For those who may have turned off RAW before the main event last night, there was a striking promo before the match regarding a superstar who has been absent for far too long. In the past through weeks, the Wyatt Family have seemingly forged on in disbanding their faction, with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan being “set free”, which many have interpreted as the beginning of separate singles pushes. It has also brought predictions of Harper’s rise up the ladder and Rowan’s steady fall to obscurity now he is out of the fold.
But, what of the patriarch of the cult, Bray Wyatt? He has not been seen live on TV since September 8th on RAW, when he defeated Chris Jericho inside of a steel cage. His disappearance, coupled with his indifferent form and impact over the past few months have led many to dismiss him as a flash in the pan. His emphatic first year appeared to have been curtailed through a number of misguided creative directions, and some even suggested that Luke Harper would end up as the biggest star by the end of the family members’ respective careers.
But, I would urge people not to give up on the maniacal Eater of Worlds just yet if RAW’s final vignette was anything to go by. Though it ended with the hugely ambiguous “It’s Coming”, which fans of both WWE and TNA will know all to well can be fairly haphazard, the style and conviction of the promo had you glued to the screen for the minute it had to shine. Wyatt professed about how “she”, presumably Sister Abigail, had convinced him not to be afraid, and that he possessed a special quality to stand tall whilst all other lived in fear.
Now many have speculated as to what the meaning of these vignettes is. Is Sister Abigail debuting as a spiritual guide to Wyatt? Are other superstars being brought up from NXT, namely the Ascension, to replace the departing Harper and Rowan? And is this a restart for Wyatt or an evolution of his character in a new direction? All that Wyatt has revealed in a short interview with Sam Roberts that his latest moves will rip the skin from fans’ foreheads.
This could all be a lot of hot air that ends up evaporating into nothingness. But, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to be optimistic every now and again, even in the world of professional wrestling. And the uniqueness and crowd reaction Wyatt has produced ensures that one can afford to still find hope that he will reach the dizzying heights expected of him prior WrestleMania this year. It would be churlish to expect him not to be a fixture in the main event no matter his current absence.
Now, far be it from me to profess him as the finished article. Wyatt still has a tendency to only pull out a great match every now and again, rather than making a consistent norm. His recent outings against the likes of Chris Jericho, John Cena and Big Show have been hugely disappointing. And whilst his promo work has been some of the most outstanding of any superstar in recent memory, before this video packages they were lacking in direction and not making any sense whatsoever. Hopefully, this new movement will get him back on the right path.
Wyatt is good in the ring when he wants to be, and when he wants to more often he will prove a fitting opponent for anybody on the roster. His size and disturbing flexibility is a unique combination, as is his approach to in-ring psychology. He stands out from the crowd in WWE, which is his most valuable asset in proving that he can claim a permanent spot among the elite.
Thus, the strength and potency of these vignettes for me have convinced me that Wyatt will recover from his disappearance to reek havoc once more on the WWE roster, with or without his Family either side of his rocking chair. Certainly, it would be wrong to rule him out, and upon his return, expect his calls for shock and awe to propel him to even greater heights within the WWE Universe.
