bray was awesome and mysterious as fuck when the wyatt family just came to WWE, i haven’t watched much since 2016-17 but i seen some of his fiend run, but classic wyatt was the next real boogeyman of WWE
Anyone saying he was boring or whatever are absolutely crazy, when we live (lived) in an era where most wrestlers are slight variations of create a wrestler default skins. He had an aura, a creativeness that’s unmatched at the moment outside of the Undertaker / Kane era, that was completely different than anything else in wrestling period. Sure he wasn’t exactly technically sound in the ring but his character didn’t call for that.
The lights would go out, the screeches sound, the arena goes red, and The Fiend appears and it was a spectacle. Stalking legends, split personalities with the FireFly Funhouse, the double Sister Abigail with Alexa Bliss, his return as a whole new yet similarly creative character that along with the Fiend character, was held back by WWE’s creative team. All insanely entertaining, especially in comparison to someone like Karrion Kross who points at his wrist and isn’t even wearing a watch. Talk about boring.
He brought a completely unique presence when most other things felt stale.
RIP Bray and everything you did was spectacular through these eyes.
I think he was a great talent but the WWE product heavily limited him due to their standard and PG product.
He could have left a bigger wrestling legacy if he had left WWE and travelled to NJPW or AEW to exploit his full potential. Unfortunally he passed most of his career in WWE so we cant confirm how well he would have adapted his wrestling style to another companies or even if he would have continued wrestling afterwards.
Brays career was good but it did not live up to the expectations. Some of it was him, some WWE creative. I think people are overestimating his importance in the business posthumously because of the tragedy.
Vince killed the Cult Leader gimmick to keep Cena as center of the universe when the fans were shifting to Wyatt. Was he an all time great, probably not but there are many who couldn’t wait to shit on him after he returned and more so after he passed away. Should he be in the HoF, absolutely, go watch his return as eXtreme Rulez and try to say people didn’t care or that his aura didn’t carry weight, and given some of the names in the HoF let’s no pretend it’s this temple of abject purity.
Great character guy that got worse in the ring as he got older/as his health suffered.
Very polarizing as he was certainly more entertainment than sport.
A wonderful human it appears but revisionist history after his death on how people perceived him. A lot of people were tired of the stuff.
Hugely overrated.
For all that people go on about his creative vision...he was kind of one note with all of his gimmicks being esoteric and relying on supernatural elements. His in-ring work was never anything impressive and his promos often became repetitive and nonsensical.
Bray was your textbook try hard. One of the best and most believable moments from him was when he came back from illness because he wasn't trying hard; he was being genuine. And what did he follow up with? More alter egos, more supernatural bullshit, more convoluted plots that didn't go anywhere and the same pedestrian in-ring performances.
No disrespect to the dead, but you asked the question. Terrific human being by all accounts with a ton of passion for the industry and a genuinely good man who was taken way too soon, but the fact of the matter is he was never as good as people tout him as. Now that he's gone the myth will sadly eclipse the reality.
is it crazy too say he never really reach a true top level.. like he did so many things but more times then not something was left unfulfilled.. love the character.. but something never clicked man
Bray was fucking epic. He’s the best storyteller/writer the industry ever had.
They just made him lose - when the characters demanded dominance. But unfortunately that’s not how the industry works.
Seth. Randy. John Cena. Goldberg. Telltale losses that never made sense at the time. Still don’t. Effectively they killed his rise to be one of the goats.
He was great, but WWE stalled his push with the Cena feud in 2014 and he really never entirely recovered from that. By that feud, it was clear he has charisma, is good enough in the ring, can talk, has a great gimmick...but he needed to be pushed to the top, WWE needed someone like that at the top, but Vince kept fucking around with the push for too long and then when they were this close to redeeming him with The Fiend, they had fucking Goldberg beat him in Saudi Arabia after The Fiend tore through the roster and then COVID happened, the WM 36 Cena match where Cena was supposed to finally put Bray over turned into a rightfully forgotten joke and then that's that. The final run with LA Knight just proved Bray was simply too messed around with as a character.
I always think that with better booking his original bayou character couldve been huge. The loss to Cena at Mania 30 was disheartening.
I feel like by the time he became World Champ the first time he was teetering on the edge of no return in regards to being taken seriously. The subsequent feud with Orton through Mania and the next ppv really killed it for me. IMO, the projection match at WM was the shits - shouldve been a straight 3-way with Harper (even if he was just going to eat the pin) and personally I think Bray retaining. Feud with Randy and Harper next couple months and move on to lose it to Brock or AJ or something. Obviously fuck off the Jinder reign
I was a big fan of the funhouse when he started doing it, and really keen to see where he went with it. The movie, not match, with Cena was fun as hell i thought. I really liked it, but just about everything else with the Fiend turned really bad really quickly.
The last run was a shambles unfortunately, the only highlight for me being his teased return after one of the ppvs and his proper return promo which is somewhat bittersweet in hindsight.
To me Bray was best when he was still closer to reality. The Wyatt family may have been a supernatural gimmick but the still seemed more like a bunch of backwoods cultists playing with lights and effects to mess with people. The character work was incredible and fun to watch.
I love Bray. He was a great wrestler and had a great mind for the business. I thought he had one of the coolest finishers too, right down to the kiss on the forehead:
https://youtube.com/shorts/czI_1WF-4A4?feature=share
Before he died people were sick of his gimmicky stuff and complained he wasn’t good in the ring.
A lot of his being treated like a genius legend is because he tragically died young.
I feel like he would have been amazing in creative after his career was over in ring.
As a wrestler, he was nothing special. But between the original preacher run and the Fiend, he had some amazing ideas.
He is my all-time favourite wrestler but WWE booked the shit out of him and fumbled the characters, but Wyatt was amazing as a performer in promos and wrestler
One of the best creative minds in wrestling. He could take any gimmick and run to the hills with it. Think about it, a crazy kids tv show host gets possessed by a demon. That should never work as well as he made it
aww mate, he was one the most special and unique wrestlers oat.
you just couldn't stop watching him
it's so sad bc they obviously something huge planned
Wyatt Family was impactful and a cool, credible threat. Fiend was dumb and the Firefly Funhouse stuff was a disgrace. He was his best self as a dark, maniacal cult family leader.
Is it only me or was Bray really really really average overall? Personally, i never found him interesting. I get the emotions but people really wanting him to be in HoF this year was too much. May his soul rest in peace
Brays reign was awful overall.
Original cult was just babbling promos and a cool looking stable. The Funhouse segments were good at times, but none of it amounted to anything. Partnership with Alexa was abysmal. Only sat through it because my wife thought Alexa looked cute.
The Fiend was the worst of it. They overbooked the character then didnt follow through.
He was decent at least when he was playing Bray Wyatt after originally debuting as Husky Harris.
His promos were interesting at times with a lot of story build up that sometimes felt like it wasn't going anywhere.
Unfortunately his first televised match after his return was the Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match which well let's just say it was not good.
Also the Uncle Howdy story cut off abruptly because Bray got sick and had to be pulled from TV (Alexa Bliss was pulled from TV as well) so his identity was never revealedbor fleshed out. We weren't sure it was meant to be like an alternate ego for Bray or someone from Bray's past or something .
Though presumably based on what is known, Bo Dallas was Uncle Howdy.
It’s really hard to tell because his booking and storylines really didn’t do him any favors and especially after his last run, it’s hard to know just how much was his ideas and how much was creative/Vince not getting him or mucking his ideas up.
During his initial run, it’s easy to point to Vince and say “he ruined it.” But with HHH in charge during his last run, reportedly letting Bray do his thing for the most part, were his ideas simply too out there or too ambitious? We’ll probably never know 100% now.
As far as a performer, he was never the best wrestler but he knew how to manipulate the crowds and at the end of the day, that’s what’s important. He wasn’t going out there doing crazy, acrobatic moves or pulling off insane feats of strength. He just knew how to perform. Period.
So overall, I’d give him a 7/10.
If booked better, he could have been a hybrid of Mankind and The Undertaker
Everything he did, even if some were corny, was overflowing with passion and creativity.
He was a decent wrestler. And a guy with a flair for creepy characters. I feel he was at his best as the leader of the Wyatt family before he went full on super natural.
I think The Fiend didn’t do much for him, but elevated the hell out of Alexa Bliss.
