haunt him. Randy Orton won the 2017 Royal Rumble, while Bray Wyatt won the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber 2017.
Orton could have chosen the Universal Championship to go after at WrestleMania 33, but he instead went after his leader's WWE Title. He even burned down Sister Abigail's home in an attempt to get inside Bray Wyatt's head. This paid off when he defeated Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Despite Wyatt getting his win back at Payback 2017, things didn't feel settled.
"The Fiend" looked set to avenge this betrayal in 2020, targeting Orton after he lost the WWE Championship. This led to the Firefly Inferno Match at TLC 2020 where Bray Wyatt was burned alive by The Legend Killer. Although Alexa Bliss beat Orton at Fastlane and Wyatt being reincarnated, Orton defeated Wyatt at WrestleMania 37. It was a feud that did a lot of damage to Bray despite its length.
#3 Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns
Bray Wyatt created a diverse, creative character that made for a perfect foil for the babyfaces of WWE. When the company was looking for formidable heels to go up against their heavily pushed but much maligned babyface hero, Roman Reigns, they called on Wyatt. In 2015, Roman was in desperate need of a feud to elevate him outside of the title picture.
At Money In The Bank that year, Reigns was one of the favorites to win the briefcase. It seemed like a nice way to get him back into the WWE Title picture after his failure to win at WrestleMania 31. However, it wasn't the right time. Enter Bray Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds interfered just as Roman was fingertips away from retrieving the briefcase and costing him the match.
This led to several months of battles between the two men. This included The Wyatt Family and Roman's Shield brethren Dean Ambrose. Ambrose and Reigns defeated The Wyatt Family at Summerslam 2015, while The Wyatt Family, with their debuting Braun Strowman, beat Reigns, Ambrose and Chris Jericho at Night of Champions.
Bray Wyatt cut some masterful promos against Roman Reigns. His "Anyone But You, Roman" diatribes were deeply engaging. He also used Reigns' commercial with his daughter to get inside his head. Roman got revenge for the mind games when he defeated Wyatt inside Hell In A Cell.
The two men would cross paths again over the years, but they drifted apart for a while. That was until Roman Reigns returned at Summerslam 2020 to lay out "The Fiend" following his Universal Title win over Braun Strowman. The very next week, Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat Match to win the Universal Championship. This proved to be their final confrontation.
#2 Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena
Heading into WrestleMania 30, Bray Wyatt was one of the hottest characters in all of wrestling. His cryptic promos and surprising in-ring talent made him a "can't miss" superstar who just needed a credibility-building victory at the Show of Shows. To accomplish this, WWE set up a showdown with the Wyatt Family leader and John Cena.
The buildup to this encounter was very well done. Bray Wyatt played mind games with the always confident Doctor of Thuganomics. Wyatt wanted to bring out a new side to Cena and bring out the untapped evil side to the superstar. His "I Got The Whole World In My Hands" promos became a serenade of doom for Cena at WrestleMania XXX.
Despite John Cena seeming like he was on the brink of snapping, Bray Wyatt came up short and had a deflating loss to the 16-time world champion. Wyatt would get his win back the following month at Extreme Rules 2014, but he eventually lost a Last Man Standing Match to Cena at Payback to end the feud. It was a loss that Bray seemed he would never recover from.
However, "The Fiend" character gave Bray Wyatt a new lease on life. Ahead of WrestleMania 36, he once again set his sights on Cena, looking to avenge his loss from six years earlier. He completed a unique challenge for what he called "The Firefly Funhouse Match," which Cena accepted.
The Firefly Funhouse Match was one of the most creative, innovative and suspenseful journeys ever on display in WWE history. Bray Wyatt took John Cena to a career retrospective that totally broke down his rival. It was a psychological dissection of a riveting cinematic masterpiece that was unlike anything before it. Although Cena damaged Wyatt, Bray more than got the last laugh.
#1 Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan
When looking back on most of his best feuds, you can see that each and every one had its faults that damaged Bray Wyatt in some way before WWE tried to make good on it. "The Fiend" was used to right the wrongs of Wyatt's setbacks, but he also got revenge on men who betrayed him in some way as well. One of those men was Daniel Bryan.
At the tail end of 2013, Bray Wyatt started a rivalry with Daniel Bryan. The Wyatt Family defeated the leader of the Yes Movement in a three-on-one handicap match at TLC 2013 and continued to target him over the next few weeks. Eventually, Bryan gave up and decided to join the Wyatt Family.
The change was shocking as Daniel Bryan fully embraced the Wyatt Family, even dressing like the cult. He helped the group in battles against the Usos. This led to a tag team steel cage match with Bray Wyatt teaming up with Bryan to face The Usos. Jey and Jimmy got the victory, but this wasn't the end. With Erick Rowan and Luke Harper outside of the cage, Daniel Bryan chose this as the time to strike.
Daniel Bryan turned on Bray Wyatt and showed his true colors. He brutally destroyed Wyatt inside the steel cage to a raucous reaction from fans. The Yes chants were extremely loud and made for a magical moment that proved Bryan's connection with the WWE Universe. This led to a singles match between Wyatt and Bryan at the 2014 Royal Rumble.
Daniel Bryan turned on Bray Wyatt and showed his true colors. He brutally destroyed Wyatt inside the steel cage to a raucous reaction from fans. The Yes chants were extremely loud and made for a magical moment that proved Bryan's connection with the WWE Universe. This led to a singles match between Wyatt and Bryan at the 2014 Royal Rumble.
On the pay-per-view, the two men had a tremendous opening contest that showcased why WWE was so high on Bray Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds showed his arsenal with Bryan selling a lot for him and making him look like the monster heel that he was built to be. Wyatt defeated Bryan in his biggest victory to date.
In 2019, "The Fiend" set its sights on Daniel Bryan. He defeated Bryan to retain the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 2019, which caused a change in the previous Planet's Champion version of the former WWE Champion. Bryan returned with a buzzcut and shaved beard to beat down the Firefly Funhouse version of Bray Wyatt on TLC 2019.
This continued "The Fiend" causing changes to his opponents and led to a rematch at the Royal Rumble 2020. This time, the two men met in a Strap Match. Bray Wyatt destroyed Daniel Bryan in this bout. Despite Wyatt's dominance, it was arguably the best encounter for "The Fiend," with Bryan getting just enough offense to make this highly entertaining.
In the two different feuds these two superstars had, Daniel Bryan did everything that he could to elevate Wyatt and make him look like a monster heel in every way. No one did more to cement Bray Wyatt than Daniel Bryan. This is why Bryan has to be considered the greatest rival of Bray Wyatt during his WWE career.
