Former Universal Champion Braun Strowman was released from WWE on June 2nd, 2021. He’s now free to sign with other promotions. Former Universal and WWE Champion Bray Wyatt was released from WWE on July 31st, 2021. Assuming he is under a 90-day no-compete clause, he’ll be free to sign with another promotion at the end of October.
Both Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt’s free agency status was addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It appears both Wyatt and Strowman could end up in Impact Wrestling but Wyatt could also end up signing with AEW.
“Regarding newcomers (to Impact), Adam Scherr, the former Braun Strowman, is in talks but has not signed but they are in talks with him,” wrote Dave Meltzer about Strowman’s negotiations with Impact. Strowman has also been announced for EC3’s “Free the Narrative 2” PPV on October 1st.
Bray Wyatt’s Future
As for Wyatt, it is thought he’ll either end up in Impact or AEW.
“As far as Windham Rotunda, the former Bray Wyatt, it appears it’ll be (Impact) or AEW,” Meltzer continued.
Rock Stars come and go. Musicians play until they die.
“If it is AEW, the talk is that it would be on the 9/29 Dynamite in Rochester, NY, which is Brodie Lee’s home city. If not there or soon after, it would likely be here.”
Bray Wyatt was released from WWE on July 31st, but that hasn’t prevented fans from supporting the former WWE Champion at live events. WWE sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling world when they announced Wyatt ‘s contract was terminated after 11 years with the company.
“We want Wyatt” chants have been audible at WWE TV tapings since his departure. During Sunday’s SummerSlam kickoff show, a large Fiend sign was shown at ringside. It did not take long for security to approach the fan and confiscate the sign, which incorporated the Fiend mask into the Las Vegas Raiders logo.
Here it is in all it’s glory, took me about 30 hours to draw it with colored pencils. I hope it put a smile on your face and shows that your fans really appreciate you! You are the most creative wrestler ever and definitely one of the most talented! #RaiderNation @WWEBrayWyatt pic.twitter.com/8NxWRtPd7V
Bray Wyatt’s 90-day non-compete clause runs through the last week of October. He will be unable to work for other wrestling companies until then, but it is believed he’ll be joining All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
The night CM Punk returned to wrestling at AEW Rampage: The First Dance, Bray Wyatt posted an Eddie Van Halen Quote on Twitter. Many wrestling fans are interpreting this as another indication that we have not seen the last of Bray Wyatt inside the squared circle.
Rock Stars come and go. Musicians play until they die.
Bryan Danielson and CM Punk are not the only ex-WWE stars expected in AEW in the near future as Bray Wyatt is headed to the promotion.
During the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported Bray Wyatt is expected to sign with the company. The former WWE Champion is still bound by a non-compete, so he can’t legally sign anything with AEW just yet.
Meltzer noted that pen hasn’t been put to paper, but the expectation is strong. Wyatt was released by WWE on July 31 due to budget cuts after being out of action since WrestleMania 37 where he lost to Randy Orton thanks to Alexa Bliss.
The former Universal Champion had been expected to make his return to in-ring action in WWE and WWE even had plans for him to return this month to the point where he was being advertised for shows. However, a decision was made to let him go.
It’s been reported that Wyatt is healthy and cleared to wrestle. The issues that kept him out of the ring for months had nothing to do with mental health.
Although there’s no word on creative plans for Wyatt, there’s a lot of speculation that he could be the one to take over The Dark Order as he was very good friends with the late great Brodie Lee.
WWE has released a lot of superstars this year. Real superstars, not wrestlers given that moniker due to needing a superlative to complete a sentence. Bray Wyatt was arguably the biggest and most surprising name to be given the chop.
Everybody knew about the sudden creative drought surrounding the Fiend character. However, for a fighter as determined, committed and creative as Bray Wyatt, his release was certainly a shock.
Not even a month ago, it seems like it has been forever since the news broke. While there is an undeniable irony to his no-compete clause expiring on October 31st, there were many rumours abounding that Bray Wyatt might leave his boots in the ring and pursue other ventures. Acting being a main role linked to the star.
