WWE Raw's #UltimateDELETION - Review & Reaction
Spilling into the 'Land Of Obsolete Men', Hardy's fabulous comedic bent married up with WWE's own clumsy one as a game of hide and seek drew on inspiration from problematic British farce comic Benny Hill as the two enacted a ghostly chase with kendo sticks in and out of graves. Far from Wyatt being cast as the fool, Matt gamely took the role himself despite playing mouse to Bray's cat. "Devourer, I'm over here!" and "Eater, can't you see me?!" were choice lines wailed by Hardy as a reminder that to him - this is work. He's put genuine work into an incredible character, and deserves all the plaudits that come his way for it. A 'shh' motion straight down the lens as he darted off was another deft touch.
The two fought on and into 'Dome Of Deletion'. It was here that the structure of the contest benefitted both. Subtitled as literal chapters by WWE's crack production team, the visual differences between segments were subsequently far more digestible than any singles match the pair had engaged in since coming together at the start of the year.
Again dropping in potential t-shirt sellers in ludicrously labelling both a wheelchair and a lawnmower, Hardy was shrewd and crude in his delivery of money moments should the company - and they should - wish to merchandise the sh*t out of it in the aftermath. The move to the 'Lake Of Reincarnation' (arguably one of the compound's hilarious high points during Matt's original Impact run) gave hope to the idea that a Husky Harris cameo awaited. Instead, it's where the battle concluded. Wrong-footed by Señor Benjamin hiding underneath the infamous dilapidated boat and a brief appearance from the always-awesome Brother Nero incarnation of Jeff Hardy, Bray was dumped in the drink at the Great War's end.
If the match put the wretched 'Eater Of Worlds' gimmick to bed altogether (he was apparently absent from the lake as Matt literally proclaimed that "Bray Wyatt [was] DELETED"), then it should already be granted prestigious amongst a vast portion of the audience pig-sick of the once-promising NXT graduate. Even in the unlikely event of a Harris return, some sort of cleansing in that great lake could salvage his entire career. This entire Universe salvaged Matt's, so its precedent for magic has already been set.
Though #UltimateDELETION was hardly a case of 'less is more', WWE would be well-served to take care with gimmicks like this. It was everything last year's 'House Of Horrors' between Wyatt and Orton wasn't, but the malaise around that stupefying sh*tshow was in-part due to the disinterest in both characters too. Fans remain attached to 'Woken' Matt and this absurd world he's curated, the company now owe him other opponents that can benefit from the gimmick's undeniable charm.