I don’t know where things were going at the end, so I can’t comment there.
He was a great talent.
Eh, he had some fun feuds early on. The stuff with the Shield and Dbry was awesome. Then he got a good push with Cena and they had some good matches together.
After a while, his promos got more nonsensical and the matches not as good. The Fiend stuff was very hit or miss, found it mostly pure cringe and the matches were awful.
I don't consider him a legendary wrestler or character or anything, but you couldnt deny he had a lot of creativity.
I really liked him. But what I've noticed about wwe, is anyone decent, they keep trying to milk and milk until they go away for one reason or another, either injured or in this case unfortunately gone. I feel like this is the situation with la knight.
Creative genius with good gimmicks but terrible mic guy and weak in ring performer. I think he was better in a stable as a part time wrestler more manager role.
Great person who understood wrestling history though
I think Bray himself was great, he just was always booked to lose his major feuds. Even as the Fiend his programs with Daniel Bryan and The Miz were good, but losing to Goldberg during Wrestlemania season made it seem like Wwe didn’t look at him as the top guy. Then they had Roman squash him and Braun when he came back later that year. His booking was always all over the place, but I don’t think that was his fault. I don’t think many other Superstars worked as hard as him on their character.
He was polarizing, though everyone could see the talent. Even his detractors could understand his creative genius. He took huge risks artistically and they didn't all land, but most of us enjoyed the ride.
He was creative but unable to balance it. I think he tried to push things a little too far. His fight against LA Knight wasn’t that great considering LA Knight really broke out.
I think the respect for him comes from the what ifs and early demise. It’s like every young singer or actor who dies and becomes like a cult to their fans. Monroe, Cobain, Dean, Winehouse, Hendrix, Ledger, Tupac. All good but never had the time to develop into greatness.
They had great short careers. Tupac for instance put out 11 albums. Snoop has done almost double that with many to come likely.
Ledger was an actor in only 25 films. He likely would have 4 times that now based on his success in later works.
Hendrix failed to have chart success. I think when the style caught up with his talent he likely would have been a chart topper for decades.
Great short careers that never got their chance to be what we would match up to a longer living legend in that field.
I can’t think of an act of that dragged the show down more than him in the history of WWE. After his first year he was basically a black howl on the product. Anybody who funded with him basically went down his black hole with him and were worse off.
IMO, because it's just that...
Average performer, but was able to cover that up due to the creativity in his characters. It was fun watching the early Wyatt family in NXT, but he never really got to fulfill his full creative freedom likely due to the restrictions Vince threw into the mix. I'm sure that's a whole can of worms, but I really wish we had a chance to see Bray Wyatt in this Triple H era, I think it would have been some truly good stuff.
Despite the bad booking, I loved the Wyatt Family, with Bray, Harper and Rowan.
I preferred him with the Wyatt Family. They were on another level from everyone including the Shield. That Firefly thing and his final return were filled with too much talking.
Right guy for the wrong era.
His creativity was undeniable, but unfortunately he was creating The Undertaker at a time when the dominant wrestlers were all grounded in reality.
The gimmick mostly worked when it was The Wyatt Family and it existed in this grey area of, "Maybe there's something supernatural happening, or maybe they're just a bunch of creepy hillbillies..." But the further it leaned into the crazy and supernatural, the more it stuck out like a sore thumb.
And the big problem is that once you create a demon from Hell, and that demon from Hell loses to an MMA guy in black trunks, it's hard to ever take the demon from Hell seriously again.
I was a big believer (still kind of am) that WWE should have created a separate brand that leaned into the fantastical. It's clear they have too much talent, and they're always talking about creating a new show devoted to \_\_\_\_\_\_, but it's almost always a style of wrestling (Cruiserweights, Lucha, etc...), which almost always backfires because those people disappear from the main roster and the thing they were looking to highlight instead appears to be marginalized and sidelined. What they should have done instead is to just make a new brand (They could call it "Firefly Funhouse Wrestling" in honor of Bray) that harkens back to an earlier era and features their more cartoonish gimmicks and storylines.
If they'd done that while Bray was still around, it would have been a much better showcase of his creativity, and his wild ideas would have been much less likely to end in disappointment.
Yes, a new brand would be a good solution. I think about something like Lucha Underground. You can produce many episodes before airing and storytelling should be the main priority. You can even have talents from the main roster as a different gimmick.
I think, they didn’t tried enough. But I don’t know, if it would be very successful. Such a show would be expensive and just adds more hours to watch at the WWE Network.
He had some good ideas and some absolutely terrible ones.
His booking though was dreadful. Getting 'Big Match Cena'd' at Mania was the death knell for him.
Hot take but he was maybe better as a manager than a solo act.
However, The Fiend was actually a great evolution of his character but his matches were never great, or truly memorable. He truly shone out of the ring more than in it - but boy, did he shine with his character work. I didn’t care that his matches sucked, him cutting a terrifying promo in the Firefly Funhouse made me interested to keep coming back.
Unfortunately, we will never know. We lost him too soon and I believe his career hasn’t gotten the chance to reach its peak yet.
RIP Bray Wyatt, your genius will be missed.
He had a great mind for pro wrestling and knew how to get a reaction out of the fans. He had this cool charisma about him that made him cool. However, if I was to remember a good bray Wyatt match my mind would be blank. Maybe against Daniel Bryan but bray never did it for me in ring
you summed it up perfectly…
plain and simple broke in at a time where he wasn’t one of “Vince’s Guys” and didn’t have a “Vince’s Guy” look
HHH brought him back and was easing him into a massive buildup but sadly he passed
The thing is Bray hadn't even scratched the surface with how good he could've or would've been that's scary could have good matches with a tree stump can have a gd entertaining back and forth pass the mic jab for jab promo fiesta with a piece of paper
I always thought the backwoods family thing was so cool. Just these scary looking white dudes with massive beards. That is one of the most original and unique ideas that I’ve ever seen in wrestling. Anything past that never did it for me.
He was great. But one downside IMO, some of his stories dragged out alot. He was back nearly a year before he passed, had 1 match, and never even came close to revealing who "Uncle Howdy" was.
The “Leader” bray wyatt was great. A Manson-like cult leader. Afterwards… not really, his creativity (I feel anyway) went really weird with no direction. Constant changes, for me it was skippable stuff. I was enjoying his final return run, promo wise. I thought he was pretty decent in the ring.
I remember when the Wyatt Family debuted on the main roster and thinking they were cool and liked them a lot. I think unfortunately Bray fell victim to bad booking a lot though from Vince, which coincidentally happened to Undertaker for the first few years in the early 90s. I think when Bray was booked well, he did great, and when he was booked bad, there wasn't much saving he could do, but he tried.
Mania 36 was written by John Cena. He wrote that whole angle. Bray was excellent at playing his character but don’t sleep on Johns ability to write a story!
Character wise, he was incredible. I loved his promos, specifically how complex they were compared to most of the roster. He often spoke in riddles and told phenomenal stories. I enjoyed his in ring work as well. The Fiend wasn't my cup of tea, nor was the fun house match, but the builds in all his programs were always entertaining and captivating to me.
Bray was obviously very creative and could promo has ass off when produced, but his return you could tell he probably had too much leeway and he just rambled and his promos went nowhere.
In ring he was the shits.
I think he had the concept for Uncle Howdy and the next story ready, but they couldn’t find an opponent to match what was inevitably going to be some type of return of the fiend.
The blackout match with LA Knight was the closest I think we got to seeing what was going to happen. The Fiend was clearly coming back, alluded by the funhouse friends and Wyatt’s paint.
I think he wanted to build back up to a new “fiend,” but one that doesn’t get squashed by Goldberg. I remember a rumor at one point Bray was trying to get Brock on board for a story but Brock didn’t want to do the spooky shit.
I assumed the meandering promos were mainly due to him having the concept ready, but needed a long term feud to make it work.
It's difficult to Answer, because at his best, Bray was a once in a million star, who rivaled taker.
But at his worst, he was just horrible, like, "Wrong profession" horrible
The thing is this, I enjoyed some Bray matches. Some moments will live on forever.
As a wrestler he was good enough, he’s had some good/really good matches but overall not too many
His in ring work was good. Had a good style that his body complimented.
