13 Ups & 9 Downs For WWE In 2022
8. The White Rabbit Project
It's not looking good for the Uncle Howdy chapter of Bray Wyatt's latest WWE story, but the comeback can't be faulted even if the return itself ends up in as many flames as the ones that engulfed The Fiend at TLC 2020.
"The White Rabbit Project" (everything has to have a brand), the viral marketing device was a multifarious success for WWE and a great example of Triple H following a code re-popularised by the man that smashed his throne. 'The Game' did the work.
WWE fans spotted early that a series of QR codes and videos sprinkled across the show in the summer were related to a returning Bray Wyatt, and the White Rabbit motif worked magnificently as the thing to keep following regardless of the quality of the eventual Wonderland. It didn't matter if the outcome was obvious - those that cared had a blast decoding clues that were less about who it was but more about how it could be related to prior Wyatt lore. WWE were a company giving fans fun things to do - this was the sort of simple sh*t they'd neglected forever.
They were rewarded for it too - the initial tease of September 23rd generated an insane rating for the SmackDown on that date (peaking, brilliantly, at 9:23 pm as just-in-case viewers warily looked on) and live reactions for Wyatt's Extreme Rules return in the flesh were some of the loudest of the year. It'd be a shame if it all can't live up to the hype (again), because the hype itself was a success story for the ages.