The more memorable Waylon Mercy, err, Max Cady. Bray Wyatt, especially early on, was very much a riff on the Max Cady/Waylon Mercy character. The shirts, the demeanor - that was Cady. It was all very much the same in the beginning. Of course, Wyatt took the character and made it his own, adding in elements of other films as well, plus his own touches, but there's no question he owes a big debt of gratitude to Mercy - who actually gave him the okay to use the gimmick in person (Waylon Mercy tagged with Wyatt's father, Mike Rotunda, in his first WWF run). As time progressed, Wyatt shifted from being a Cady clone, to more of a southern cult leader. On top of that, mixed in were some supernatural elements, with The Wyatt Family serving as his followers, akin to something out of Deliverance or The Hills Have Eyes. That is a bit of a horror flick rip-off of its own, but at least the combination of the two works, and gives the WWE something a little more unique to play with.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