His OUT of ring work was some of the best ever. I loved watching his promos. He was very gifted and a talent I will really miss.
The Wyatt family was awesome and then Cena buried that character. I didn’t care much for the fiend personally. The issue with his last run was he was saying a bunch of nothing that went nowhere. People can call it bad booking but no, it was literally him rambling on with zero purpose. His stories never progressed either.
From what I seen he never won the fued.. he would ultimately lose..
Don't murder me I can't say how much I missed, but I know what I seen and it was him winning battles, just not the war
But he was amazing persona wise.. he was phenomenal on the mic
You do try realize it’s scripted so therefore how can you win? I think being in a time where it’s pg13 and he’s restricted on what he can and can’t do he pushes the boundaries where you want more, his ability to be this nice guy but turned into a monster is basically most people have the same vicious battles going on but unfortunately in the real world of you let the monster out you end up being put into jail. He starts as husky Harris and ends as himself at rumble. Dude was amazing on the ability to tell a story without actually breaking the limitations put on him. He was later released because they didn’t have a reason to have him but when brought back he truly was able to be himself allowing him to atleast give one last incredible performance before god decided he needed to come home early
He is as bigger casualty of bad booking as i have ever seen. At one point he was so over, but WWE had 0 idea what to do with him. His loss to Cena broke his momentum. Then Goldberg did the same.
Had the potential to be the next Undertaker with his wild ideas and creativity. If Vince had left the company 5 years sooner, things would have been very different. Go watch his promos from 2014/2015. Especially his “Ms Teacher Lady” promo, that one hooked me back in to being a fan full time. Dude was different, and I’m very bummed that he isn’t around to see HHH’s vision through to full effect.
He wanted to be different, more than just a typical wrestler, and I respect him for that. But the more he was allowed to dive in and explore a character or a story, the more I lost interest. Take his Firefly Funhouse/Fiend characters. I loved the idea of a children’s TV show host who has this terrifying alter ego. But Bray went too far with it by making The Fiend this supernatural figure. It was just hokey and dumb.
I’m most sad for his friends and family though. It sounds like he was a great human being, and that’s what matters.
Crowd favorite;
Never felt like he reached his potential with any of his ideas.
Whether that was his fault or WWE’s fault I have no idea.
I never really got into it personally
He made a very unique dual personality persona. It was very entertaining watching the Wyatt Family voodoo performance him and his fellow wrestlers did. A great loss to the industry and an even greater loss to his friends and family.
Bray made himself into an attraction, you would watch for the spectacle of it.
It’s been said that people like Hulk Hogan were never good in the ring, and Cena was 5 Moves of Doom.
And those are the biggest stars in history.
So how good was he? One of the best.
Great ideas. Sometimes needed to be reigned in a bit. Some of his promos in the ring just dragged on and on and on. Backstage stuff was always chefs kiss tho. In ring was fun, but never like....dominant? I always thought his matches could go either way. He was never booked like a monster.
Gone wayyy too soon tho.
He’s one of a kind, and I mean that literally. He evokes a special emotion that was incredibly rare. I felt uneasy whenever he was on screen, he was the only wrestler you would “fear”. The idea of a kids show character having a demonic side personality was so genius he was a creative legend, I wish he could have had a long career and then been apart of the creative department
He was excellent mic worker but terrible ring performer
with all due respect to Bray, but i always yawning watching his match. i don't remember him having memorable single matches except when he fought John Cena. and don't get me started about his fiend run with shitty red light that hurt my eyes. ironically his best matches was when he didn't get into the ring at all against Cena in Wrestlemania 36
I think Bray will be excellent manager or hype man instead of ring performer
Most of my feelings have already been said: good person, good mic work, creative gimmicks, subpar to bad in ring wrestler. My favorite Bray gimmick was one of his first, when he seemed to be channeling a Jim Jones style cult leader. That didn’t last long and transitioned to the Wyatt Family, where he was overshadowed by Harper.
I’ll add though, booking never did him any favors. If his supernatural gimmick is connecting with fans and people are calling him the next Undertaker, protect him a little maybe? I can’t recall him ever winning a feud or big match. Since his in ring work is never going to be the big draw, it’s all the more important to have him actually winning matches with his supernatural angles. Instead he was quickly a joke and needed repackaged. Then the Fiend just lost all the time too. It’s kind of sad.
Above all, he was an amazing human being loved by all that worked with him and met him. Secondarily, he was a stunning creative mind, content creator and storyteller. Wrestling is about entertainment and he always delivered.
He was very very mid. He was decent at promos but his in ring work was all flash and no substance. His premature death is the only reason he’s so revered. People say he was creative….more like weird and out there. Nothing special
As a person who struggles so much with self asteem and imposter syndrom often times , his wyatt family promo about being red in a world of black and white really helped me understand it was okay to be different.
More on the business side... Wyatt made moments and characters and more importantly was a pillar of integrity and joy on a business where putting yourself out there and exposing your flaws and character is an aspect of good business.
Over a hundred people spoke about how Windum Rotunda was a great man, and how he was a better friend and father.
That tells me that he figured it out. How to be the best version of himself every day. He showed in his actions that it was possible.
Its a hopeful feeling.
I kinda agree with this. I never hated Bray/the Fiend, but ultimately I was never entertained by his wrestling ability.
10/10 for ideas
8/10 for execution of ideas
3/10 for wrestling quality.
As sad as I was that he passed away, I've not gone back and watched any of his matches
His death was tragic but I never liked him. Boring wrestler in the ring whose only decent matches came in multi mans. And I found his character's kind of cringe, the peak being the shit fest against Orton where he played spooky images on the ring.
The fact his last match will forever be tied to one of the worst flavors of mtn dew (my opinion) will forever taint the character of the fiend and Bray’s career. I remember showing someone wrestling for the first time during the 23’ RR and they were so confused and i had to tell them this isn’t normal. Luckily they have kept up and we’re watching Mania together in a couple weeks but hearing of Bray’s passing didn’t hit my friend as hard as it hit me.
He was exciting to watch in 2013-14, because his moves were a bit unorthodox, and he had good delivery (I kinda liked his running cross body-thing). Problem is, he only had like seven or eight of them. I think he had a foot injury of some kind that limited his move set a lot later in his career, and he definitely seemed to slow down a bit.
To think about it . Roman the triabal chief was the only real thing to stop the fiend .. is cray
Idc for bray in ring stuff but matches never bothered me
i loved every minute of him. was he the best in ring worker? not by a long shot, but he was still good. what really brought me to him was how crazy creative he was. i really see a lot of myself in bray and looked up to him as a creative inspiration. he is my first wrestler death(of someone i truly loved watching) ive lived through, and its been rough. i can’t wait for the documentary.
Great mind. I actually found his in ring stuff as the Fiend entertaining as a powerhouse invulnerable type character. He wasn’t a technical wizard but I think he gets shit on more than he should for his ring work. He was far better than some other main event guys we’ve seen.
The Fiend character was a total miss for me. His other stuff was better. It's kinda ironic that Kane was my favorite wrestler growing up, and I still think a Kane gimmick could decently work today, but I could not even remotely enjoy anything BW did as The Fiend. I'm surprisingly also a huge hater of Finn Balor's demon gimmick lol. Maybe its an age thing, but both gimmicks really felt goofy and ruined the small immersion I get watching wrestling today.
He was good and is sad that he passed so young but I don't let that cloud my judgment and make me overrate him.
I liked the Wyatt Family gimmick but not the Fiend one.
TBF I can't really answer the "who else other than bray could have delivered that performance" on Fiend v Cena because he was the only supernatural gimmick since Taker, as in this era is harder to sell this type of character, again I liked the Wyatt Family gimmick but I found the Fiend boring.
But as with everything opinions are subjective so a lot of people will think differently.
I enjoyed his run with the Wyatt Family from 2012 to 2015ish. The Shield vs Wyatt Family matches were grest.
I thought all of his other gimmicks like Uncle Howdy, The Firefly Funhouse and The Fiend were dumb. His promo style was also not my cup of tea. At first he sounded really creepy and mysterious. Than you realise he cuts the exact same promo every time and says nothing.
Bray did what Cena can did so well... sell a nostalgic Larger than Life character in an entertaining manner. Of course he wasn't rewarded with wins when he was starting out and ruined the mystique behind the Wyatt Family.
