10 Shocking Winners Of Wrestling Observer Awards
2. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt - Best Gimmick 2019 and Worst Gimmick 2020
At SummerSlam 2019, Bray Wyatt debuted "The Fiend" - a real-life horror villain who would tear through opponents with ruthless violence behind the sinister smile of his exquisite mask.
The Fiend was an instant hit and many fans believed that Wyatt's shaky WWE career was now back on track. This faith was affirmed when Wyatt scooped the Observer's Best Gimmick award. However, if you looked beneath the surface, the cracks in The Fiend's mystique were already beginning to show.
By the end of 2019, Fiend had been through his disastrous rivalry with Seth Rollins, including their much-derided Hell in a Cell match. The shine was starting to fall off The Fiend's apple, shown by the fact that he also came third in 2019's Worst Gimmick category. Wyatt's work earlier that year had been enough to save him, but 2020 would bring no such salvation.
After yet more damaging feuds with Goldberg, Braun Strowman, and Randy Orton, the WON readership's patience with The Fiend ran out. He won their Worst Gimmick award that year, even with stiff competition from Retribution. Fiend might have liked to snap his opponents' necks, but it was his own fall from grace that occurred at breakneck speed.