4. As A Heel, The Wyatt/Bryan Storyline Was Not Pursued
Bray Wyatt's forward progression as a "bad guy" was severely halted when the storyline pitting him against the likely Wrestlemania main eventer Daniel Bryan was dropped. Wyatt using Bryan (the most consistently over underdog babyface the company has ever had since "Stone Cold" Steve Austin") as a creative foil by which to become an even more convincing heel draw could have cemented him deeply in the role as the ultimate conniving and manipulating heel. Wyatt as a mastermind forcing a begrudging Bryan to carry out his dirty work would have likely made for massively entertaining television, and created a space for Wyatt to discover the unique void into which he could cast all hope the crowd would have for him to be a likable character.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
