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.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
