Bray Wyatt made an appearance at WWE Crown Jewel today before the main event between Logan Paul and Roman Reigns.
9 Best Moments from WWE Crown Jewel 2022
Wyatt made his way to the ring as his fireflies in the crowd held up their cell phone lights. Many fans were hoping for the first member of Wyatt 6 to be revealed but that was not the case at Crown Jewel.
Uncle Howdy made another cameo at the premium live event and had some harsh words from Bray Wyatt. Mr. Howdy delivered a warning to Bray during the promo segment at Crown Jewel.
Do you think they will still love you if they know the truth? They don’t deserve you. The truth is, you’re going to go too far to go too far. You’re gonna give in. So why wait? Because when you do, you are going to remember just how good it feels.
It is going to feel so good. Do it. But if you are worried about the aftermath, just don’t take the mask off. Tell me I’m wrong.
After the lights went out in the arena to end his promo, Bray exited with security. A WWE fan at Mrsool Park in Riyadh filmed Wyatt cracking a smile and interacting with the crowd before he made his way backstage.
Bray received chants of “we love you!” during his promo at Crown Jewel. WWE ran a ‘White Rabbit’ teaser campaign ahead of his return and it has proven to be wildly successful. The 35-year-old is more popular than ever and he hasn’t wrestled a match since returning at Extreme Rules.
At the time, it was reported that Bray’s high-dollar contract and creative differences with then-CEO Vince McMahon led to the decision.
The White Rabbit
During the recent 2022 Q3 earnings call, WWE Head of Creative and Talent Relations spoke about Wyatt’s return.
The Game explained that ‘The White Rabbit Project’ was an incredibly effective tool in generating hype, as fans tried to decipher the use of the Jefferson Airplane song at Live events.
Triple H added that interest in the White Rabbit only grew with the introduction of QR codes, and said that these drove up the viewership of the 9pm hour of the September 23, 2022, SmackDown by 20%.
That episode was the most-watched episode of SmackDown since March of 2020.
Best for Business
After weeks of teases, the White Rabbit would be revealed to be Wyatt who earned a thunderous response from the live crowd.
Triple H explained how Bray, who he called “one of our biggest Superstars” has been a provable draw, going by their metrics (via NoDQ.com.)
“Bray Wyatt’s return at Extreme Rules resulted in a 30% increase in total viewership and became the most-watched Extreme Rules in history. Monday Night Raw just two nights later also benefitted increasing our audience to nearly 2 million, an increase of 14% week over week.”
Wyatt’s return to WWE has come with a ton of merchandise, which has been selling well so far.
On the call, Triple H explained that when Bray returned, his first shirt back became the top-selling item – not just among WWE merchandise – but across Fanatics’ entire network of e-commerce sites.
More merchandise is expected following the debut of the Uncle Howdy character on last week’s SmackDown.
It was not announced what Wyatt will be doing, though given that it was promoted as an appearance, a match seems unlikely.
Wyatt and Saudi Arabia
Wyatt has competed multiple times in the Middle Eastern kingdom but has had mixed results.
In 2019, Wyatt captured the Universal Championship from Seth Rollins at that year’s Crown Jewel, following their much-maligned Hell in a Cell match the prior month.
Wyatt’s reign would end at the 2020 Super Showdown event in Saudi Arabia, where his ‘The Fiend’ persona was crushed by Bill Goldberg.
The title change, mere weeks short of WrestleMania 36, received backlash from fans, who disagreed with WWE putting the then-53-year-old Goldberg over the popular Wyatt.
Not Coming Alone?
If Wyatt does not wrestle at Crown Jewel 2022, then it raises the question as to what will he do on the show.
It is possible that Uncle Howdy could also appear at Crown Jewel, after fans caught their first glimpse of the character last week.
On SmackDown, the character confronted Wyatt on the titantron, encouraging the former Universal Champion to embrace who he really is.
It is unclear if the character will be played by Wyatt, or if someone else will portray Uncle Howdy in person.
Paul Levesque (Triple H) is planning more ‘mystery’ storylines for WWE programming after the company’s success with the build-up to Bray Wyatt’s return with the White Rabbit teases.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Triple H had considered incorporating more ominous teases and angles before Wyatt’s return.
“Paul Levesque had told people even before Wyatt debuted that the type of teases that were being done would be used more often as a facet of storylines and mystery. With the success of the Wyatt angle, expect there to be more of it.”
Mystery Storylines Continuing
(BT Sport)
Wyatt’s return at Extreme Rules on October 8 was teased with a series of QR codes onscreen during TV events while the White Rabbit song played for the live crowd in attendance.
The teases had clues that led fans down a rabbit hole, following red herrings to creepy videos of butchered pigs interspersed with cartoons.
