8 Changes To Make Bray Wyatt A Success In WWE

Forget the Buzzwords.

bray wyatt finn balor
WWE.com

There's no reason for Bray Wyatt not to be one of the top performers in the entire WWE.

He has a unique physical presence and he's a talented in-ring worker, capable of remarkable aggression between the ropes. His gimmick, meanwhile, positions him as the most instantly recognisable star on the roster; the obvious successor to the Undertaker.

However, something about Wyatt just isn't working. Other than occasional flashes of relevance, he has been positioned way outside of the spotlight since he came up short in his feud with John Cena back in 2014. Wyatt is an upper midcard also-ran in the WWE landscape, which is an outright waste of his talent - particularly as he is only 30 years old, and has plenty of career ahead of him.

He spent much of 2017 treading water in disappointing feuds with the likes of Finn Bálor and Randy Orton, but things may well be looking up in 2018 as be battles the new 'Woken' incarnation of Matt Hardy.

The most infuriating thing about WWE's treatment of the Bray Wyatt character is that he is so close to reaching the next level. With a few relatively minor changes, the company could elevate Wyatt to the tier of the company where he deserves to be, competing in main events for the top championships...

8. Tone Down The Bells And Whistles

bray wyatt finn balor
WWE.com

Bray Wyatt's quasi-supernatural persona provides plenty of potential for WWE to do interesting and unusual things with his matches. Unfortunately, those risks do not always pay off - and Wyatt's more unconventional bouts are often poorly reviewed by fans.

The main culprit of this in recent years was Wyatt's feud with Randy Orton in 2017. Their match at WrestleMania was hamstrung by unusual projections of maggots and other insects appearing on the ring canvas, and their feud had its blow-off in the first ever 'House of Horrors' match.

This unorthodox battle was interesting and showcased real creativity in its move to transition the by-then flagging rivalry away from the conventional surroundings of the squared circle and into a world entirely in keeping with Wyatt's backwoods horror movie-inspired gimmick. The House of Horrors looked like it could be home to Leatherface himself, and the contest was a true example of a heel organising a match based entirely on his own terms, keeping the bravado-fuelled babyface in the dark right up until the moment the match began in what was an all-out, violent brawl. However, it left a lot of fans sniggering with derision at its campy overtones.

WWE would be smart to tone down this element of the Wyatt character and allow his strange in-ring charisma to tell the story of his supernatural prowess. His spider walk and habit of laughing to himself between moves are more than enough to sell him as an unpredictable beast. Wyatt is talented enough to be strange and unsettling without the need for over-the-top gimmicks.

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Contributor

Freelance film journalist and fan of professional wrestling. Usually found in a darkened screening room looking for an aisle seat and telling people to put away their mobile phones. Also known to do a bit of stand-up comedy, so I'm used to the occasional heckle.