WWE: Has Bray Wyatt Resurrected The Army Of Darkness?

I've heard it said that somewhere between science and superstition, there is another world. A world of darkness. It's a world that haunted my dreams as a child, from the first time I saw Kevin Sullivan and his Army of Darkness spreading their eerily twisted messages across the NWA. "Our cause is not for evil," said Sullivan during an interview for Championship Wrestling from Florida in 1982. "Because all we're looking for is refuge from this cold, cruel world." Ring a bell? Sullivan's dark mystique, his messianic charisma, his penchant for dark riddles -- they all seem to have been resurrected in the form of Bray Wyatt. Take, for instance, these words recently delivered by the leader of the Wyatt Family to nemesis John Cena: "This is a terrible world," Wyatt drawled. "A cold, cold dark and lonely place. You stand for these illusions. But I stand for everything that is real. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bray Wyatt and we are the reapers that bring death to this era of lies." From the first airing of the creepy vignettes that heralded the Wyatt Family's emergence from the deep, dark woods, I have been hooked on their macabre, cult-like allure. Like Kevin Sullivan's Army of Darkness -- the Purple Haze, Maya Singh, and the Fallen Angel -- the Wyatts exude an eerie and dangerous presence with cryptic messages like "Follow the Buzzards" and the more succinct "Run!" For those who remember Kevin Sullivan's Army of Darkness, which left a trail of bloodstained canvases across the American south in the 1980s, the Wyatt Family are both nostalgic and refreshingly new. Given that Wyatt is a third-generation wrestler, it seems likely that he is well-versed in Sullivan's dark arts and is subtly paying tribute to his predecessor. And, given how compellingly watchable Wyatt has become, Sullivan should be flattered. Though Sullivan never actually used the word "devil" or "Satan" in his promos, he often spoke of "darkness rising, coming in many shapes, and ruling the world." From "the lady with the third eye" to having "hung from the Tree of Woe," Sullivan's words were always shrouded in mystery and genuinely unnerving, leaving me fascinated with both the visceral and psychological frights of "The Prince of Darkness." "I was taken by Abudadein to the 13th step of the 13th pyramid," Sullivan once told legendary announcer Gordon Solie. "I chewed upon the cosmic cookie and went to the Amazon River of my mind where I met Og, the keeper of the key. And he told me, now, the final stages were set for the war with the family." The family Sullivan spoke of was his arch nemesis Blackjack Mulligan and his sons Barry and Kendall Windham, during their violent and bloody feud throughout the state of Florida. "Now, the powers have been joined together and the final line is being drawn, because we cannot co-exist truthfully anymore," Sullivan warned Mulligan. "It's the children of the light, and that's your family, against the men of darkness, and the men of darkness have always prevailed." Interestingly, Blackjack Mulligan is the real-life grandfather of Bray Wyatt, whose real name is Windham Rotunda. Barry and Kendall Windham are his uncles, and Mike Rotunda (I.R.S. in the WWE) is his father. Add to that, Mike Rotunda teamed with Kevin Sullivan in the heel faction The Varsity Club in the NWA, so the influences and history run deep. "You see, Mulligan, when Abudadein strapped me to the Tree of Woe, and people plucked at my skin, it was all to make me stronger," said Sullivan. "Because the horrible thing now is this, Mulligan, I'm not taking any prisoners like in Ipoh, Malaysia at the Indian picnic, where there was feasting and rejoicing, and the Purple Haze put an Indian to sleep -- and he didn't rise again. No prisoners." In Sullivan's Army, veteran wrestler "Maniac" Mark Lewin was the Purple Haze, a mystical creature who emerged from the darkness and arose from the deep, cold waters of Waikiki. "From the black side," Sullivan said when the Purple Haze made his debut on an episode of Championship Wrestling from Florida. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EloX-k6ikFY Shades of the Purple Haze can be seen in Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan, with his animalistic tendencies, untamed rage, and imposing size. Like the Purple Haze, Rowan stares silently during promos, allowing his actions in the ring to speak for him, while displaying remarkable agility for a nearly seven-foot, 300-pound wrestler. Then there's Rowan's red beard and the thoroughly creepy lamb mask, every bit as intimidating as the Purple Haze's deadpan expression, often shadowed by the hood of his purple robe. Rowan's move set echoes the Haze as well, as both use bear hugs, big boots, scoop slams, fall-away slams, claw holds, and grind their fists into the temples of opponents. The same could be said for Luke Harper and his similarities to Maya Singh, as both hammer their opponents with unrelenting European uppercuts, body avalanches, and running big boots. Harper often finishes off an opponent with a clothesline from hell, whereas Singh would deliver a running elbow to the throat. Both simple, vicious, and effective. "From the streets of Calcutta," Maya Singh (Bob Roop), a former U.S. Olympian Greco-Roman wrestler, even used Harper's signature Gator Roll on occasion, wrestling the likes of Hector Guerrero, Cocoa Samoa, and Mike Graham. And while Singh is even more bizarre in appearance, with his half-shaved head and sinister facepaint, both share that unbridled fury in their eyes, along with their erratic and strange behaviour. Like Singh, Luke Harper doesn't say much, but when he does, it's with a purpose. "Send us someone. Just don't send anyone you want back," Harper once said in a vignette. The Army of Darkness had other members and allies over the years, including the Chairman of the Board (King Curtis Iaukea), Luna, Jake Roberts, Sir Oliver Humperdink, One Man Gang, Superstar Billy Graham, and The Lock. Beautiful and alluring, the Fallen Angel (Nancy Toffoloni) was never far from Sullivan's side throughout the Army of Darkness' run. In real life, she married Kevin Sullivan, divorced, then married Chris Benoit. "You see when the spider came into the den," Sullivan said, referring to the Fallen Angel, "and the Haze returned from the depths of the sea, I was offered anything a human man could desire, Mulligan. But I didn't fall for the weakness of the flesh, for lust, because I along with Maya Singh have overcome that...And I will lead them to victory." Again, Sullivan's words seemed to find new life when Bray Wyatt recently told a Smackdown audience: "Everything you think you know about your own lives is all based upon a lie. Men, you wake up every morning, you go to work, you break your backs just trying to earn a little bit of cash, so that you can buy yourself those fancy suits. So that you can buy yourself those sports cars and impress the women. And now women, you wake up every morning and you look at yourself in the mirror and you coat make-up all over your beautiful faces. Because you didn't even realize that you are just wearing the mask that society demands you to wear. It's a bottomless pit of lies." Sullivan's eerie references to deep, cold waters and seeing fear in the depths of the sea, along with kingdoms and the Promised Land resonate through Bray Wyatt's recent Twitter messages: "I will build my empire next to the sea, so I can laugh from my throne as my enemies drown." In another recent tweet, Wyatt wrote: "The golden calf has been sent out to pasture...Can you still see him?" Could this be a nod to Sullivan's infamous golden spike, the mysterious foreign object the Army of Darkness often used to carve up the foreheads of opponents like Wahoo McDaniel, the Fabulous Ones, and Dusty Rhodes? The comparisons don't stop there, as the "Eater of Worlds" and the "Prince of Darkness" both share that insidious laugh, along with an almost childlike giggle. And though Wyatt is more eloquent in his delivery of promos than Sullivan ever was, both are equally unnerving characters. The Undertaker (particularly from his Ministry of Darkness days), Mick Foley, Raven, CM Punk, and now Bray Wyatt have all drawn from Sullivan's style and mannerisms. From Wyatt's Jesus Christ pose to his eyes rolling back in his head, Sullivan's influence endures.

That said, Kevin Sullivan never performed that bone-chilling crab-walk that Wyatt has perfected. From Sister Abigail to Abudadein, from the cult-like devotion of Erick Rowan and Luke Harper to the Purple Haze and Maya Singh, and from the golden spike to the golden calf, the influence of the Army of Darkness on the Wyatt Family is undeniable. Kevin Sullivan's prophetic words perhaps said it best: "You see, darkness comes in many forms, and will rise again." It already has. They're here.