The Problem With Bray Wyatt That No One Wants To Talk About

With its man-eating monsters, dragons, Aztecian warriors, and other wild characters, Lucha Underground would have been ideal for Bray Wyatt. More a fantasy show than a wrestling promotion, Dario Cueto's temple and Windham Rotunda would have been a match made in whatever Boyle Heights' equivalent of heaven is.

Sadly, that company is no longer with us. It lives on through the elements borrowed by MLW's Azteca Underground group (including Cueto himself), but it's hard to see that company having the resources to scoop Wyatt up.

The counterpoint to all of this is that Bray's most fervent supporters are likely to follow him wherever he goes next. While never a major ratings draw for WWE, Wyatt could conceivably benefit a promotion like IMPACT should his fanbase's loyalty hold firm through his free agency and beyond, potentially boosting their business. The Anthem-helmed group could probably use the extra t-shirt sales.

But the cost to a more reality-driven product like AEW or NJPW's could be greater than any money brought in through the merch store. Existing viewers may be alienated by horror movie tropes and supernatural flirtations, which is where the bulk of Wyatt's creativity seems to lie, and who knows if Bray is capable of or even wants to play a straighter character. What makes him so appealing to some is exactly what drives others away.

Finding Bray Wyatt's next professional wrestling home will likely be a game of compromises. There isn't an easy answer to the question of where he'll end up next when so few of the industry's major companies feel like good fits, because his identity is both his biggest strength and his biggest weakness.