The company is reportedly thrilled with how the campaign was received, and fans seemed to enjoy the teases, as well as Wyatt being the bestseller of merchandise in the company. Plans were recently reported that WWE intends to create a line of plushes of the FunHouse characters.
On this week’s episode of NXT TV, WWE began teasing a new character called Scrypts and the company recently filed a trademark for the term. As of this writing, it’s unclear who is behind this character as no clear hints were given past the vignettes, as the first one had someone leaving a distorted voice message for the Performance Center.
WWE has plans to use Bray Wyatt on tonight’s episode of SmackDown and next week’s show, which will also be taped from St. Louis, MO.
Fightful Select reports WWE plans to include several pieces of Wyatt’s past as of Thursday. One thing stated was that WWE wanted to bring in the rocking chair that Wyatt used during his early years in the company. Also, there has been talk of The Fiend mask being ripped up by Bray or another talent.
Wyatt Rumors
The report added that rumors about Wyatt vs. Reigns imminently starting a feud are false because “Where would we go from there?” Another person in the company said they learned from the Fiend run.
Seth Rollins, who feuded with Wyatt in 2019, has said publicly that the previous Fiend run was difficult on the wrestlers he worked with because The Fiend had to be booked to be indestructible.
Dave Meltzer noted in this week’s Wrestling Observer about those two names potentially feuding, but Meltzer never said when the feud could happen. Meltzer wrote, “While it would be best to keep them apart for a while, the idea is Reigns vs. Wyatt could be the biggest program in a long time since Wyatt is so hot right now.”
Bray Wyatt made his expected return to WWE at the Extreme Rules premium live event and has been assigned to work on the WWE SmackDown brand moving forward, with his only scheduled appearances on the blue brand for now.
Wyatt has made a few appearances on SmackDown since his return as he builds his next character. Some fans have wondered whether he will be a babyface or a heel going forward, as he has teased being both.
Bray Wyatt as a Babyface
Wyatt is slotted as the number one babyface on the SmackDown brand on WWE’s internal roster, according to a new report at PWInsider. Drew McIntyre is the number two babyface after being in the top spot since being moved over from Raw.
Wyatt had been the top draw in merchandise for the company before his release in 2021, which made the decision to cut him even more surprising.
He has recently become the company’s #1 merchandise seller, and WWE officials are reportedly thrilled with the rollout of his return. He will reportedly receive new merchandise from the company, including pushes of every Funhouse character.
Because of the success that WWE had with the White Rabbit stuff, they will be looking to do similar content for future storylines if the time is right and fits the story.
It will be very interesting to see who WWE pairs Wyatt with in his first feud since returning.
Bray Wyatt made his shocking return to WWE at the conclusion of Extreme Rules. He arrived after Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins in the Fight Pit match. The lights in the arena went out and an abandoned Firefly Fun House set was shown. The puppets then came to life in human form and a mysterious door appeared on the entrance ramp. Bray Wyatt opened the door and walked through as the WWE Universe went crazy.
WWE ran a teaser campaign leading up to the Premium Live Event. The company played the 1967 song “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane randomly at live events and during commercial breaks. Several QR codes appeared that gave fans clues including a game of hangman. The question asked was “WHO KILLED THE WORLD?” and the answer was “YOU DID”.
Most fans figured that the QR codes were over now that Bray has returned to the company but another one appeared tonight on SmackDown. WWE was hyping up Logan Paul’s promo later tonight and a video for Bray appeared. The masked man said “never lie to the ones you love” in the video and you can check it out below.
A QR code appeared during the video and takes fans to another secret WWE website. This time the website has a psychiatric evaluation of Bray Wyatt. In the evaluation, Bray is stated to have “difficulty showing remorse or empathy”. It was also listed under “other” that Bray was “disregarding or violating the rights of others”. You can check out the full psychological evaluation of Bray Wyatt below.
WWE may be looking for talent outside of their own company to follow the buzzards into Bray Wyatt’s rumored stable.
Wyatt returned to WWE at Extreme Rules 2022, 15 months after his controversial release under the previous regime.
At the time it was reported that Wyatt’s contract, estimated to be $3 million per year, and creative differences with then-CEO Vince McMahon, led to his release.
New Members
During his Extreme Rules return, characters from the Firefly Fun House appeared, portrayed by real people.
This has led to speculation of a stable, which has been dubbed by fans the ‘Wyatt-6,’ a nod to his Twitter handle ‘@Windham6.’
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it is reported that former Ring of Honor talent Vincent and Dutch have been considered to play two of the Wyatt characters.
Vincent, a record-setting four-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Champion, was with the promotion from 2012 to 2019.
Standing at 6-foot-4 and 336lbs, Dutch is an imposing figure, and also a former ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion.
Both men were backstage during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
Other Members
Vincent and Dutch may soon be part of the Wyatt-6 but other names have been rumored.
After being in a ‘dark place’ following her SmackDown Women’s Championship loss at Extreme Rules, Liv Morgan has been rumored to join.
Alexa Bliss is also rumored to join, playing into her past with Wyatt.
Bo Dallas is reported to be returning to WWE, and many expect him to align with his brother.
It is believed that Grayson Waller portrayed Mercy the Buzzard at Extreme Rules, while Joe Gacy has also teased involvement.
Bray Wyatt is once again a fully-fledged WWE Superstar, despite countless fans hoping he’d join AEW instead.
At Extreme Rules 2022, Wyatt returned to WWE in the closing moments of the show, 15 months after his controversial exit from the promotion.
Wyatt’s high-figure contract and creative differences with Vince McMahon are said to have been factors in his release.
Not an Option
While many felt like AEW would be the perfect place for Wyatt’s creative side, he did not join Tony Khan’s popular promotion.
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross questioned whether Wyatt ever saw AEW as an option (via 411Mania.)
“I don’t know if he ever interviewed with Tony Khan or not. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did, I don’t know. Bray may have had this plan all along. Take some time off, try to go back to the nest.
“He wanted to go back to WWE, and I don’t know what amount of money Tony [Khan] could’ve offered that was gonna supplant his career in WWE.”
“My take is, there was never any major interest [in Wyatt joining AEW.]”
Jim Ross.
Wyatt’s first appearance back on TV came during last week’s SmackDown, when he thanked fans for their support.
The Wyatt 6
Bray Wyatt is back with WWE, but plans for his future are unclear.
One popular theory is that Wyatt is starting a new stable, where Superstars will portray characters from the Firefly Fun House.
These characters were portrayed as part of Wyatt’s return at Extreme Rules.
Grayson Waller, Joe Gacy, Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan have all been rumored to be names considered for the group.
After extended teases, Bray Wyatt at last made his return to WWE television at Extreme Rules. The comeback has sparked quite a bit of speculation. In particular, a great deal of reporting suggested that Vince McMahon was constantly at odds with Wyatt’s creative vision during his original run with WWE. The conventional wisdom is that Triple H will be a better creative partner. One way or another, there are quite a few fresh matchups and storylines available for The Eater of Worlds. There’s also some merit in looking backward, revisiting some concepts that could work better on a second run-through.
What Went Wrong For The Original Wyatt Family
The Wyatt Family originally launched on NXT, and got over enough that the faction was fast-tracked to the main roster. The core group consisted of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan and got some immediate buzz with upper card feuds, culminating in Wyatt working his first WrestleMania match opposite no lesser opponent than John Cena.
The biggest challenge to the success of the Wyatt Family came down to inconsistency. The group more than once got together, went their separate ways, and reunited without much clear rhyme or reason. Moreover, there inconsistency in how Wyatt was pushed, getting built up only to job to Cena at WrestleMania 30, then encounter the same dynamic opposite The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31. Wyatt rose up so far as to win the WWE Championship heading into WrestleMania 33, only to drop it to Randy Orton there (despite the use of newfound magical powers to get in The Viper’s head).
Harper and Rowan faced a similar rollercoaster journey, pushed as monsters only to fail in their bids to take the tag titles off The Usos. They peaked as The Bludgeon Brothers—away from the faction—but when that run got cut short due to injury, WWE dropped it altogether. Braun Strowman experienced a similar story—brought into the group to dually play an impressive heater on screen and to sit under Wyatt’s learning tree backstage, but he enjoyed the greatest successes of his tumultuous run away from the group.
WWE Can Incorporate Firefly Funhouse Personalities
Whether WWE calls a new Bray Wyatt faction the Wyatt Family, The Wyatt 6, or something else altogether, there remains the possibility of leaning into Firefly Funhouse lore more so than the original swamp cult sensibility Wyatt put forth. Costumed figures, mirroring the Funhouse cast, appeared around the arena at Extreme Rules before Wyatt showed his face. Indeed, fans also picked up on hints—the fact that they were human beings rather than puppets, not to mention the women’s championship belts beside the Abbie the Witch figure—that these characters would become physical presences in the ring moving forward.
It’s unclear how well received a wrestling rabbit or pig character would be. The fact that fans are discussing this very real possibility now, though, speaks to the unique aesthetic Wyatt brings to professional wrestling. These unconventional, presumably masked personas would also open the door to radically rebrand some talents whom fans have been conditioned not to take seriously, or who don’t have very well-defined characters out on their own.
A New Wyatt Family Could Offer A Home To Other Talents
One of the more promising elements of a new Wyatt faction is the idea of revisiting old connections and doing them justice, in contrast to the up-and-down booking The Eater of Worlds and his associates have faced in the past. Alexa Bliss has been directionless most of the year, and teaming up with Bray Wyatt again could reignite her career. Braun Strowman still has some buzz from his own return to WWE, but enough time has passed that fans may welcome seeing him team up with Wyatt again, too, before long. As far as the public knows, Erick Rowan is a free agent whom might be recruited back to WWE as well.