However, in another recent and cryptic tweet – something of a speciality for the man – it looks as if fans can rest assured, they will see him back between the ropes.
Rock Stars come and go. Musicians play until they die.
Bray Wyatt is a man who knows how to create a character. He is more than capable of putting on a show and building the interest around himself. Now that he is free from the shackles of WWE creative control, he can explore to his fullest.
“Rock Stars come and go. Musicians play until they die.”
– Bray Wyatt / Van Halen
The words may be borrowed from Van Halen, but many fans are taking this to be Wyatt’s way of committing to a life in the ring. The only real question that remains is what he will do, and where he will go to do it.
Wyatt’s only other tweet since his release was an equally mysterious one teasing at a new mask and a new direction for his Fiend character.
Whatever happens, one thing is for sure, Bray Wyatt is going to be a force to be reckoned with when he gets back into the ring.
WWE superstar Seth Rollins recently had an interview with Metro. He talked about things such as the development of his new character and the inspirations behind it.
The former Universal champion also commented on the WWE release of Bray Wyatt during the talk. He claimed that he misses Wyatt but the former champion made it clear that he didn’t draw a lot of inspiration from The Fiend:
“Bray Wyatt – God, I miss him. But I wouldn’t say that I drew much inspiration from him. He was way out there with the stuff he wanted to do character-wise – and it worked for him.
For me, not so much. That’s not really where I sit when it comes to characters in wrestling. but it worked well for him.”
Seth Rollins On Getting Inspiration From Triple H
Someone Seth Rollins did admit getting inspiration from is Triple H. The Architect mentioned how the game played a major part in the initial stages of his career:
“Triple H is definitely someone that my character draws inspiration from. Obviously, he played a major role in the beginnings of my character and what it’s become,
But if you look at his career, his character always did the same thing; it evolved very naturally over the years. He was able to teeter back and forth to both ends of the spectrum.”
Seth Rollins is scheduled to face Edge in a one-on-one match at the SummerSlam PPV this Saturday. You can check out an updated card for the event at this link.
The latest episode of Being the Elite features teases of both Bray Wyatt and Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan. During the episode, members of the Elite discover a 2-pack of WWE action figures in a store. The two wrestlers featured in the pack are Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan.
“Hey Kenny, what’s behind you?” Matt Jackson and Brandon Cutler ask Kenny Omega in the video. When Omega turns around he sees several AEW action figures as well as a 2-pack of WWE action figures. He then pulled out the 2-pack of Wyatt and Danielson.
Omega recognized Wyatt but didn’t seem to know who the other guy in the pack was.
“One guy is a fiend, I don’t know about…” Omega says before putting his own action figure in front of the pack on the shelf.
The segment begins around the 20-minute mark of the below video:
Are Bray Wyatt and Bryan Danielson Headed To AEW?
During a recent AEW media call, SEScoops asked Cody Rhodes about the possibility of Bray Wyatt ended up in the promotion.
“I tell a lot of my peers in wrestling and people I use as a sounding board, I always tell them, ‘you can’t wish away good talent,’ especially when you get in a groove as a talent yourself,” Rhodes responded. “And it’s not unlike the world that Tony [Khan] comes from already, the world of the NFL and football in the UK. If there’s a free agent out there that can move the needle and be something significant for us… personally, I think you have to go after them.”
As for Bryan Danielson, a report from BodySlam last month stated that he has signed with AEW. The rumored date and location for Bryan’s debut is the Dynamite Grand Slam event from Arthur Ashes Stadium on September 22nd.
Bray Wyatt had not been seen on WWE programming for months before his surprising release from the promotion last month. His absence had been the cause of many rumors about his health and status.
Fightful has provided some clarity on the various rumors that were being shared before his release, including speculations regarding his mental health.
According to the site, they reached out to the sources connected to Wyatt and confirmed that his absence had nothing to do with what were described as “falsely reported mental health issues.”
The former Universal champion is 100% healthy. He was able to wrestle without any problems and the former WWE star was cleared to compete by the doctors.
During his absence from TV, Bray Wyatt had been working on adding more elements to his character. He was even slated to make his return during last night’s episode of Raw in Orlando before being let go.
