The Disturbing Truth Behind Bray Wyatt

Across countless sh*tty matches that were received in silence well before there were no fans to react - matches with no traceable investment - virtually every wrestler that the Fiend "came into contact with" suffered. That might be because of the hokey and confusing selective invincibility. What will it take to put this thing down? was never a pressing, dramatic question. It was a riddle with no answer that nobody could be bothered to solve. Ramblin' Rambit once alluded to the idea that his mask was the source of the power. Nobody since has thought to try and remove it, either because A) it's more b*llocks they've forgotten about or B) they're not going to listen to a f*cking puppet.

Seth Rollins looked like such a pissy-pants coward that nobody could cheer him. He had to turn heel. Finn Bálor was saved, to an extent, insofar that he wrestles very good matches on a fading brand. But his new character is basically "I'm Prince Devitt in effect, just forget my main roster run happened". He had to leave to be spared. Braun Strowman is cooked as a main event-level babyface. Daniel Bryan drew incredulous acclaim for getting something good out of the Fiend at the 2020 Royal Rumble, but he looked so bored stiff throughout the build that he actually legitimised Michael Cole's old burials in retrospect. People only got high on the Tribal Chief after the formality of Payback receded from view. Randy Orton has won the WrestleCrap gooker, and it's January.

Wrestling and horror together do not work in the 21st century. The idea is as untenable as the piss-poor execution.

If horror and professional wrestling don't mix, Bray Wyatt's attempt at lore and WWE's long-term storytelling mix like brothers and sisters f*cking.