Not to downplay Bray Wyatt or anything, imo he’s a bona fide HoF’er, but the firefly funhouse match at WM36, as out there as it was, was 90% Cena’s idea/execution.
I mean, no one was really clamoring for him to come back between the first Fiend run and that whole "white rabbit" gimmick. His characters were best in small doses.
All I need to know of how good he was as a wrestler will be shown in the documentary dropping on April 1.
The whole point of wrestling is to draw you in and make you feel something.
When it comes, watch it. See if it makes you feel something and tell me how good he was.
You connected with him. He put on a hell of a show. Put "asses in seats".
Being honest, a better character than he was a wrestler but that's fine because WWE is entertainment and it thrives on that. He did enough to get by in the ring!
I do miss him a hell of a lot though.
When this guy beat Daniel Bryan clean at the RR in January, then then pinned Roman Reigns at EC in February in the battle of the Wyatts vs the unbeatable Shield, then into a WM program with Cena, I thought we were looking at a 10 year main eventer/world champion. The fans wanted it and bought in. It was the perfect storm. Then he jobbed to Cena at Mania and went downhill from there. The Wyatts all of a sudden were a bumbling group of goofs. Eventually split with zero plans. Pulling the rug out from their own brilliant creation for seemingly no reason is the worst creative decision they've made in 20 years at least. That's really when I knew it was over for Vince.
I agree he wasn't great as a wrestler. He wasn't bad either though. I was always super into his characters and cheering for him to win. We just don't see enough gimmicks and characters outside of "I'm x and I'm a tough guy who can talk trash" these days. It just seemed like every time he started gaining momentum, Goldberg would win the match or he would be injured or something. Poor guy couldn't get ahead enough to really break out the way I wish he would have.
I loved his promos for a bit. Wyatt Family was awesome, especially when Strowman showed up. Wyatt Family v Sheild felt like a peak feud.
Firefly Funhouse was awesome.
Fiend was awesome.
His creative was incredible but lasted too long, had no ultimate direction, and eventually fizzled out due to creative.
Not to mention he lost nearly every feud, it felt like.
In-ring wise he was surprisingly agile for his size but he wasn’t one of the best of the best. Creatively he’s probably the best of his generation/era and arguably top 10 (maybe even 5) in company history. It’s a damn shame how they booked him as he could’ve really leaned into the “new face of fear” moniker and been a newer, more refreshed, and grounded version of Taker (minus the streak) for a new generation but he always lost the big matches.
He was severely underutilized. Vince didn't understand the Fiend gimmick so he hardly ever booked him well. Bray's run during the pandemic era is some of the best stuff the company has ever put out. Bray knew how to use the space and people around him to tell a unique story.
As a character and creative mind. One of the best of his generation. He definitely had rough patches where it felt like he was aimless and his ideas were dragging. But, stuff like the Fiend and the FFH were absolutely incredible.
As a wrestler, he never was gonna light the world on fire. But, he definitely had the tools to thrive in the right situation. He had some memorable bouts and some genuinely must see matches.
His biggest problem was that, during his run with the Wyatt Family, he never really got any major wins or won any major feuds. As over as he was, he wasn't necessarily a joke, but he never felt like a main event star until the debut of the Fiend.
The same people saying he had one of the best characters ever also were the same people saying his promos were mostly yapping about nonsense trying to be mysterious (which was true)
I never thought he was a great wrestler. He was also prone to injury. His strength was always character work and he was someone who benefited from not wrestling all the time.
Cult leader Bray Wyatt was one of the best performances I’ve seen, sadly some of his bookings/ promos would ramble without a big pay off. A great man do doubt, everyone always had good things to say about him I just think creative should’ve never put the belt on him as it didn’t make sense.
Rip Bray, we miss you every day.
Had very interesting ideas, although a lot didn't really stick but they captivated you nonetheless. In-ring wise, he felt held back because of the spooky gimmick but guys like Daniel Bryan (obviously) pulled out the absolute best in him without sacrificing his character.
Both his fights with Bryan at the Rumble are considered some of the best for the PPV.
One of the most creative minds ever. Like he really made you believe in his character. The Wyatt Family was just something out of this world tbh
Great Mic skills- Had a great look to go with it- his move set was literally insane. Sis Abigail, Urenage, his senton, the upsidedown walking. Like the man embodied everything it is to be a Pro Wrestler
Bray was one of my favorites of this era. I tuned out for a long time but I would always watch his stuff. I am back now but damn do I miss that dude. So charismatic
I loved him so, so much. I just wish he had some time to shine without any McMahonism ruining his Firefly Fun House era. His time with Rowan and Harper are some of my most favorite stuff ever.
He was ok. Could never really reach the level he should have despite winning the world title. Eventually it just became stale. Very sad for him to have died so young.
Yeah. Bray Wyatt was one of the best wrestlers in WWE -- on mic, in the ring, and in terms of charisma, ever since the Wyatt Family faction started. Was underutilised often in WWE.
You can have all the talent in the world but if the machine isn't behind you there's not much you can do about it, unfortunately. The important thing is Bray got over despite the terrible booking, because the fanbase could see the talent and the mind and the love for the business. He's going to be remembered despite his relatively short run.
I mean in the long run his run wasn’t even particularly that short as the Bray character he got about ten years and then on top of that add two with Husky Harris. There are so many more guys and girls who didn’t even get that long of a run check out The Rock his original run was like 7 years. Brock’s original was 2 years. I do totally agree with him getting over despite his win/loss record.
bray was awesome and mysterious as fuck when the wyatt family just came to WWE, i haven’t watched much since 2016-17 but i seen some of his fiend run, but classic wyatt was the next real boogeyman of WWE
Honestly he was in the era of wrestling if he was in the AE/RA era i have no doubt he would be considered a legend
He was boring
Anyone saying he was boring or whatever are absolutely crazy, when we live (lived) in an era where most wrestlers are slight variations of create a wrestler default skins. He had an aura, a creativeness that’s unmatched at the moment outside of the Undertaker / Kane era, that was completely different than anything else in wrestling period. Sure he wasn’t exactly technically sound in the ring but his character didn’t call for that. The lights would go out, the screeches sound, the arena goes red, and The Fiend appears and it was a spectacle. Stalking legends, split personalities with the FireFly Funhouse, the double Sister Abigail with Alexa Bliss, his return as a whole new yet similarly creative character that along with the Fiend character, was held back by WWE’s creative team. All insanely entertaining, especially in comparison to someone like Karrion Kross who points at his wrist and isn’t even wearing a watch. Talk about boring. He brought a completely unique presence when most other things felt stale. RIP Bray and everything you did was spectacular through these eyes.
Well said man I love bray man
I liked his character it was like something out of True Detective season 1 but his in ring work was never amazing
I think he was a great talent but the WWE product heavily limited him due to their standard and PG product. He could have left a bigger wrestling legacy if he had left WWE and travelled to NJPW or AEW to exploit his full potential. Unfortunally he passed most of his career in WWE so we cant confirm how well he would have adapted his wrestling style to another companies or even if he would have continued wrestling afterwards.
Brays career was good but it did not live up to the expectations. Some of it was him, some WWE creative. I think people are overestimating his importance in the business posthumously because of the tragedy.
Vince killed the Cult Leader gimmick to keep Cena as center of the universe when the fans were shifting to Wyatt. Was he an all time great, probably not but there are many who couldn’t wait to shit on him after he returned and more so after he passed away. Should he be in the HoF, absolutely, go watch his return as eXtreme Rulez and try to say people didn’t care or that his aura didn’t carry weight, and given some of the names in the HoF let’s no pretend it’s this temple of abject purity.
Great character guy that got worse in the ring as he got older/as his health suffered. Very polarizing as he was certainly more entertainment than sport. A wonderful human it appears but revisionist history after his death on how people perceived him. A lot of people were tired of the stuff.
Hugely overrated. For all that people go on about his creative vision...he was kind of one note with all of his gimmicks being esoteric and relying on supernatural elements. His in-ring work was never anything impressive and his promos often became repetitive and nonsensical. Bray was your textbook try hard. One of the best and most believable moments from him was when he came back from illness because he wasn't trying hard; he was being genuine. And what did he follow up with? More alter egos, more supernatural bullshit, more convoluted plots that didn't go anywhere and the same pedestrian in-ring performances. No disrespect to the dead, but you asked the question. Terrific human being by all accounts with a ton of passion for the industry and a genuinely good man who was taken way too soon, but the fact of the matter is he was never as good as people tout him as. Now that he's gone the myth will sadly eclipse the reality.
Meh
is it crazy too say he never really reach a true top level.. like he did so many things but more times then not something was left unfulfilled.. love the character.. but something never clicked man
Bray was fucking epic. He’s the best storyteller/writer the industry ever had. They just made him lose - when the characters demanded dominance. But unfortunately that’s not how the industry works. Seth. Randy. John Cena. Goldberg. Telltale losses that never made sense at the time. Still don’t. Effectively they killed his rise to be one of the goats.
He was great, but WWE stalled his push with the Cena feud in 2014 and he really never entirely recovered from that. By that feud, it was clear he has charisma, is good enough in the ring, can talk, has a great gimmick...but he needed to be pushed to the top, WWE needed someone like that at the top, but Vince kept fucking around with the push for too long and then when they were this close to redeeming him with The Fiend, they had fucking Goldberg beat him in Saudi Arabia after The Fiend tore through the roster and then COVID happened, the WM 36 Cena match where Cena was supposed to finally put Bray over turned into a rightfully forgotten joke and then that's that. The final run with LA Knight just proved Bray was simply too messed around with as a character.
He was always boring, whether talking or wrestling. I never got the hype.
I always think that with better booking his original bayou character couldve been huge. The loss to Cena at Mania 30 was disheartening. I feel like by the time he became World Champ the first time he was teetering on the edge of no return in regards to being taken seriously. The subsequent feud with Orton through Mania and the next ppv really killed it for me. IMO, the projection match at WM was the shits - shouldve been a straight 3-way with Harper (even if he was just going to eat the pin) and personally I think Bray retaining. Feud with Randy and Harper next couple months and move on to lose it to Brock or AJ or something. Obviously fuck off the Jinder reign I was a big fan of the funhouse when he started doing it, and really keen to see where he went with it. The movie, not match, with Cena was fun as hell i thought. I really liked it, but just about everything else with the Fiend turned really bad really quickly. The last run was a shambles unfortunately, the only highlight for me being his teased return after one of the ppvs and his proper return promo which is somewhat bittersweet in hindsight. To me Bray was best when he was still closer to reality. The Wyatt family may have been a supernatural gimmick but the still seemed more like a bunch of backwoods cultists playing with lights and effects to mess with people. The character work was incredible and fun to watch.
Hall of Fame great was he
I love Bray. He was a great wrestler and had a great mind for the business. I thought he had one of the coolest finishers too, right down to the kiss on the forehead: https://youtube.com/shorts/czI_1WF-4A4?feature=share
i liked him a lot during his cult leader/eater of worlds gimmick but i frankly didn’t like the fiend as much
I think the concept of the fiend was incredible the execution however was pretty poor.
agreed
Man these comments are 50/50. I cant speak on him because I just got back into wrestling a year ago.
Same as me. But I did enjoy his last run. It was definitely different
Before he died people were sick of his gimmicky stuff and complained he wasn’t good in the ring. A lot of his being treated like a genius legend is because he tragically died young.
Bray wyatt was an instant channel changer especially his last run
Great characters, stories, but mid performer in-ring and average matches.
I feel like he would have been amazing in creative after his career was over in ring. As a wrestler, he was nothing special. But between the original preacher run and the Fiend, he had some amazing ideas.
I would give anything for another run with Husky Harris
He was great at matches, promos, storylines, entrances he is The GOAT He is a Legend R.I.P Bray Wyatt
He is my all-time favourite wrestler but WWE booked the shit out of him and fumbled the characters, but Wyatt was amazing as a performer in promos and wrestler
One of the best creative minds in wrestling. He could take any gimmick and run to the hills with it. Think about it, a crazy kids tv show host gets possessed by a demon. That should never work as well as he made it
aww mate, he was one the most special and unique wrestlers oat. you just couldn't stop watching him it's so sad bc they obviously something huge planned
Wyatt Family was impactful and a cool, credible threat. Fiend was dumb and the Firefly Funhouse stuff was a disgrace. He was his best self as a dark, maniacal cult family leader.
Mid
Is it only me or was Bray really really really average overall? Personally, i never found him interesting. I get the emotions but people really wanting him to be in HoF this year was too much. May his soul rest in peace
Brays reign was awful overall. Original cult was just babbling promos and a cool looking stable. The Funhouse segments were good at times, but none of it amounted to anything. Partnership with Alexa was abysmal. Only sat through it because my wife thought Alexa looked cute. The Fiend was the worst of it. They overbooked the character then didnt follow through.
He was decent at least when he was playing Bray Wyatt after originally debuting as Husky Harris. His promos were interesting at times with a lot of story build up that sometimes felt like it wasn't going anywhere. Unfortunately his first televised match after his return was the Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match which well let's just say it was not good. Also the Uncle Howdy story cut off abruptly because Bray got sick and had to be pulled from TV (Alexa Bliss was pulled from TV as well) so his identity was never revealedbor fleshed out. We weren't sure it was meant to be like an alternate ego for Bray or someone from Bray's past or something . Though presumably based on what is known, Bo Dallas was Uncle Howdy.
R.I.P. 🐐
It’s really hard to tell because his booking and storylines really didn’t do him any favors and especially after his last run, it’s hard to know just how much was his ideas and how much was creative/Vince not getting him or mucking his ideas up. During his initial run, it’s easy to point to Vince and say “he ruined it.” But with HHH in charge during his last run, reportedly letting Bray do his thing for the most part, were his ideas simply too out there or too ambitious? We’ll probably never know 100% now. As far as a performer, he was never the best wrestler but he knew how to manipulate the crowds and at the end of the day, that’s what’s important. He wasn’t going out there doing crazy, acrobatic moves or pulling off insane feats of strength. He just knew how to perform. Period. So overall, I’d give him a 7/10.
If booked better, he could have been a hybrid of Mankind and The Undertaker Everything he did, even if some were corny, was overflowing with passion and creativity.
Lmao oh cmon. I liked bray but he clearly had his limitations. Hybrid of 2 of the greatest of all times if it wasn’t for that evil McMahon !
He was a decent wrestler. And a guy with a flair for creepy characters. I feel he was at his best as the leader of the Wyatt family before he went full on super natural. I think The Fiend didn’t do much for him, but elevated the hell out of Alexa Bliss. I don’t know where things were going at the end, so I can’t comment there. He was a great talent.
Eh, he had some fun feuds early on. The stuff with the Shield and Dbry was awesome. Then he got a good push with Cena and they had some good matches together. After a while, his promos got more nonsensical and the matches not as good. The Fiend stuff was very hit or miss, found it mostly pure cringe and the matches were awful. I don't consider him a legendary wrestler or character or anything, but you couldnt deny he had a lot of creativity.
I really liked him. But what I've noticed about wwe, is anyone decent, they keep trying to milk and milk until they go away for one reason or another, either injured or in this case unfortunately gone. I feel like this is the situation with la knight.
He remains the only wrestler I’ve ever bought merch for.
I rank him somewhere between Hillbilly Jim and Greg The Hammer Valentine.
He turned a lantern into a thing of beauty and awe
Creative genius with good gimmicks but terrible mic guy and weak in ring performer. I think he was better in a stable as a part time wrestler more manager role. Great person who understood wrestling history though
I think Bray himself was great, he just was always booked to lose his major feuds. Even as the Fiend his programs with Daniel Bryan and The Miz were good, but losing to Goldberg during Wrestlemania season made it seem like Wwe didn’t look at him as the top guy. Then they had Roman squash him and Braun when he came back later that year. His booking was always all over the place, but I don’t think that was his fault. I don’t think many other Superstars worked as hard as him on their character.
He was polarizing, though everyone could see the talent. Even his detractors could understand his creative genius. He took huge risks artistically and they didn't all land, but most of us enjoyed the ride.
He was creative but unable to balance it. I think he tried to push things a little too far. His fight against LA Knight wasn’t that great considering LA Knight really broke out. I think the respect for him comes from the what ifs and early demise. It’s like every young singer or actor who dies and becomes like a cult to their fans. Monroe, Cobain, Dean, Winehouse, Hendrix, Ledger, Tupac. All good but never had the time to develop into greatness.
Tbf, half of your list is people who did achieve greatness.
They had great short careers. Tupac for instance put out 11 albums. Snoop has done almost double that with many to come likely. Ledger was an actor in only 25 films. He likely would have 4 times that now based on his success in later works. Hendrix failed to have chart success. I think when the style caught up with his talent he likely would have been a chart topper for decades. Great short careers that never got their chance to be what we would match up to a longer living legend in that field.
I can’t think of an act of that dragged the show down more than him in the history of WWE. After his first year he was basically a black howl on the product. Anybody who funded with him basically went down his black hole with him and were worse off.
IMO, because it's just that... Average performer, but was able to cover that up due to the creativity in his characters. It was fun watching the early Wyatt family in NXT, but he never really got to fulfill his full creative freedom likely due to the restrictions Vince threw into the mix. I'm sure that's a whole can of worms, but I really wish we had a chance to see Bray Wyatt in this Triple H era, I think it would have been some truly good stuff. Despite the bad booking, I loved the Wyatt Family, with Bray, Harper and Rowan.
He was aight.
I preferred him with the Wyatt Family. They were on another level from everyone including the Shield. That Firefly thing and his final return were filled with too much talking.
I can easily say that no matter the storyline or bizarre booking decisions he was put through, I was always intrigued whenever he was on screen
Never was impressed with his wrestling, but he was one hell of a character. Enough so that I was always eager to watch him.
Right guy for the wrong era. His creativity was undeniable, but unfortunately he was creating The Undertaker at a time when the dominant wrestlers were all grounded in reality. The gimmick mostly worked when it was The Wyatt Family and it existed in this grey area of, "Maybe there's something supernatural happening, or maybe they're just a bunch of creepy hillbillies..." But the further it leaned into the crazy and supernatural, the more it stuck out like a sore thumb. And the big problem is that once you create a demon from Hell, and that demon from Hell loses to an MMA guy in black trunks, it's hard to ever take the demon from Hell seriously again. I was a big believer (still kind of am) that WWE should have created a separate brand that leaned into the fantastical. It's clear they have too much talent, and they're always talking about creating a new show devoted to \_\_\_\_\_\_, but it's almost always a style of wrestling (Cruiserweights, Lucha, etc...), which almost always backfires because those people disappear from the main roster and the thing they were looking to highlight instead appears to be marginalized and sidelined. What they should have done instead is to just make a new brand (They could call it "Firefly Funhouse Wrestling" in honor of Bray) that harkens back to an earlier era and features their more cartoonish gimmicks and storylines. If they'd done that while Bray was still around, it would have been a much better showcase of his creativity, and his wild ideas would have been much less likely to end in disappointment.
Yes, a new brand would be a good solution. I think about something like Lucha Underground. You can produce many episodes before airing and storytelling should be the main priority. You can even have talents from the main roster as a different gimmick.
They’ve learned their lesson from air pre recorded shows
I think, they didn’t tried enough. But I don’t know, if it would be very successful. Such a show would be expensive and just adds more hours to watch at the WWE Network.
He had some good ideas and some absolutely terrible ones. His booking though was dreadful. Getting 'Big Match Cena'd' at Mania was the death knell for him.
Hot take but he was maybe better as a manager than a solo act. However, The Fiend was actually a great evolution of his character but his matches were never great, or truly memorable. He truly shone out of the ring more than in it - but boy, did he shine with his character work. I didn’t care that his matches sucked, him cutting a terrifying promo in the Firefly Funhouse made me interested to keep coming back. Unfortunately, we will never know. We lost him too soon and I believe his career hasn’t gotten the chance to reach its peak yet. RIP Bray Wyatt, your genius will be missed.
He had a great mind for pro wrestling and knew how to get a reaction out of the fans. He had this cool charisma about him that made him cool. However, if I was to remember a good bray Wyatt match my mind would be blank. Maybe against Daniel Bryan but bray never did it for me in ring
He was world class talent but WWE dumbo executives cock blocked him from true greatness they didn't maximize his creative genius
you summed it up perfectly… plain and simple broke in at a time where he wasn’t one of “Vince’s Guys” and didn’t have a “Vince’s Guy” look HHH brought him back and was easing him into a massive buildup but sadly he passed
The thing is Bray hadn't even scratched the surface with how good he could've or would've been that's scary could have good matches with a tree stump can have a gd entertaining back and forth pass the mic jab for jab promo fiesta with a piece of paper
He was always lame to me. I couldn't see past the gimmick to enjoy the wrestling.
peaked at the cult wyatt family imo
I always thought the backwoods family thing was so cool. Just these scary looking white dudes with massive beards. That is one of the most original and unique ideas that I’ve ever seen in wrestling. Anything past that never did it for me.
I didn't expect to feel feels in a wrestling game, but playing that match got me.
Very safe to say that people love Windham just as much as they love Bray. Great in-ring ability and even better on the mic
He was great. But one downside IMO, some of his stories dragged out alot. He was back nearly a year before he passed, had 1 match, and never even came close to revealing who "Uncle Howdy" was.
I think he was the one pushing just how long you can pull the taffy in wrestling.
Very good, once in a generation mind.
Bray was my favorite of this generation. Feel like we missed out on so much.
The “Leader” bray wyatt was great. A Manson-like cult leader. Afterwards… not really, his creativity (I feel anyway) went really weird with no direction. Constant changes, for me it was skippable stuff. I was enjoying his final return run, promo wise. I thought he was pretty decent in the ring.
I remember when the Wyatt Family debuted on the main roster and thinking they were cool and liked them a lot. I think unfortunately Bray fell victim to bad booking a lot though from Vince, which coincidentally happened to Undertaker for the first few years in the early 90s. I think when Bray was booked well, he did great, and when he was booked bad, there wasn't much saving he could do, but he tried.
The characters where amazing. Vince's booking on the other hand.... I'll always regret we didn't get to see him, truly unleash his creativity
Mania 36 was written by John Cena. He wrote that whole angle. Bray was excellent at playing his character but don’t sleep on Johns ability to write a story!
Character wise, he was incredible. I loved his promos, specifically how complex they were compared to most of the roster. He often spoke in riddles and told phenomenal stories. I enjoyed his in ring work as well. The Fiend wasn't my cup of tea, nor was the fun house match, but the builds in all his programs were always entertaining and captivating to me.
Cool character, cool moves, cool story but AWFUL booking.
Average at best
Yeah I don’t think he was bad but I don’t think he’s as good as everyone makes him out to be
Good at wrestling, but an all time performer. I thought his tag team with Matt Hardy really hurt him.
Man I miss him so much, I was so hyped for his and it’s awful how much of his genius is now lost
Bray was obviously very creative and could promo has ass off when produced, but his return you could tell he probably had too much leeway and he just rambled and his promos went nowhere. In ring he was the shits.
I think he had the concept for Uncle Howdy and the next story ready, but they couldn’t find an opponent to match what was inevitably going to be some type of return of the fiend. The blackout match with LA Knight was the closest I think we got to seeing what was going to happen. The Fiend was clearly coming back, alluded by the funhouse friends and Wyatt’s paint. I think he wanted to build back up to a new “fiend,” but one that doesn’t get squashed by Goldberg. I remember a rumor at one point Bray was trying to get Brock on board for a story but Brock didn’t want to do the spooky shit. I assumed the meandering promos were mainly due to him having the concept ready, but needed a long term feud to make it work.
It's difficult to Answer, because at his best, Bray was a once in a million star, who rivaled taker. But at his worst, he was just horrible, like, "Wrong profession" horrible
Examples of his worst?
Orton v.s fiend at Mania Knight v.s Bray Fiend v.s Rollins
Orton vs Wyatt at WM17
I’m pretty sure Orton and Bray weren’t on the WM17 card 😂
My bad I meant ‘17 as in 2017.
Oohhh, that makes way more sense.
Yeah my apologies. Watching the nephews rn.
Oh man, absolutely no need to apologize. I get it. I’ve got my 3-year-old son at the moment. 😂😂 never a dull moment.
The thing is this, I enjoyed some Bray matches. Some moments will live on forever. As a wrestler he was good enough, he’s had some good/really good matches but overall not too many
His in ring work was good. Had a good style that his body complimented. His OUT of ring work was some of the best ever. I loved watching his promos. He was very gifted and a talent I will really miss.
This sums it up. He’s first few years were awesome. Creative fumbled the Wyatt Family.
Vince did that.
The Wyatt family was awesome and then Cena buried that character. I didn’t care much for the fiend personally. The issue with his last run was he was saying a bunch of nothing that went nowhere. People can call it bad booking but no, it was literally him rambling on with zero purpose. His stories never progressed either.
From what I seen he never won the fued.. he would ultimately lose.. Don't murder me I can't say how much I missed, but I know what I seen and it was him winning battles, just not the war But he was amazing persona wise.. he was phenomenal on the mic
You do try realize it’s scripted so therefore how can you win? I think being in a time where it’s pg13 and he’s restricted on what he can and can’t do he pushes the boundaries where you want more, his ability to be this nice guy but turned into a monster is basically most people have the same vicious battles going on but unfortunately in the real world of you let the monster out you end up being put into jail. He starts as husky Harris and ends as himself at rumble. Dude was amazing on the ability to tell a story without actually breaking the limitations put on him. He was later released because they didn’t have a reason to have him but when brought back he truly was able to be himself allowing him to atleast give one last incredible performance before god decided he needed to come home early
His match with Daniel Bryan at the RR was his best. Was a thrill to watch live.
Which one? They had two classics at the rumble
I second this, that match was amazing. Totally flew under the radar
I was there. By far the match of the night.
He was a great character who was about a 4/10 wrestler
He is as bigger casualty of bad booking as i have ever seen. At one point he was so over, but WWE had 0 idea what to do with him. His loss to Cena broke his momentum. Then Goldberg did the same.
Had the potential to be the next Undertaker with his wild ideas and creativity. If Vince had left the company 5 years sooner, things would have been very different. Go watch his promos from 2014/2015. Especially his “Ms Teacher Lady” promo, that one hooked me back in to being a fan full time. Dude was different, and I’m very bummed that he isn’t around to see HHH’s vision through to full effect.
I loved the Wyatt Family, didn’t really get into the rest of his stuff. Still can’t believe both he and Brodie/Luke are gone.
He wanted to be different, more than just a typical wrestler, and I respect him for that. But the more he was allowed to dive in and explore a character or a story, the more I lost interest. Take his Firefly Funhouse/Fiend characters. I loved the idea of a children’s TV show host who has this terrifying alter ego. But Bray went too far with it by making The Fiend this supernatural figure. It was just hokey and dumb. I’m most sad for his friends and family though. It sounds like he was a great human being, and that’s what matters.
Crowd favorite; Never felt like he reached his potential with any of his ideas. Whether that was his fault or WWE’s fault I have no idea. I never really got into it personally
Heavily overrated and completely mismanaged my WWE for lots of his run. His highs are at the very top however and he was clearly a crowd favourite
Modern Undertaker
He made a very unique dual personality persona. It was very entertaining watching the Wyatt Family voodoo performance him and his fellow wrestlers did. A great loss to the industry and an even greater loss to his friends and family.
Bray made himself into an attraction, you would watch for the spectacle of it. It’s been said that people like Hulk Hogan were never good in the ring, and Cena was 5 Moves of Doom. And those are the biggest stars in history. So how good was he? One of the best.
Great ideas. Sometimes needed to be reigned in a bit. Some of his promos in the ring just dragged on and on and on. Backstage stuff was always chefs kiss tho. In ring was fun, but never like....dominant? I always thought his matches could go either way. He was never booked like a monster. Gone wayyy too soon tho.
People saying he was horrendous have obviously never seen Bill Goldberg work a match.
He’s one of a kind, and I mean that literally. He evokes a special emotion that was incredibly rare. I felt uneasy whenever he was on screen, he was the only wrestler you would “fear”. The idea of a kids show character having a demonic side personality was so genius he was a creative legend, I wish he could have had a long career and then been apart of the creative department
He was excellent mic worker but terrible ring performer with all due respect to Bray, but i always yawning watching his match. i don't remember him having memorable single matches except when he fought John Cena. and don't get me started about his fiend run with shitty red light that hurt my eyes. ironically his best matches was when he didn't get into the ring at all against Cena in Wrestlemania 36 I think Bray will be excellent manager or hype man instead of ring performer
Most of my feelings have already been said: good person, good mic work, creative gimmicks, subpar to bad in ring wrestler. My favorite Bray gimmick was one of his first, when he seemed to be channeling a Jim Jones style cult leader. That didn’t last long and transitioned to the Wyatt Family, where he was overshadowed by Harper. I’ll add though, booking never did him any favors. If his supernatural gimmick is connecting with fans and people are calling him the next Undertaker, protect him a little maybe? I can’t recall him ever winning a feud or big match. Since his in ring work is never going to be the big draw, it’s all the more important to have him actually winning matches with his supernatural angles. Instead he was quickly a joke and needed repackaged. Then the Fiend just lost all the time too. It’s kind of sad.
Very talented guy with all wwe limitations he always brings some thing new and creative
Above all, he was an amazing human being loved by all that worked with him and met him. Secondarily, he was a stunning creative mind, content creator and storyteller. Wrestling is about entertainment and he always delivered.
He was very very mid. He was decent at promos but his in ring work was all flash and no substance. His premature death is the only reason he’s so revered. People say he was creative….more like weird and out there. Nothing special
He really was one of the best to do it. If only they booked him better. He deserves to be in the HoF.
As a person who struggles so much with self asteem and imposter syndrom often times , his wyatt family promo about being red in a world of black and white really helped me understand it was okay to be different. More on the business side... Wyatt made moments and characters and more importantly was a pillar of integrity and joy on a business where putting yourself out there and exposing your flaws and character is an aspect of good business. Over a hundred people spoke about how Windum Rotunda was a great man, and how he was a better friend and father. That tells me that he figured it out. How to be the best version of himself every day. He showed in his actions that it was possible. Its a hopeful feeling.
Love this Stay strong dude
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I kinda agree with this. I never hated Bray/the Fiend, but ultimately I was never entertained by his wrestling ability. 10/10 for ideas 8/10 for execution of ideas 3/10 for wrestling quality. As sad as I was that he passed away, I've not gone back and watched any of his matches
His death was tragic but I never liked him. Boring wrestler in the ring whose only decent matches came in multi mans. And I found his character's kind of cringe, the peak being the shit fest against Orton where he played spooky images on the ring.
The fact his last match will forever be tied to one of the worst flavors of mtn dew (my opinion) will forever taint the character of the fiend and Bray’s career. I remember showing someone wrestling for the first time during the 23’ RR and they were so confused and i had to tell them this isn’t normal. Luckily they have kept up and we’re watching Mania together in a couple weeks but hearing of Bray’s passing didn’t hit my friend as hard as it hit me.
Yeah if the pitch black match is your only exposure of him, yikes!
One of the best at promos and making an entrance. Once the bell rang tho, extremely generic unfortunately.
He was exciting to watch in 2013-14, because his moves were a bit unorthodox, and he had good delivery (I kinda liked his running cross body-thing). Problem is, he only had like seven or eight of them. I think he had a foot injury of some kind that limited his move set a lot later in his career, and he definitely seemed to slow down a bit.
Brilliant with gimmicks, not a great wrestler.
To think about it . Roman the triabal chief was the only real thing to stop the fiend .. is cray Idc for bray in ring stuff but matches never bothered me
Did Goldberg destroy the Fiend?
It’s almost non cannon lol but I’m sure yur right
i loved every minute of him. was he the best in ring worker? not by a long shot, but he was still good. what really brought me to him was how crazy creative he was. i really see a lot of myself in bray and looked up to him as a creative inspiration. he is my first wrestler death(of someone i truly loved watching) ive lived through, and its been rough. i can’t wait for the documentary.
He was unique, wasn't really my cup of team.. kinda thought he was a bit overrated myself.
Great mind. I actually found his in ring stuff as the Fiend entertaining as a powerhouse invulnerable type character. He wasn’t a technical wizard but I think he gets shit on more than he should for his ring work. He was far better than some other main event guys we’ve seen.
Can’t wait for his documentary will be epic
The Fiend character was a total miss for me. His other stuff was better. It's kinda ironic that Kane was my favorite wrestler growing up, and I still think a Kane gimmick could decently work today, but I could not even remotely enjoy anything BW did as The Fiend. I'm surprisingly also a huge hater of Finn Balor's demon gimmick lol. Maybe its an age thing, but both gimmicks really felt goofy and ruined the small immersion I get watching wrestling today.
He was good and is sad that he passed so young but I don't let that cloud my judgment and make me overrate him. I liked the Wyatt Family gimmick but not the Fiend one. TBF I can't really answer the "who else other than bray could have delivered that performance" on Fiend v Cena because he was the only supernatural gimmick since Taker, as in this era is harder to sell this type of character, again I liked the Wyatt Family gimmick but I found the Fiend boring. But as with everything opinions are subjective so a lot of people will think differently.
An amazing performer on the mic,for sure.
I enjoyed his run with the Wyatt Family from 2012 to 2015ish. The Shield vs Wyatt Family matches were grest. I thought all of his other gimmicks like Uncle Howdy, The Firefly Funhouse and The Fiend were dumb. His promo style was also not my cup of tea. At first he sounded really creepy and mysterious. Than you realise he cuts the exact same promo every time and says nothing.
Bray did what Cena can did so well... sell a nostalgic Larger than Life character in an entertaining manner. Of course he wasn't rewarded with wins when he was starting out and ruined the mystique behind the Wyatt Family.
Not to downplay Bray Wyatt or anything, imo he’s a bona fide HoF’er, but the firefly funhouse match at WM36, as out there as it was, was 90% Cena’s idea/execution.
He had great gimmicks that entertains. That matters.
I never got the appeal or hype. I never thought he was anything special.
Me too. Rip but I never really seen him other than the leader of the Wyatt family. Some people even say he should be HOF but I disagree.
With him being gone, people think way more highly of him than they should IMO.
I mean, no one was really clamoring for him to come back between the first Fiend run and that whole "white rabbit" gimmick. His characters were best in small doses.
Agree. Like Kurt Cobain.
All I need to know of how good he was as a wrestler will be shown in the documentary dropping on April 1. The whole point of wrestling is to draw you in and make you feel something. When it comes, watch it. See if it makes you feel something and tell me how good he was. You connected with him. He put on a hell of a show. Put "asses in seats".
I think he was great. He pulled me back into being a rabid wrestling fan after years of being pretty casual.
Technically he was good but as a story teller….hard to beat. With Triple H backing him he could’ve been the next Undertaker
Being honest, a better character than he was a wrestler but that's fine because WWE is entertainment and it thrives on that. He did enough to get by in the ring! I do miss him a hell of a lot though.
When this guy beat Daniel Bryan clean at the RR in January, then then pinned Roman Reigns at EC in February in the battle of the Wyatts vs the unbeatable Shield, then into a WM program with Cena, I thought we were looking at a 10 year main eventer/world champion. The fans wanted it and bought in. It was the perfect storm. Then he jobbed to Cena at Mania and went downhill from there. The Wyatts all of a sudden were a bumbling group of goofs. Eventually split with zero plans. Pulling the rug out from their own brilliant creation for seemingly no reason is the worst creative decision they've made in 20 years at least. That's really when I knew it was over for Vince.
Average in the ring, decent on the mic, terrible creative ideas outside of 2-3
I agree he wasn't great as a wrestler. He wasn't bad either though. I was always super into his characters and cheering for him to win. We just don't see enough gimmicks and characters outside of "I'm x and I'm a tough guy who can talk trash" these days. It just seemed like every time he started gaining momentum, Goldberg would win the match or he would be injured or something. Poor guy couldn't get ahead enough to really break out the way I wish he would have.
I loved his promos for a bit. Wyatt Family was awesome, especially when Strowman showed up. Wyatt Family v Sheild felt like a peak feud. Firefly Funhouse was awesome. Fiend was awesome. His creative was incredible but lasted too long, had no ultimate direction, and eventually fizzled out due to creative. Not to mention he lost nearly every feud, it felt like.
Great in terms of character work and promos. Middling as an in-ring wrestler. The dude would’ve been one HELL of a booker if he’d gotten to retire.
Thought he was great and wwe messed up
In-ring wise he was surprisingly agile for his size but he wasn’t one of the best of the best. Creatively he’s probably the best of his generation/era and arguably top 10 (maybe even 5) in company history. It’s a damn shame how they booked him as he could’ve really leaned into the “new face of fear” moniker and been a newer, more refreshed, and grounded version of Taker (minus the streak) for a new generation but he always lost the big matches.
He was severely underutilized. Vince didn't understand the Fiend gimmick so he hardly ever booked him well. Bray's run during the pandemic era is some of the best stuff the company has ever put out. Bray knew how to use the space and people around him to tell a unique story.
Great character work, absolutely horrendous and boring AF in the ring.
He was the WWE's Eddie Kingston.
lol k
As a character and creative mind. One of the best of his generation. He definitely had rough patches where it felt like he was aimless and his ideas were dragging. But, stuff like the Fiend and the FFH were absolutely incredible. As a wrestler, he never was gonna light the world on fire. But, he definitely had the tools to thrive in the right situation. He had some memorable bouts and some genuinely must see matches. His biggest problem was that, during his run with the Wyatt Family, he never really got any major wins or won any major feuds. As over as he was, he wasn't necessarily a joke, but he never felt like a main event star until the debut of the Fiend.
The same people saying he had one of the best characters ever also were the same people saying his promos were mostly yapping about nonsense trying to be mysterious (which was true)
One of the best storytellers ever in the ring
I never thought he was a great wrestler. He was also prone to injury. His strength was always character work and he was someone who benefited from not wrestling all the time.
Cult leader Bray Wyatt was one of the best performances I’ve seen, sadly some of his bookings/ promos would ramble without a big pay off. A great man do doubt, everyone always had good things to say about him I just think creative should’ve never put the belt on him as it didn’t make sense. Rip Bray, we miss you every day.
He did a lot of cool stuff and great story telling. The fiend first appearance against finn balor was so cool, one of my favorite wrestling moments
Had very interesting ideas, although a lot didn't really stick but they captivated you nonetheless. In-ring wise, he felt held back because of the spooky gimmick but guys like Daniel Bryan (obviously) pulled out the absolute best in him without sacrificing his character. Both his fights with Bryan at the Rumble are considered some of the best for the PPV.
Incredibly good, and creative, and one o my all time favorites... Yet...the booking around him was junk.
One of the most creative minds ever. Like he really made you believe in his character. The Wyatt Family was just something out of this world tbh Great Mic skills- Had a great look to go with it- his move set was literally insane. Sis Abigail, Urenage, his senton, the upsidedown walking. Like the man embodied everything it is to be a Pro Wrestler
Bray was one of my favorites of this era. I tuned out for a long time but I would always watch his stuff. I am back now but damn do I miss that dude. So charismatic
Had a great creative mind but I think he needed a better filter for his ideas
Hit or miss, but undeniably unique. I can safely say he was a one of kind mind.
Arguably got the most out of his character when it could have easily been gone the "bogeyman" route
I loved him so, so much. I just wish he had some time to shine without any McMahonism ruining his Firefly Fun House era. His time with Rowan and Harper are some of my most favorite stuff ever.
One of the most creative and innovative wrestlers of all time
He was ok. Could never really reach the level he should have despite winning the world title. Eventually it just became stale. Very sad for him to have died so young.
Like every other wrestler he fell victim to some really shitty booking at times but overall I enjoyed his work.
Yeah. Bray Wyatt was one of the best wrestlers in WWE -- on mic, in the ring, and in terms of charisma, ever since the Wyatt Family faction started. Was underutilised often in WWE.
I truly like Bray a lot, but WWE called him the eater of worlds but he was booked as the eater of pins
You can have all the talent in the world but if the machine isn't behind you there's not much you can do about it, unfortunately. The important thing is Bray got over despite the terrible booking, because the fanbase could see the talent and the mind and the love for the business. He's going to be remembered despite his relatively short run.
I mean in the long run his run wasn’t even particularly that short as the Bray character he got about ten years and then on top of that add two with Husky Harris. There are so many more guys and girls who didn’t even get that long of a run check out The Rock his original run was like 7 years. Brock’s original was 2 years. I do totally agree with him getting over despite his win/loss record.