Wyatt’s last official match with the company was at WrestleMania 37. He competed against Randy Orton on the show and lost the bout after being distracted by Alexa Bliss.
Bray Wyatt was released from his WWE contract on July 31. His firing from the company created a lot of confusion and even concerned executives from WWE’s TV partners in addition to the company’s fans.
Fightful reported some more backstage details on Wyatt’s time in WWE before he was released. The former Universal Champion had been off TV following a loss to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37.
There had been some rumors about his mental health while he was away. Per the report, his absence following WrestleMania had nothing to do with what was called “falsely reported mental health issues.” Also, Wyatt is healthy and able to wrestle.
While away from WWE, he was working on adding creative elements to his character. His return was supposed to be on the August 9th edition of WWE Raw.
Wyatt also had family engagements already scheduled for May and June. There were tentative plans in order for Wyatt’s WWE return, but then the decision was made to let him go.
Wyatt is under a 90-day non-compete clause so he won’t be available to sign with another promotion until three months from now.
Bray Wyatt was released by WWE last Saturday after being informed by Head of Relations John Laurinaitis in what was blamed on budget cuts for his release.
Ronda Rousey took to Twitter to go off on fans of the company who disrespected Bray Wyatt while he was still with the company. She also brought up the chants by fans for wanting him while also being the same people who would chant for wanting beach balls during matches at a time when Wyatt was still with the company.
She wrote, “I’ve seen you same “fans” chanting #WeWantWyatt last night chanting “We want beach balls” over @WWEBrayWyatt performing. If the @wwe treated him like he was expendable it was because you ungrateful idiots did first.”
I’ve seen you same “fans” chanting #WeWantWyatt last night chanting “We want beach balls” over @WWEBrayWyatt performing. If the @wwe treated him like he was expendable it was because you ungrateful idiots did first
Back in 2019, when Fox first began airing episodes of Smackdown, executives from the network reportedly really wanted Bray Wyatt on their brand. Wyatt had just returned to WWE that summer as the Fiend. Wyatt would be drafted back to RAW the following year, however. Now, nobody gets Wyatt as he had been released from the company altogether.
According to Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast, television executives are reportedly quite concerned that WWE has been releasing top stars like Wyatt.
“Bray’s released is really disappointing and a little scary that top stars are being let go,” a source reportedly said on the situation.
On vacation so I’m a behind with stuff.
I’m hearing a lot of frustration from the networks regarding Bray release.
“Bray’s released is really disappointing and a little scary that top stars are being let go” – network source
“Yeah regardless of what the internet thinks Bray is a major star with a lot of money put into him,” Zarian said in response to someone who questioned whether Wyatt is a top star.
Zarian would continue to give some details as to who is source within the networks is.
“I don’t want to detail it but one is a high up executive that I get drinks with weekly. It’s perception more than anything else. Remember they are not fans like us. They read and see the names,” he Tweeted.
Recently, it was also reported that Wyatt had been out of action due to a medical issue.
“He’d been out for medical reasons, and he had just gotten cleared,” said Dave Meltzer. “I guess when he got cleared they evaluated the situation and he was told that due to budgetary reasons that he is being cut.”
WWE announced the shock release of Bray Wyatt over the weekend. The news broke Saturday evening, and several stories regarding the backstage situation and talent have been leaked over the past couple of days.
According to a report from Fightful Select, several WWE Superstars now do not feel ‘safe’ in their roles with the company, even the upper card talent who have seen the likes of Braun Strowman and now Wyatt released.
Bray Wyatt Release Concerns Talent
The official reason for Bray Wyatt being released from WWE was ‘budget cuts,’ at least this is what the talent where told over the weekend. Many believe that there is far more to the story, but we will have to wait to hear directly from the man himself.
In addition to being a third-generation wrestler and multi-time world champion, Bray Wyatt was one of the top merchandise movers in WWE over the past decade. The general feeling amongst WWE talent has been that if Wyatt is expendable, what does that mean from everyone else?
It’s not confirmed exactly which talents are concerned about their positions, and it is likely we won’t get any names, anytime soon.
