Bray Wyatt's Most Controversial Gimmick, Explained

Highlights

• Bray Wyatt's creative genius and portrayal of a cult leader-like gimmick received praise from fans and critics, but he wasn't booked to his fullest potential.
• The debut of "The Fiend" gimmick in 2019 gave new life to Wyatt's on-screen persona and became one of the most surreal personas in modern wrestling.
• Unfortunately, The Fiend's momentum was derailed by controversial booking decisions, including a disappointing No Contest finish and losing the Universal Championship to Bill Goldberg in a short match.

Bray Wyatt will be remembered for the creative genius he was, even if he didn't get booked to his fullest potential. For most of his time in WWE, Wyatt portrayed a cult leader-like gimmick that received praise from fans and critics alike for his performance. However, in recent years, his creativity gave new life to his on-screen persona upon returning to WWE from inactivity in 2019, debuting the beloved and controversial "The Fiend" gimmick, one of the most surreal personas in the modern generation of professional wrestling.

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The Original Bray Wyatt And The Wyatt Family

Bray Wyatt was among the most creative WWE superstars in history, as someone like him could've thrived in previous generations of the professional wrestling business where cartoony characters were the main attraction. Initially making his WWE debut in 2010 when he joined The Nexus as Husky Harris, Wyatt had much more to offer as a potential singles performer.

It wasn't until he returned to FCW that he first expressed his creativity by creating the Bray Wyatt character. Some could argue that the inception of the Bray Wyatt character was surreal, considering this was when WWE was more committed to its PG rating, as he represented a cult leader similar to the former Waylon Mercy of 1995.

Initially making a name for himself in NXT by leading The Wyatt Family faction along with Erick Rowan and the late Luke Harper, even before returning to the main roster, Wyatt got cited as WWE's potential future breakout star along with superstars like Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

Upon his return, debuting as Bray Wyatt on a June 2013 episode of Monday Night Raw, he was immediately showcased as a prominent performer on WWE TV. However, even though he became a WWE Champion in 2017, there was a need to change his character, considering his inconsistent booking throughout his entire time on the main roster.

RELATED: Love Or Hate His Work, Bray Wyatt's Legacy Is One Of A Kind

Bray Wyatt Becomes The Fiend

After taking almost a year off, Bray Wyatt returned to WWE in 2019 by debuting the Firefly Funhouse skits on Monday Night Raw soon after WrestleMania 35, portraying himself as a children's puppet show host. However, knowing Wyatt, there was obviously more to the goofy Firefly Funhouse skits, as one of the skits debuted "The Fiend" persona.

WWE has had some frightening characters over the years, but Bray Wyatt's "The Fiend" character has got to be one of the scariest looking in history. It was the first time that he would be using a horror-themed mask as attire on the main roster, and he was also noticeably more physically imposing along with his gore-like clothing. The Fiend would now utilize the Mandible Claw as his finishing maneuver in a vicious fashion.

At SummerSlam 2019, Wyatt wrestled his first match as The Fiend in a dominant win over Finn Balor, kickstarting his newly-founded wrath. The Fiend was the buzz of the professional wrestling world in late 2019, after weeks of laying waste to many WWE Hall of Famers, The Fiend soon engaged in a rivalry with Universal Champion Seth Rollins, where things got controversial for the creative handling of The Fiend.

What Went Wrong With The Fiend In WWE?

In what's considered one of the worst PPV main events in WWE history, The Fiend unsuccessfully challenged Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell 2019, ending in a disappointing No Contest finish. The Fiend did end up capturing the Universal Championship from Rollins at Crown Jewel 2019, but the events at the Hell in a Cell 2019 PPV arguably did much damage to the initial buzz surrounding him.

What made things worse for The Fiend was losing the Universal Championship to WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg in a match that only lasted a few minutes at Super ShowDown 2020, as Goldberg wasn't even an active performer. And although he defeated John Cena at WrestleMania 36 in a Firefly Funhouse match, avenging his loss to John Cena at WrestleMania 30, The Fiend was on its last legs after engaging in rivalries with the likes of Braun Strowman and Randy Orton that weren't get well-received.

RELATED: The Wrestling World Reacts To The Passing Of Bray WyattAs The Fiend's rivalry with Randy Orton featured the inclusion of Alexa Bliss aligning with The Fiend, this would ultimately be The Fiend's last feud in WWE. After months of feuding, The Fiend wrestled his final match in a losing effort against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37 after Alexa Bliss turned on him.

WWE received much criticism for its booking of The Fiend losing to Orton. After wrestling his last match as The Fiend, WWE released Bray Wyatt in July 2021 in one of the most shocking releases in the company's history, putting "The Fiend" gimmick to rest.