The Sad Story of Bray Wyatt
In the new era few wrestlers have managed to maintain the “over” status. We forever live in an over-informed fan base who will always know more than you want them to. Fans know who is getting pushed, who is being punished, who is returning from retirement or injury, and who really deserves praise and adoration. Any wrestler able to keep the attention and love from those fans would not only be a big asset to any company, but they’d certainly rise among the ranks quickly surely. Unless, of course, you’re Bray Wyatt.
Bray Wyatt debuted back in mid-2013 when he and his “family” attacked Kane. They appeared just like The Shield did but in their own unique way. Bray’s dark and brooding promo lead to his slow and dark entrance, which lead to the sudden attack from Harper and Rowan. Their assaults would continue, based on no real discernible tactic, they just followed Bray’s cult like delusions. Kane would be defeated, then Kofi Kingston, leading to the attempted recruitment of Daniel Bryan. Even when Bryan “broke” Bray’s hold on him, the crowd loved the angle and Bray was already touching upon the main event scene, but this story would echo is so many more for years to come.
Wyatt and his family would often face some of the best talent on the roster, over and over again. After Bryan the family moved on to face John Cena, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, and even challenging The Undertaker at WrestleMania. By now though, the stigma of a man who always lost was starting to adhere to Wyatt. While his family had moved on to be separately booked, but not completely severed, Bray was getting into feud after feud and usually never won out. His delusional promos never changed, his tactics stayed the same, and despite getting beat by some of the top talent Bray would just move on and try again.
That catapults us to 2017. Bray has had yet another wacky year. His entrance is still met with hundreds of “fireflies” and fans still enjoy what Bray brings to the arenas and stadiums. However everything else has grown stale and sad to see. In his feud with Randy Orton, Bray’s ability to convert wrestlers to his cult revitalized an equally stale Orton. Then he moved on to win the WWE Championship and when he was suddenly moved to Raw, he soon found a feud with Finn Balor. And just like every other major talent Bray has feuded with, the bones of a good story were there but the meat wasn’t.
Currently Bray’s feud with Balor is on hold as Bray had to sit out with a sickness. His bubbling Sister Abigail story could have reinvented his character but instead, like with so much his career, it was squandered. Wyatt’s status within the WWE has changed wildly almost from month to month. He’s apart of a wrestling lineage, his character is over and loved, and yet he’s on the wrong end of every booking. Maybe one day Bray will get his due, maybe the WWE will appreciate the long hours, the badly written promos, and all the gold Bray has spun out of all this straw.
