WWE Books First Ever "Pitch Black" Match For 2023 Royal Rumble

Bray Wyatt's first match back will also be a WWE original at Royal Rumble.

WWE Royal Rumble 2023 Bray Wyatt LA Knight
WWE.com

Bray Wyatt and LA Knight will collide in the first ever "Pitch Black" match at WWE's Royal Rumble 2023 pay-per-view on 28 January.

The company announced this match during Friday's episode of SmackDown, and there could be some involvement from the mysterious 'Uncle Howdy' too. He dropped Wyatt with his own Sister Abigail finish on the latest edition, and it seems inevitable that 'Howdy' will do some wrestling himself at some point.

The Rumble bout will mark Bray's first in-ring appearance since returning to WWE in October 2022 though. Back then, nobody could've predicted that the one-time Max Dupri of Maximum Male Models fame would be his opponent, but here we are.

Advertisement

Both guys have done an admirable job with the feud, but question marks remain over exactly what a "Pitch Black" match is. Some fans are guessing it'll be a standard "Lights Out" affair, or even a darker homage to the red light horrors that Wyatt worked as The 'Fiend'.

Or, maybe it'll be something completely new - WWE's branding is making an effort to present the "Pitch Black" stipulation as groundbreaking stuff.

Advertisement
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.