The rumor mill suggests Bo Dallas is set to return to WWE. The company shied away from acknowledging he’s Bray Wyatt’s real-life brother in the past, but it may be time to play that card. A number of fans have speculated that between the tease of women’s title belts and her seemingly casting off her Almost a Super Hero persona recently, Nikki Cross would be an aesthetic fit to team up with Wyatt, too.
One of the refreshing aspects of Triple H taking the reins of WWE creative has been how open he seems to factions, with The Brawling Brutes sharpening their focus, Hit Row re-signing, Imperium and The Club reuniting, Legado Del Fantasma getting their call up to the main roster, and Damage CTRL taking shape. (That’s not to mention The Bloodline continuing their dominant run and Judgment Day getting some momentum.) The Wyatt Family, or some variation on the concept, could offer another group with built in creativity and genuinely different identity than anything else WWE has going today, besides giving a wide swathe of talent something interesting to do in the months ahead.
Bray Wyatt is back with WWE, 15 months after his controversial release from the company, but what’s next for him?
Wyatt returned to WWE during the closing moments of Extreme Rules 2022, earning a thunderous response from the fans in Philadelphia.
During last Friday’s SmackDown, Wyatt cut a passionate promo about his departure and return, which has racked up more than 5 million YouTube views in the first 12 hours.
Unfinished Plans
There has been a ton of buzz about Wyatt and what the future holds for him, and fans are unsure what will come next.
According to Dave Meltzer, those within WWE aren’t too sure either, with many being kept in the dark.
“I’ve certainly heard names for a faction but then I heard other people say those aren’t the names. And someone even told me it’s not even all worked out exactly how it’s all gonna go down.”
Dave Meltzer.
The Wyatt-6
Rumors of a faction for Wyatt began at Extreme Rules, as his return featured several other performers.
For his return, individuals dressed as members of the Firefly Fun House, including Huskus the Pig Boy, Rambling Rabbit, Abby the Witch, Mercy the Buzzard, and the Fiend.
Names rumored for the group include Grayson Waller, who is believed to have played Mercy the Buzzard at Extreme Rules.
During a recent video on Twitter, Waller teased involvement, as a Bray Wyatt Head-Lantern was in the background of the video.
Liv Morgan and Alexa Bliss have both been rumored to play Abby the Witch.
Plenty has been planned for Bray Wyatt on tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX, which will be Wyatt’s first appearance on WWE TV in over a year.
Wyatt returned at the WWE Extreme Rules 2022 Premium Live Event, after weeks of ‘White Rabbit’ teasing his return.
Bray closed out the show, with several characters from the Firefly Fun House being portrayed by people at last weekend’s event.
Wyatt on SmackDown
It was confirmed during this week’s Monday Night Raw that Wyatt will be on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. Fightful reports that the former Universal Champion will be a “focal point” of tonight’s show. A mask will be used, which is referred to as the ‘Uncle Howdy’ mask within the company.
The Uncle Howdy term is also expected to be used on WWE TV, given that WWE trademarked the term this month, alongside ‘Uncle Harper.’ There are also plans to have the abandoned Firefly Funhouse set aesthetic be used.
Other Plans
Tonight’s SmackDown will also see LA Knight face mån.sôör, in the former’s first match back under the Knight name.
An intercontinental Championship contender’s match between Sheamus, Ricochet, Solo Sikoa, and Karrion Kross will decide GUNTHER’s next opponent.
The Bloodline’s Sami Zayn will also be in action when he faces Kofi Kingston.
MVP, Xavier Woods, Shotzi are all scheduled to be in town for the show despite not being advertised for SmackDown.
Tonight’s episode will be the second SmackDown of this current season and take place from the King Center Smoothie, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Almost a week after returning to WWE at Extreme Rules, Bray Wyatt will kick off his WWE return storyline tonight on Friday Night SmackDown. There is a lot of speculation about who will be revealed as part of his Wyatt 6 stable.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there are long-term plans for the group that leads up to WrestleMania. No other details are available, but there has been a lot of speculation that Joe Gacy is Huskus, Grayson Waller is Mercy the Buzzard, and Alexa Bliss is Sister Abigail. That’s not confirmed.
The Members
The speculation about Joe Gacy was fueled by him posting rabbits on social media, while speculation about Bliss is due to her being presented as someone who has lost her edge since Wyatt has been gone.
The Sister Abigail character had a pair of WWE Women’s Titles shown next to her at Extreme Rules, while The Mercy character is the same height and build as Waller. He also wore a shirt that Waller had previously worn on television.
Finally, the Ramblin Rabbit is rumored to be Erick Rowan, who was part of The Wyatt Family, and The Fiend is Taylor Rotunda (Bo Dallas), Wyatt’s brother.
