5 Ways WWE Have Damaged Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt was once the most fascinating thing on WWE television; where did it go wrong?
Bray Wyatt was a breath of fresh air when he made his debut in WWE in 2013. His character was a strange mix of 1990's supernaturalism with modern day grit and reality, and you'd be hard pushed to find a superstar with a better grasp on their gimmick than the former Husky Harris. Each and every promo seemed better than the last and he would add small nuances into his in-ring work. It seemed impossible to mess this one up.
Fast forward to today, late September 2015, and where are we with regards to Wyatt? Well, unfortunately it seems that he is just another young heel on the WWE roster, fed to the superhero babyfaces in a conveyor belt fashion. Currently feuding with Roman Reigns, it is safe to expect scuffles with Randy Orton, Cesaro and any other good guys in the coming months.
Where did it all go wrong? How did WWE take the best promos and some of the most fascinating wrestling and turn it into something dismissive, into something that was no longer anything approaching 'must-see'.
Here are five ways the WWE managed to do just that.
5. Too Many Backstage Promos
The greatest thing about Wyatt when he was introduced to the WWE Universe was without doubt his promos. In a world where the vast majority of microphone time is taken up with recaps of recaps, overly scripted and overly explained ramblings that don't sound human and 'more macho than thee' tribal posturing, Wyatt's cryptic style stood out.
He didn't speak like anyone else, his cadence was different and the subject matter of his interviews were truly unique. More so than any other new superstar, Bray Wyatt had an aura. Nowhere was this more true than in the ring. The Wyatt entrance was fantastic, a tense, mystical thing that would be followed by Bray stalking the ring and preaching to the masses in what felt like a truly organic way. The universe would respond with mobile lighting, the fireflies if you will, and all of a sudden WWE had a segment on its television shows that felt exciting and new.
What happened next? Well, Bray proceeded to give what felt like a never-ending succession of promos from the same smokey backstage room, sucking the life out of Bray's greatest strength. The subject matter of the promos wasn't a million miles from what he started with, but they became predictable in their vagueness, boring in their delivery and quite evidently pointless.
Things changed from an excitement at Bray's arrival to 'oh, here's another backstage Bray Wyatt promo'.