Bray Wyatt was not originally booked to compete at WrestleMania 32. This was quite the surprise for WWE fans, all of whom surely expected that The Eater of Worlds would be spotlighted in a high profile match on this all important card.
But the man that faced The Undertaker on the grandest stage of them all just one year ago was not needed this year. However, that did not stop the WWE from using him in an impromptu match with The Rock, in which he didn’t really compete. There was certainly a lot of head shaking happening during this spot.
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This goes far beyond the typical fan complaints and whining about the WWE product. This has to do with a man that so many believe deserves better because of what he’s capable of. Even The People’s Champ addressed that very point during his promo, and the crowd popped off it.
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Fans know that Bray has a lot going for him and could contribute more than he’s being allowed to. The question is does the WWE have a plan for him? As with many other talents in the company, it seems as though Bray is now as directionless as a Superstar can be.
But it wasn’t always like this. At one time, Bray had a purpose. He had a dark and diabolical strategy that only he was privy to. He spoke in long promos about things like fate, greed, and power. He smiled at the camera and sent chills among the crowd that wanted to see him act out his stories in the ring.
People should have hated him, but instead, they wanted to see him conquer.
But he really never has. He’s come close; how many unproven talents can lay claim to working both John Cena and The Undertaker in a matter of months? The fact that Taker signed off on Bray for WrestleMania 31 says he sees something in him.
The Undertaker is WWE’s greatest performer of all time, and when he gives the thumbs up, it definitely means something.
But every time Bray gets close to doing something big, everything just stops. There’s no rhyme or reason to his actions as there should be. Basically, he just targets a guy in a promo, challenges him to a match, then loses that match.
Fans get too wrapped up in wins and losses of course and likely always will, but Bray carries that reputation with him everywhere he goes. That may not matter to WWE, but it does seem to matter to everyone else.
That leads to the real question; is Bray Wyatt less effective because he doesn’t do what he says he’s going to do? Any heel worth his weight will testify that words mean nothing if actions do not back them up. Anyone can talk a great fight, but if that person ends up on his back every time, then why would anyone take him seriously?
But maybe the problem is not just with Bray’s booking. Maybe the problem is with the character itself because the truth is Bray’s not a heel. He really never has been. He is supposed to be scary, and he can be.
He’s supposed to villainous, and he’s definitely capable of that. He’s supposed to be all the things that would bring fans to their feet with rage and hatred every time he’s on camera.
That’s just not happening because Bray is too cool to be a heel. He inhabits some weird Superstar purgatory, where a talent is not threatening enough to be an antagonist, yet he’s not getting enough proper spotlight to be a protagonist. It’s the odd place that Steve Austin found himself right after the 3:16 promo was cut.
The Austin problem again?
The company wants everyone to believe that it was instantaneous, that Stone Cold was born within seconds of that promo, then took off like a rocket beginning the very next night. But that is not the case. Austin turned the crowd in his favour, but the WWE was not yet ready to call it quits on his heel status.
Steve kept working babyfaces on TV and live events, he kept paying his dues in the WWE and he kept trying to get over as a heel. The intent was there, but it was obvious things weren’t clicking for him. He was stuck in a spot where he couldn’t grow and couldn’t get over. But the company wanted him there, so there he stayed.
It wasn’t until the Bret Hart feud that fans fully rallied behind him, and the WWE finally decided to make the turn. That was when the Stone Cold character truly exploded, and he never looked back. This is what Bray Wyatt needs, and he needs it soon.
That neutral zone doesn’t work, and it’s never worked. It’s like randomly taking a guy that doesn’t belong in a storyline, and placing him right in the middle of it. The story can be told, the chapters can play out until the end, but it will never feel quite right because the casting is all wrong.
This is why The Wyatt Family had no business ringing the bell on the New York Stock Exchange, and why Bray himself has no business spinning his wheels in a spot where he can’t move forward.
Maybe he’s not going to be the next Stone Cold, but there wasn’t a Stone Cold before Steve Austin. Comparing Bray to The Undertaker is fine, but there was no Undertaker before Mark Calaway. Windham Rotunda needs to be Bray Wyatt, and as long he’s not being allowed to fully explore that character so fans will accept him, he’s likely going to remain in one spot.
Fans want Bray Wyatt as a babyface. The fireflies are his 3:16 signs, and he’s doing all he can to make fans hate him. But it’s become obvious that it’s not working. Bray’s character has hit a wall. What will WWE do to get him past it?
Tom Clark can regularly be found on Sportskeeda, His podcast, Tom Clark’s Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here
