10 Wrestlers Audiences Weren't Ready For

2. Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt
WWE.com

It's The f*cking Fiend!

By the end of Bray Wyatt's WWE run, that ludicrous exclamation may as well have greeted every appearance for a character that had, very briefly, captivated millions and theoretically transformed a career.

Against Finn Bálor at SummerSlam 2019, it seemed as if audiences were very much ready for this hail mary, but they may have been too enthusiastic. Vince McMahon fell in love with the gimmick and killed the magic in pursuit of mammoth merchandise sales. Pushed into a Universal Championship programme with Seth Rollins long before the character was fully formed, an effort to protect each man in their Hell In A Cell match destroyed both.

It was a slow road to oblivion for Wyatt's once-horrifying alter-ego afterwards, but something odd has occurred in recent years that could have resulted in something so different. WWE's a narrative mess now, often beyond comprehension and completely free of any television disciplines such as logic, continuity and/or common sense.

The Fiend - a wacky alien clown sock of a thing, whatever it even is - belongs in this world far more than real humans. Real humans could and should (and some do) find employment elsewhere. Fiend isn't of this world, but neither, increasingly, is WWE.

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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