There has been a lot of talk online about Bray Wyatt now making his way over to AEW, with some hoping that he join the Dark Order stable to ‘continue the work’ of his friend Brodie Lee who of course passed away late last year.
Bray Wyatt was released by WWE yesterday after having been with the company for 12 years. According to a report from Wrestling Observer Radio, Wyatt had been out of action with a medical issue and had just gotten cleared to return.
“He’d been out for medical reasons, and he had just gotten cleared,” said Dave Meltzer. “I guess when he got cleared they evaluated the situation and he was told that due to budgetary reasons that he is being cut. The basic gist is he’s another high-contract guy. Whether it’s because of concern over the medical reasons is the real reason or they did not come up with a reason to justify his salary, I don’t know which of that it is but that is the basic deal with him.”
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) July 31, 2021
Wyatt had been expected to return in August and had been booked on some shows.
“Dave Meltzer reported that Wyatt was told by John Laurinaitis that his release was due to budget cuts. He was preparing to return in August and was booked on some shows,” wrote Josh Nason from WON.
“One source pointed the finger squarely at WWE President Nick Khan and CFO Kristina Salen, stating that they are so “obsessed” with the company not being even one iota in the red on the financial ledgers,” PW Insider’s Mike Johnson wrote.
Bray Wyatt’s release from WWE is being considered surprising to many within the wrestling industry. It is also being reported that this is not a case of him having asked for his release.
Both PW Insider and the Wrestling Observer have stated that the reason for Wyatt’s release was “budget cuts” similar to the other recent roster cuts. According to the Wrestling Observer, there were plans for Wyatt to return in August.
John Laurinitis is said to be the one who called Wyatt today and informed him. The reason Wyatt was given for his release was budget cuts.
“Dave Meltzer reported that Wyatt was told by John Laurinaitis that his release was due to budget cuts. He was preparing to return in August and was booked on some shows,” wrote Josh Nason from WON.
“One source pointed the finger squarely at WWE President Nick Khan and CFO Kristina Salen, stating that they are so “obsessed” with the company not being even one iota in the red on the financial ledgers,” PW Insider’s Mike Johnson wrote.
According to the report from PW Insider, people backstage in the company were shocked by the release based on how well Wyatt’s merchandise tends to sell. Johnson also wrote that one source had said to him that Vince McMahon and Bray Wyatt’s relationship could run hot and cold at times as well.
News of Bray Wyatt’s release from WWE is drawing strong reactions from across the wrestling world. Numerous wrestlers, including Wyatt’s former family member Braun Strowman, Alexa Bliss and Matt Hardy have all commented.
Alexa Bliss has turned her Twitter private today. The FITE app caught a screen grab of her comments regarding Wyatt before she did so, however.
— The Monster of all Monsters (@Adamscherr99) July 31, 2021
Mickie James Reacts To Bray Wyatt’s Release
Mickie James offered the following comments regarding Bray Wyatt’s release from WWE.
“I think what you meant to say was: “Thank you so much for coming up with such an incredible gimmick(time & time again)one so cool & over, we really didn’t know how to book it right. So we just gave it to someone else so we can still make ALL the money off of it & let you go”
James then clarified her comments should not be taken as anything negative against Alexa Bliss.
“This isn’t against Alexa. I love her. She’s an incredible performer who is killing it in a role she was given. She always does. We as artists take every role we’re given & turn it into gold. He, she, they both did that. Like it/not. Facts are facts. So sorry if that offends you.”
This isn’t against Alexa. I love her. She’s an incredible performer who is killing it in a role she was given. She always does. We as artists take every role we’re given & turn it into gold. He, she, they both did that. Like it/not. Facts are facts. So sorry if that offends you.
WWE has confirmed the news that Bray Wyatt has been released from the company. The news broke this evening on Twitter, where WWE officially confirmed the news.
Wyatt has been off of WWE programming for some time, since the WrestleMania 37 PPV event in Florida.
There have been rumors of Bray Wyatt not being happy with the overall creative direction of The Fiend character, however these are conflicting with the reports that Wyatt has a major part to play in his own creative.