Meltzer added, “Others internally have said some of those are believed to be accurate but said things are up in the air, mentioning others could be part of it, mentioning The Dyad, in particular, are possible, and other names listed are not sure things. While obviously, this won’t happen, there was talk of Aleister Black for this group.”
Black is instead expected back in AEW at some point.
WWE has had fans talking about their most recent trademark filings, which are believed to be connected to Bray Wyatt.
In the past, trademark filings have often been a sign of future plans for the company.
A recent example includes WWE trademarking the term ‘Damage CTRL’ which would go on to become the name of the stable of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and IYO SKY.
Trademarks
Fightful report that WWE filed trademarks for the term ‘Uncle Harper’ and ‘Uncle Howdy’ on October 8.
The listing for both terms gives the following description for their usage.
Trademark registration is intended to cover the categories of entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service; providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment via an online community portal; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information; fan club services, namely, organizing sporting events in the field of wrestling for wrestling fan club members; organizing social entertainment events for entertainment purposes for wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the fields of sports entertainment; online journals, namely blogs, in the field of sports entertainment.
Horror fans may recognize the term ‘Uncle Howdy’ as the nickname for the demon Pazuzu who possesses the young girl Regan in The Exorcist.
Luke Harper
The Uncle Harper term is seemingly a nod to Luke Harper, who was part of the Wyatt family for years.
In late 2019, Harper would leave WWE, and would later join AEW as the leader of the Dark Order Brodie Lee.
In December 2020, Lee sadly died aged 41, and tributes to the former TNT Champion were paid by both WWE and AEW.
WWE has not confirmed what exact plans they have for the ‘Uncle Harper’ term, which some believe will be part of a new Wyatt family.
Bray Wyatt made his triumphant return to WWE last Saturday at Extreme Rules. Matt Hardy reacted to his friend’s return on the latest episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.
Hardy and Wyatt were paired together during Hardy’s last WWE run when he was “Woken Matt”. They were rivals that had a feud culminating in “The Ultimate Deletion”. They eventually became a tag team, “The Deleters of Worlds”, and became RAW Tag Team Champions.
Many fans have had concerns about how Wyatt will be handled upon his return to the ring. On RAW, his return was aired again. A new vignette of Bray in his current mask was also shown between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle’s matches (his return followed their match at Extreme Rules). Fans took to Twitter to voice their displeasure that Wyatt himself was not on RAW.
“First and foremost, I’m so happy for him. He loves wrestling, but it’s one of those things, towards the end, he was burned out in many ways. He was very frustrated with a lot of Vince’s decisions, I think. And to see him back and doing what he does best and doing it passionately, I love it. I thought the re-introduction was so amazing. I love how you have all these characters from the Firefly Funhouse and now they’re real. They’re showing up in different parts of the arena. It was done in such a cinematic way, such a theatrical way. I love the presentation, I love the reaction it got. And the fact that he came out with the lantern –a nice callback to old school Bray– and blew it out. I loved that. And the concept behind the ‘Wyatt 6’; six individuals that are kind of like all within his mind and they’re all somehow real now. I like the possibilities behind this.”
WWE has to follow through with Bray Wyatt
Hardy shares in the concern about how Wyatt will be handled. “They have to capitalize. Once again, it was Philadelphia and Philadelphia fans they won’t come for you unless you give them some shit that they want and that they like. They’re very passionate about how they react to things and their reaction was off the charts. So, that really speaks volumes about much wrestling fans in general care about Bray and his return. So yeah, I think they have to capitalize on it and make the most of it and they have to really be smart with how they progress forward.”
“He’s such a unique character too. There’s so many idiosyncrasies with everything he does. So you really have to–the devil’s in the details. You really have to pay attention to the details. Bray’s good at that. Hopefully with Triple H behind the helm now, he’s going to stay on top of it too.”
On the QR codes and viral marketing, Hardy said he loves “that type of stuff where fans have to work a little bit and where they figure it out, they get a payoff.” He thinks today’s fans are smarter and appreciate stuff like that.
Bray Wyatt made his shocking return at the conclusion of WWE Extreme Rules this past Saturday night.
WWE ran a wildly successful ‘White Rabbit’ teaser campaign that dished out clues and kept fans engaged in the mystery up until the Premium Live Event over the weekend.
After Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins in the Fight Pit match, he posed with UFC legend Daniel Cormier on top of the entrance ramp. The lights went out and the Firefly Funhouse set was shown abandoned with cobwebs all around.
The puppets in the Firefly Funhouse came to life in human form in the crowd as a mysterious door was shown on the ramp. Bray Wyatt emerged and blew out his lantern as the crowd in the Wells Fargo Center lost their collective minds. Bray Wyatt has since been placed on the SmackDown roster since his debut.
