10 Disastrous WWE Booking Decisions Triple H Has Already Botched

2. Bray Wyatt's Return

Sami Zayn
WWE.com

Bray Wyatt's WWE return was a creative and commercial smash.

Along with fans giddily posting their White Rabbit journey with every QR code or secret clue posted on television, Wyatt's certain comeback was generating numbers too. Extreme Rules ticket sales spiked when it became apparent that the Premium Live Event was to be the site, and a specific minute during a specific episode of SmackDown generated a monster because audiences jumped on a time and date used in a video days earlier.

The buzz was palpable and real and that scarcely feels believable less than six months later.

Uncle Howdy was introduced as the inevitable dark side to Bray's lighter life, before being made real - and preposterous - as a guffawing crackpot in a Slash hat at the bottom of the ramp. Revisiting one of the worst ideas of entire pandemic, Alexa Bliss was dragged back into the character's orbit, whatever that even was. On SmackDown weeks after his introduction, Bray claimed to be Howdy, The Fiend, 'The Eater Of Worlds' or anything else previously tagged to the gimmick.

Then, at the Royal Rumble, the truth was revealed. Wyatt isn't for your investment, but corporate ones. The Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match with LA Knight was a calamitous mess, but served as an unbelievable advert for a sugary drink. The relationship will surely suit both sides, but Wyatt fans looking for a proper rehabilitation are going to be left bitterly disappointed.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett