The Wyatt Family had one of the most surreal introductions of any main roster performer when they were called up in the summer of 2013. But before they arrived on Raw, they were simply a stable on the rise in NXT, which wasn't airing anywhere in the United States at that time. Bray Wyatt was just finding his footing as a singles competitor and in his new Waylon Mercy-esque gimmick, but what is a cult leader without followers? A torn pectoral injury sidelined Wyatt from action for several months, but in his absence from in-ring action, he was joined by two floundering competitors: Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. It didn't take much manipulation from Wyatt to convince them to align with him as a unit eventually referred to as The Wyatt Family. Creepy vignettes promoted their impending debut, and when they finally resurfaced in Full Sail University, they took no prisoners. Wyatt led Harper and Rowan to the NXT Tag Team Championship while he knocked off everyone who stepped foot in his path of destruction. Fans had never seen anything quite like The Wyatt Family before, so needless to say, regular viewers of the program were excited for their eventual call-up to Raw. What's interesting is that WWE initially tried out Eli Cottonwood as one of Wyatt's first followers, but he didn't fit the bill as well as Harper and Rowan did. Thankfully, that idea of including him in the group never came to fruition. He probably would have ranted on and on about not having a mustache or some nonsense like that.
Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.