Eva Marie Teases A Return On WWE SmackDown
Former WWE Superstar Eva Marie took to Twitter to share a video of her launching a Lilly doll toward a trash can. The caption claimed that if she made the shot, she will be returning to WWE tomorrow night on SmackDown. Eva tagged Bray Wyatt, WWE, WWE on Fox, and Peacock in the post. The video ended with Bray Wyatt’s logo before it was revealed whether Eva made the shot or not.
Eva Marie signed a contract to return to WWE in October 2020. A vignette aired on the May 3, 2021, edition of RAW in which she said she wanted to help others and promoted the “Eva-Lution. Doudrop, formerly known as Piper Niven joined the main roster as Eva’s protege the following week. Eva’s last appearance in WWE was on September 27th last year. She was attacked by Shayna Baszler in an injury angle and was then released by the company on November 4th.
Bray Wyatt made his expected return to WWE this past Saturday at the Extreme Rules premium live event, and now he is moving forward to what’s next.
Wyatt is reportedly set to work on the WWE SmackDown brand moving forward, according to Pwinsider.com. The outlet noted that as of last word, Wyatt is only scheduled for appearances on SmackDown, although it’s possible that this could change.
Bray Wyatt Part of SmackDown
(WWE)
It should be noted that the official WWE roster still has Wyatt listed as an Alumni Superstar, but that should change soon. As of this writing, WWE has yet to add him to Raw or SmackDown on the official WWE website roster.
WWE has already announced him for Friday’s SmackDown from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA. The teaser video for SmackDown sks what Wyatt has in store for his return to the blue brand, which will mark his SmackDown appearance since The Fiend defeated Kevin Owens in the main event of the October 9, 2020, Draft edition of SmackDown.
Wyatt didn’t appear in front of the live fans on Monday Night Raw in Brooklyn. It’s unclear whether he will appear live in front of the crowd at SmackDown, but the WWE Events website has Wyatt listed along with other Superstars booked to appear live, indicating that he will be there in the ring.
Bray Wyatt made his return to WWE at last weekend’s Extreme Rules Premium Live Event, but only after some efforts from other promotions.
Wyatt’s return came after weeks of ‘White Rabbit’ teases, and the former Universal Champion earned a thunderous response in Philadelphia.
Bray had been controversially released from WWE, which was reportedly over creative differences with then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
Feelers
Wyatt’s return is yet another victory for WWE’s Head of Talent Relations Triple H, who has brought back several released talents since being appointed in July.
Sports Illustrated reports that while WWE was negotiating with Wyatt, AEW had sent ‘feelers’ to gauge Bray’s interest in joining.
Impact Wrestling and AAA also sent feelers, trying to determine if Wyatt would consider signing with them instead.
It had been previously reported that Wyatt’s asking price had left all but the biggest promotions unable to afford appearances from the former Universal Champion.
What’s Next?
With Wyatt now back with WWE, the biggest question is what is next for him?
Some have suggested that Wyatt is set to start a new Wyatt family, with many pointing to the characters featured at Extreme Rules.
As part of his return, individuals dressed as Huskus the Pig, Ramblin’ Rabbit, Abby the Witch, Mercy the Buzzard and The Fiend made appearances.
Grayson Waller, who many believe played Mercy the Buzzard, teased involvement in Wyatt, having a Bray Wyatt head lantern in the background of a recent tweet.
Wyatt’s next appearance has been confirmed for this Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX.
Bray Wyatt returned to WWE last night at the conclusion of Extreme Rules.
Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins in the Fight Pit match in the main event of the PLE. After the match, the lights in Wells Fargo Arena went out and the Firefly Fun House came to life.
The puppets were shown in human form throughout the arena as “he’s got the whole world in his hands” played in the arena. A door then appeared and Bray walked through it to a tremendous reaction from the crowd as Extreme Rules went off the air.
Backstage Reaction To Bray Wyatt’s Return At WWE Extreme Rules
According to a new report from Fightful Select, Bray Wyatt’s return last night was said to be “very well received” backstage within WWE. The company is also happy with the buzz created surrounding the hints and QR codes the past several weeks.
The White Rabbit teaser campaign gave Extreme Rules have a “big night” feel for those in the company. Fightful added that Bray Wyatt also has a good relationship with a new WWE hire.
Rob Fee, WWE’s new Director of Longterm Creative, was recently signed by the promotion. Fee has worked with Marvel Comics and Disney in the past. Rob reportedly also pitched a “Fiend movie” to the company that was well-received, but nothing ever came of it due to Wyatt’s release last year.
— FightfulSelect.com! Exclusive Pro Wrestling News (@FightfulSelect) October 9, 2022
Several AEW and WWE stars reacted to Bray Wyatt’s return last night at WWE Extreme Rules. Alexa Bliss welcomed back her old friend and you can check that out here.
After weeks of QR codes, Jefferson Airplane blaring at arenas, and hidden messages, the White Rabbit was finally revealed last night at WWE Extreme Rules.