Bray Wyatt Released from WWE
‘The Fiend’ character for Bray Wyatt is arguably some of his best work on the WWE main roster, however his original ‘cult leader’ Wyatt Family persona is also lauded by fans and critics, especially in hindsight.
There’s no news on when Bray was made aware of his release, however we can expect him to now be sitting out a 90-day non-compete clause.
Several former WWE Superstars have gone on to sign with AEW, such as Malakai Black, who also played a dark character on-screen for WWE and NXT prior to that. Black was able to appear in AEW earlier than expected, due to a clerical error which meant he had a 30-day non-compete rather than the standard 90 for a main roster Superstar.
Bray Wyatt hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 37. He lost a match to Randy Orton on Night 2 of the event this year. According to a report from PW Insider, Wyatt was originally scheduled to win that match but the result was changed last minute. Wyatt hasn’t been back in the company since.
There is said to be no timetable for Wyatt’s return to the company. There are those within WWE who believe Wyatt’s absence is not due to any creative issues either.
“WWE sources have remained quiet about Wyatt’s circumstances beyond the idea that he’s being held off for a specific reason,” writes Mike Johnson. “The belief among some is that it’s not a creative issue.”
Before WrestleMania 37, Wyatt’s last match in WWE was at December 2020’s TLC PPV. Wyatt lost to Orton in that match as well. Alexa Bliss has been hosting episodes of “Alexa’s Playground” in the months since Wyatt has been gone.
Wyatt popped up on social media not long after WWE announced SummerSlam will be held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Wyatt is a fan of the Las Vegas Raiders, who play their home games in the venue.
The RAW after Wrestlemania was the last time anybody saw Bray Wyatt on WWE television. Missing since then, little has been said about him or the Fiend. The reasons for his absence have been documented and are not due to any problems or squabbles behind the scenes.
However, it has left the WWE universe wondering when we will see Bray Wyatt back on your screens. Whatever character he plays, his pull with the fans has always been nothing short of spectacular.
So much so that a fan recently took to Twitter to express how much they miss Bray. Little did they know, but the superstar would answer, proclaiming he missed the WWE universe just as much as they missed him.
There is no word when Bray Wyatt is set to return, however, his image has been used recently for some upcoming live events.
Would We See Bray Wyatt Return at Money in the Bank?
WWE have a long history of springing surprise returns in the main event of PPV matches. With both the WWE and Universal Championships being defended at Money in the Bank this Sunday, there is every chance that we will see Bray Wyatt make a sudden return.
Bray is a former WWE champion, and will surely want to get himself back into the title hunt. Interfering in a title match would be a great way to start a feud with whoever emerges victorious.
That is, of course, pure speculation. However, with Bray Watt being advertised for RAW on August 9th, you have to expect WWE to at least have some video packages ready to go. These could make a wonderful little distraction to change the tide of a title fight.
There is also the unanswered story of Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss, who is competing in the MITB ladder match. The more you look at it, the more plausible angles you can find for the fiend to return this Sunday.
Former WWE and current ROH star Mike Bennett recently spoke to Metro. He talked about a number of things and also revealed some interesting nixed plans for a Fiend faction in WWE.
Bray Wyatt made his main roster WWE debut as the leader of the Wyatt Family in 2013. He spent a good amount of his time as the leader of the group before introducing The Fiend persona in 2019.
However, during the interview, Bennett revealed that Mr. McMahon wanted The Fiend to have a faction as well and the former WWE star almost played a part in it:
“Early on when Bray Wyatt turned into The Fiend, Vince was always high on having Bray lead a group for some reason — he always wanted him to lead a group, We were about a week away from making it happen where me and Eric Young were gonna be part of Bray Wyatt’s group.
We were gonna actually be — they were gonna bring to life the puppets. Each puppet was gonna represent an actual person.” revealed Mike Bennett, “I don’t remember, there were talks that I was gonna be Sister Abigail and Eric Young was gonna be a buzzard.”
The current ROH star revealed that the company had come close to materializing these plans on TV. Though like many other things in WWE, these plans also got canceled last minute.
Bray Wyatt has been away from WWE programming since WrestleMania 37. One can only imagine how different his character would have been with a group. You can check out Mike Bennett’s full interview at this link.
Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Barry Windham was recently interviewed by Bill Apter. During the discussion, Windham was asked about his nephew Bray Wyatt and gave some surprising answers.
“I hope he makes the cut in WWE, we’ll just have to see,” Windham said when asked about Bray Wyatt.
Apter then noted that Wyatt has been an amazing performer. Windham would continue to say that he does not feel his nephew has been used properly in WWE, however.
“He has been (a great performer), he just hasn’t been used properly there,” Windham continued. When asked, however, Windham said he’s only seen some of the vignettes they’ve done with the Fiend.
“You know I haven’t really seen any of his matches, I’ve just seen a few of the little vignettes that he’s done.”
“He was always ready to be a wrestler growing up,” Windham continued to say about his nephew.
Back in 2018, Windham spoke to Hannibal TV about Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas.
“Bray is really doing well. He’s so good on the mic and Taylor (Bo) just needs a chance,” Windham said. “He’s really talented but to have him do that Bo-lieve thing for so long, it was just brutal.”
You can see the full discussion between Bill Apter and Barry Windham in the video below:
WWE has started sending out advertisements for upcoming shows ahead of their resuming live event touring on July 16th.
Bray Wyatt is locally advertised for the August 9th Raw TV event from the Amway Center in Orlando, according to Sean Ross Sapp. It’s possible the Wyatt is advertised for shows before or after this date. Either way, it appears he will be returning to TV around this time.
He hasn’t been seen on TV since losing to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37. Just last week it was reported Wyatt was purposely being kept off WWE TV for an unknown reason.
Also, the company now has WWE Hall of Famer Edge booked for more dates on the summer tour ahead of the SummerSlam pay-per-view on August 21. Edge is expected to work the show.
The WWE Hall of Famer has been advertised for the July 16th edition of SmackDown from the Toyota Center in Houston for the last few weeks.
Edge is now booked for SmackDown shows on July 16 at the Toyota Center in Houston, July 30 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, August 6 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, August 20 at the Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, August 27 at the Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, and September 3 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.
Finally, he’s also advertised for the house show on Saturday, August 14 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
The unexplained absence of Bray Wyatt is a puzzling mystery for the fans. The lack of updates on his status has forced people to speculate about him and there are all sorts of rumors floating around about his removal from WWE TV.
Mike Johnson of PWinsider recently discussed one such rumor and he confirmed that the former universal champion has purposefully been kept off TV.
The wrestling journalist claimed that Wyatt does not have any backstage heat and he also noted that his WrestleMania 37 match with Randy Orton went exactly as it was planned.
The Fiend reignited an old feud with Randy Orton after being drafted to Raw during the 2020 draft. The two had a match at TLC in December last year which was won by Orton.
Bray Wyatt went on a hiatus after this bout while Alexa Bliss kept the feud with Orton alive. He finally resurfaced at the Fastlane PPV in March earlier this year with a new grotesque look.
WWE then booked a match between the former universal champion and Randy at WrestleMania 37. For the surprise of many, Randy Orton ended up winning this match as well.
While he made one final appearance on the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw, Bray Wyatt has been away from WWE programming since then.
The internet has been abuzz ever since the undead invaded the WWE Backlash event last Sunday. The latest superstar to make a comment is Bray Wyatt. The man whose Fiend character who, despite being absent since Wrestlemania is a largely supernatural and somewhat horrific entity.
Wyatt is not the most active of social media superstars. However, when he does use it, he uses it to good effect.
In a simple tweet sent out on Tuesday night, the demonic Bray Wyatt simply asked if the WWE universe were missing him.
For such a short message, there are a lot of layers worked into it. The Fiend Bray Wyatt was an unstoppable force when he first arrived. Many fans criticised his character for his supposed invulnerability. In his tweet, Wyatt is clearly venting a little frustration at what happened.
Wyatt has not been seen in a WWE ring since Wrestlemania 37, when Alex Bliss cost her partner in his match against Randy Orton. The match itself was disappointing, with a single RKO enough to slay the fiend.
The rumoured reasons behind Wyatt’s absence are that he has been suffering from some mental health problems and asked for some time away to heal. His return was immediately lambasted by Vince McMahon which led to Wyatt taking further time off to heal.
Mental health is an important thing to take care of, especially in a world like professional wrestling, and it is good that stars are not afraid to speak up when they need to take a break. Hopefully, though, it won’t be long before Bray gets another storyline, and the Fiend can be unleashed once more.
Randy Orton vs the Fiend kicked off night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on Sunday night. Orton pinned the Fiend following an RKO, delivered as Wyatt had just been distracted by a black-ooze-leaking Alexa Bliss. Bliss sat atop a giant Jack-in-the-Box as ooze dripped down her face. It was somewhat reminiscint of when Papa Shango put a curse on The Ultimate Warrior and caused a similar-looking black goo to drip down his forehead.
According to recent online posts, horror special effects legend Tom Savini was behind Bliss’ ooze-dripping. Savini’s team has been behind The Fiend’s look and masks and designed Bliss’s headpiece and special effects for Mania as well.
Savini’s partner, Jason Baker, took to Twitter to credit those involved.
In 2019, Baker took part in an interview and spoke about working with Wyatt on his new character.
“That man is… what’s that old saying? The razor’s edge between genius and insanity? And that man walks that razor’s edge constantly,” Baker said. “Very, very smart. Smarter than a lot of people give him credit for. Great to collaborate with. You think you’re gonna throw an idea at him, he comes back with eight. You think you’re gonna hit him up with a piece of trivial knowledge, he’ll hit right back. He’ll see your trivial knowledge and then raise ya. He is a unique, unique human being. It’s been an absolute pleasure and an honor to get to collaborate with this gentleman — with someone who just puts such a thought process into his craft.”
After being away for months, Bray Wyatt has made his return to WWE programming.
He did so when he interfered in the Randy Orton vs. Alexa Bliss match at Fastlane. Orton started coughing up the black substance like he had been before the match started. After a few moments of pyro, a fireball, and more, The Fiend’s hand came through the mat and grabbed Orton’s leg.
The Fiend came out, which led to Bliss hitting a dropkick to Orton, and The Fiend connected with Sister Abigail. This allowed Bliss to get the win. He has a new mask and attire that is in black.
Wyatt hadn’t been seen since the December TLC pay-per-view event when he worked the first-ever Firefly Inferno Match. WWE TLC was the 5th singles match between Orton and Wyatt on WWE programming. The contest was not shot in a cinematic way, but rather in the arena and taped earlier in the day due to the danger of the bout. The fire was outside of the barricade.
The finish saw Orton push The Fiend into the fire back first while he was in a chokehold. This led to Orton getting into the ring and Fiend rushed him so Orton hit him with an RKO. The show closed with Orton pouring gasoline on Wyatt then set it on fire. They used a dummy made to look like Wyatt to set on fire.
Since that time, WWE has continued it with weird mind tricks with Orton and having him cough up a black substance in addition to him feuding with Alexa Bliss.
Last night at WWE TLC, Randy Orton lit the Fiend on fire to close the show. Different from previous WWE inferno matches, Wyatt did not just have one limb lit on fire, rather his entire body was engulfed in flames.
Wyatt took to Twitter following the conclusion of WWE TLC. He Tweeted out only a picture of a cocoon along with the words, “Thank You.”
WWE TLC was the 5th singles match between Orton and Wyatt on WWE programming. This does not include matches they have had on house shows, however.
No Mercy 2016: Wyatt defeated Randy Orton
WrestleMania 33: Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt (Orton won the WWE Championship)
Payback 2017:House of Horrors Mach: Wyatt defeated Orton
WWE RAW December 7th, 2020: The Fiend Bray Wyatt vs Orton went to a no-contest.
WWE TLC 2020:Firefly Inferno Match: Randy Orton defeated The Fiend
Their all-time head-to-head series now sits at 2-2-1 for each competitor.
It is not clear what may be next for Bray Wyatt and the Fiend. Wyatt’s persona is a 2x Universal Champion (1x WWE Champion as the old Bray Wyatt). This Wednesday at the Slammy Awards, Wyatt has been nominated for Superstar of the Year.