What’s the story?
Moments after winning the WWE Championship in the main event of Elimination Chamber, Bray Wyatt walked into the media room at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. As he sat down, he shook his head and laid the belt down on a table.
Speaking about his victory, Wyatt said:
"To me, it was an up-yours to the authority because when I walked into this, I don't think anyone ever looked at me and said, 'One day you're going to be WWE champion. I’ve seen so many come and go over the years, and so many that look the part and thought they were something special and they just weren’t. And someone like me, I had to cut my teeth for years just to be recognised. No one looked at my direction.”
In case you didn’t know…
The wrestler, who was born in Windham Rotunda, has wrestling in his blood. His father was a distinguished wrestler and had won multiple WWF world tag team championships. His brother currently performs under the ring name of Bo Dallas, while his mother is the daughter of Blackjack Mulligan and the sister of Barry and Kendall Windham.
However, Wyatt is the first member of his entire family to win the WWE championship.
The heart of the matter
Many expected John Cena to come out as the Champion and defend his title in the six-man Elimination Chamber match this past Sunday night, which featured five other superstars including AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin and Wyatt.
Cena had won the title, his 16th, just two weeks back and it was widely expected that he would retain it. However, that was not the case as the leader of the Wyatt family came out on top at the end. Wyatt eliminated AJ Styles to win the match and become the new WWE Champion.
He later conceded that the feeling had not yet sunk in. He also spoke about how he had to fight to get some recognition as no one gave me a second glance. Wyatt also said that it was a huge accomplishment for him because no one else expected it to happen.
What’s next?
Wyatt would be defending his newly won title against the former champion John Cena on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live as announced by WWE. He is also set to clash with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33.
Also read: Bray Wyatt to defend WWE Championship against John Cena on SmackDown
Sportskeeda’s take
Seemingly, born to be a professional wrestler, Wyatt’s path to becoming the WWE Champion was far from easy. Over the last few years, he has had to wrestle under six different aliases, ranging from his birth name to Husky Harris.
Mostly, he was perceived as a solid talent who could one day become a tag team champion like his father. Last Sunday he had silenced all of the critics and doubters he had encountered through his career.
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