Matt Riddle defeated Seth “Freakin” Rollins last night in the Fight Pit match at Extreme Rules. Following the match, the lights in the Wells Fargo Arena went out and the Firefly Funhouse puppets were shown in human form in the crowd.
A mysterious door then appeared and Bray Wyatt walked through it to an enormous pop from the crowd as Extreme Rules went off the air.
Here are 3 things Bray Wyatt instantly brings to the WWE:
Buzz
Bray Wyatt’s return has been a huge success for WWE in terms of numbers of social media. The return video on YouTube already has garnered close to 1.7 million views less than 24 hours later.
PWInsider provided the following metrics earlier today and they have already gone up drastically:
YouTube: 1.86 million views (between two videos)
Twitter: 1.2 million views, 5,252 retweets, 27,200 likes
Instagram: 437,045 likes
Facebook: Around 500,000 views
TikTok: 73,000 views with 20,000 likes
The two videos of Bray’s return (the reveal at the end, Firefly Fun House comes to life) have no accumulated 2.7 million views between the two videos. The numbers provided by PWInsider earlier today were already some of the highest numbers from WWE in 2022. It will be interesting to see how far the views climb over the next few days.
Creativity
WWE’s ‘White Rabbit’ teaser campaign captivated the wrestling world as they tried to put together the pieces from each clue. The QR codes kept viewers locked in and had every wrestling site on the edge of their collective seats trying to post the clues before each other.
It was reported that WWE was mainly “hands off” in the creative process of the White Rabbit campaign because fans were having so much fun with it. The company used fan-assisted viral marketing with the White Rabbit campaign and it was seen as a major success backstage within the company.
Bray Wyatt’s character “The Fiend” wasn’t beloved by every wrestling fan, but there is no doubt that it was creative. The split-personality aspect of the character was compelling as well, as Bray would often portray a demonic Mr. Rogers of sorts in the Firefly Fun House segments. Bray even “wrestled” John Cena in a Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36 in a match you either enjoyed or absolutely hated.
Unfinished Business
Bray Wyatt was released from WWE in July 2021. His final match was a loss against Randy Orton during Night 2 of WrestleMania 37. The Fiend had the match in control but was betrayed by Alexa Bliss at the conclusion of the match. It was never explained why Alexa turned her back on The Fiend and Orton simply moved on from the feud.
Randy spoke with The Ringer Wrestling Show earlier this year about feuding with The Fiend and admitted it was difficult.
You go out there and do your best job. Even though I am lighting a dead guy on fire and he’s the babyface. I had a very hard time trying to make that real, but I feel like I did a good enough job to where even though it was a little cringe-worthy for some people
Randy Orton on working with The Fiend (via The Ringer Wrestling Show)
Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon and Bray Wyatt reportedly had issues during their time working together. AEW star Matt Hardy revealed that Vince and Rotunda (Wyatt) had a strange relationship. Matt claimed that Vince would praise Bray when he did something he liked, but would get overly angry when Wyatt did something he was not a fan of.
Following Vince McMahon’s resignation in late July, Triple H took over the promotion’s creative as the Chief Content Officer. Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named the new co-CEOs of the company. Triple H has brought back several released WWE Superstars and Bray Wyatt is the latest at Extreme Rules.
Bray presumably now has more creative freedom than he’s ever had in his career. The Game spoke about Bray before his debut with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport and claimed that Bray can sometimes be a victim of his own mind.
He is one of the most, and I mean this in the best way possible, crazy creative people I’ve ever been around. His mind just never stops thinking of creative, but it’s like being in a whirlwind of stuff, without the harness and without somebody to point the tornado, it’s just all over the place. And he’s a victim of his own mind.
Triple H on working with Bray Wyatt (via BT Sport)
If Triple H can serve as the “harness” for Bray’s tornado of ideas, the WWE Universe could be in store for the best run of Wyatt’s career in years ahead.
"One of the most crazy, creative people I've ever been around. It's like being in a whirlwind, without someone to point the tornado it's all over the place.
Bray Wyatt has made his long-awaited return to WWE, and his real-life brother Bo Dallas is reportedly not far behind.
Wyatt, a former Universal Champion, returned at last night’s Extreme Rules Premium Live Event, ending the show to a thunderous ovation from the live crowd.
Bo Dallas
Bryan Alverez, through the ‘superfollowers’ function on his Twitter account, reports that Wyatt is expected back “very soon,” according to multiple sources within WWE.
Dallas was released by WWE in April 2021, over a year and a half after what would become his last match for the company.
Dallas signed with WWE in 2008, and would have an impressive run in NXT, including becoming the third-ever NXT Champion.
Joining the main roster in 2014, Dallas would hold the Raw Tag Team Championships (with Curtis Axel) and briefly be 24/7 Champion, before his release.
Outside of the ring, Dallas is in a relationship with current WWE Superstar Liv Morgan, who lost the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Extreme Rules.
Future Plans
It is unclear what WWE has planned for Dallas, but this report coming so soon after his brother’s comeback is interesting.
Some have suggested that Dallas could join forces with his brother as part of a new Wyatt family stable, the first time the pair would be aligned on WWE’s main roster.
It is also possible that Bo’s return will not be connected to his brother at all, and that he will be a singles Superstar in his own storyline.
The creatures from the Firefly Fun House arrived at last night’s WWE Extreme Rules 2022 Premium Live Event, thanks to the work of artist Jason Baker.
On the show, Bray Wyatt made his long-awaited return to WWE, debuting a new mask in the closing moments of the show to a thunderous ovation from fans in Philadelphia.
Wyatt had been released in 2021, a controversial decision that was reportedly over his high-dollar contract and creative differences with then-CEO Vince McMahon.
The Fun House Friends
During Wyatt’s return, performers dressed as members of the Firefly Fun House appeared in person at the Wells Fargo Center.
Mercy the Buzzard, Abby the Witch, Huskus the Pig Boy, The Fiend and Ramblin’ Rabbit all appeared as part of Wyatt’s monumental return.
Jason Baker
Special effects artist Jason Baker showed off his latest work in a backstage photo posted on Twitter. Wyatt’s big return fell on Baker’s 40th birthday, making the night even more special.
Baker, a protege of horror movie effects legend Tom Savini, is no stranger to working with Wyatt, having created the mask and props for The Fiend in 2019.
The main event of the show saw Riddle beating Seth Rollins in a fight pit match. Both Riddle and the special guest referee Daniel Cormier were on the stage after the bout when the lights went out.
The different characters of Firefly Fun House were then spotted in the crowd before Wyatt himself made an appearance on the stage.
He made his entrance through a temporary set with a lantern in his hand. Wyatt removed his mask and the show went off air after the returning star’s logo was seen on the screen.
After the cameras stopped rolling, Bray came out of the door and greeted fans for a second. However, he quickly went back as the fans continued cheering.
There was an announcement for the crowd thanking them for attending the show. The WWE staff was seen dismantling the temporary set and taking it to the back as the lights came back on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPKsRqKf094
WWE has since posted two videos on their YouTube channel. One shows Bray Wyatt’s return while the other is of the various creatures shown during the segment.
This suggests that we will see Wyatt leading a faction of the various Firefly Fun House characters in the coming times.
Bray Wyatt made his shocking return to WWE tonight at the conclusion of Extreme Rules.
After Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins in the Fight Pit match, the lights in the arena went out. The camera cut to an abandoned Firefly Funhouse, full of cobwebs and dead puppets.
A mysterious door then appeared and a masked man walked toward it with a lantern. The masked man opened the door, and took off his mask to reveal that he was Bray Wyatt and the crowd at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia went insane.
Following his incredible return to WWE, several stars reacted on social media. Alexa Bliss welcomed her old friend back in a tweet shortly after Extreme Rules went off the air.
Bray hopped on Twitter after the show to respond to a fan who posted a video of her daughter dancing around in a Fiend mask as “he’s got the whole world in his hands” played in the background.
Bray Wyatt was released from WWE in July 2021. He spent almost a year and a half as a free agent before returning to the company tonight. Triple H recently spoke to Ariel Helwani of BT Sport and admitted that Bray Wyatt is a genius but often is a victim of his own mind. The Game noted that he loved working with Bray and he will get the chance to do so once again now that he’s returned to WWE.
“He is one of the most, and I mean this in the best way possible, crazy creative people I’ve ever been around. His mind just never stops thinking of creative, but it’s like being in a whirlwind of stuff, without the harness and without somebody to point the tornado, it’s just all over the place. And he’s a victim of his own mind.”
Bray Wyatt returned tonight at the conclusion of WWE Extreme Rules.
After Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins in the Fight Pit match, he posed with UFC legend Daniel Cormier on the entrance ramp.
The lights in Wells Fargo Arena went out and the cell phone flashlights kicked on. “He’s got the whole word in his hands” played throughout the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. The camera cut to the Firefly Funhouse that was full of cobwebs and the puppets appeared to be dead.
A door then appeared and a masked man with a lantern walked through it. The man took off his mask to reveal that it was Bray Wyatt underneath and the crowd went crazy.
Former Intercontinental Champion Ricochet claimed that Bray got the Road Warrior pop and Cathy Kelley stated that she got goosebumps. Cathy was recently re-hired by WWE after exiting the company in 2020.
T-Bar, Cora Jade, and Johnny Gargano all reacted to the 35-year-old’s return to the company. Johnny Wrestling shared a GIF of him astonished during a WWE Watchalong back in the day during The Fiend’s entrance.
