Bray Wyatt Failure or Success?

[Navi]

The Bray Wyatt situation has had me puzzled for quite some time now. When he first debuted with the Wyatt's I thought, this guy is great on on the mic, a little crazy but good.

After watching him for awhile with Harper and Rowan, it became clear that Harper was the standout in the ring, Rowan was a powerhouse, but Wyatt always came off as sub-par. Because of the promo's though, you never really knew where this trio was headed.

First there was the Daniel Bryan situation, when they tried to recruit him into the family. That was a failure. Then the strange promo's trying to turn Cena heel. Again a miserable failure. And during of this the Wyatt were on a losing streak. The Wyatt's for all their world class promo's and vignettes never seemed to be able to deliver on any of them.

Then they disappeared, only to come back again in promo's and vignettes talking about healing and break ups. We found out that the group was splitting up and Harper and Rowan seemed to be going solo. Wyatt on the other hand was put into the Ambrose/Rollins feud at the very end. And after two weeks of this happening we still don't really know why. And he still hasn't gotten into the ring with Ambrose.

Again we've been treated to a lot of promo's from Bray talking about Ambrose and how he can heal him. Is he trying to drive Ambrose nuts, well he's already there. Rollins started him down that road by sticking a knife in his back. So Bray you're about 6 months too late my friend.

So my response to all of this is. The character of Bray Wyatt has been an epic fail since almost the beginning. While you can't take away his ability to get people interested in him, they quickly lose interest because he can't deliver on his promises. His promo's are getting tiring and we all know nothing will come of them, so while it makes an interesting couple of minutes, they are forgettable now.

There is an old saying "Actions speak louder than words". Bray Wyatt to me has become all talk no action. I would be interested to hear what others think of this. Here you have a main event guy, who I really think is taking up a space someone more deserving should have. And I believe that it's making Ambrose look like an idiot as well.

 

[TheICChampion]

Well he definitely started out strong, there's no doubt about it. But I may be beating a dead horse here when I say it has to be his feud with Cena. Think about it. He was building momentum, building interest, and was legitimately on his way to breaking through to Main Event status. He defeated 2 former World Champions, and the whole family delivered a very rare defeat to quite possibly the best team to come around in years, The Shield. Then he fell victim to Cena, barely being able to beat him, not being able to "unleash the monster" inside Cena, and that just completely derailed his momentum. I want to see if they'll actually pick up this feud with Ambrose, but if not, then I don't think they can really do any more with Wyatt. It's sad, really.

 

[detroitking02]

I liked what I seen from Bray Wyatt his promos where great and his in ring work for his size is good enough I think it was just poor deliverance on the wiriting it he Wyatt family feuds always started off great and dies off in the end when it's time to give him the push he should of gotten the WWE always seem to drop the ball on the newer talent and ppl are stuck watching Cena vs Orton every ppv

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Shawn running around doing crotch chops on his own wouldn't have been so cool.

It was the Wyatt Family. As much as Bray might have been a superior performer to the other two, it was his puzzling control over them that made him appear as a formidable cult leader. Now he's out there on his own, floundering.

 

[Navi]

Oh I agree with booking of the Wyatt's has been horrible, especially when you compare how the Shield was booked. You wouldn't think both groups worked for the same company. And the match against the Shield is easily a MOTY contender.

I wouldn't call Bray Wyatt superior in the ring to the other two. Yes he's good on the mic, but in ring Harper and Rowan both outshone him, and the spider walk is getting old.

What really worries me is the fact they put in him a feud with Ambrose, who's coming off one of the hottest feuds of the year. If Wyatt loses then he's done, and if Ambrose loses, then there goes his momentum. I don't want to see Ambrose scarified just so Wyatt can get another push. How disappointing would that be.

 

[Ansel]

Bray Wyatt at WWE SummerSlam on Sunday, August 17. The match was the result of several weeks' worth of heat between the two men, and it could very well be that this rivalry is over.

 

[CyberPunk]

I won't call Wyatt a failure, not just yet. And to be very honest, at one point, he had a lot of momentum. He had beaten Bryan clean and then the Wyatt family beat Shield. All was good till Cena happened. The booking was really haphazard and as many have already pointed out, Wyatt looked like shit coming out of that program with Cena. He couldn't win to save his life and once he was fed to Cena for reason only known to Vince, he disappeared, literally and figuratively.

Having said that, all is not lost for Wyatt. His feud with Ambrose can be better, especially if they play their past into this feud. I mean, the Wyatt family does have history with Shield. Why not use it? Even then, Bray would go at it against Ambrose.

I think Wyatt needs a lot of rebuilding. But there is hope still for him.

 

[Aquaman6686]

For me he's a failure and has been since day one. His work in NXT never interested me, and he only got worse after being called up to the main roster. His in-ring debut was one of the worst matches in WWE history, against a 20 year veteran in Kane. Their match stunk up SummerSlam and cast a shadow over the rest of the night. Wyatt's promos are absolute garbage and I cannot for the life of me understand why so many people praise his mic work. His promos are repetitive, bland, and uninteresting. But for me the single biggest aspect of any wrestler is can they WRESTLE, and Wyatt can't. He gets winded only minutes into a match, has no sense of timing or ring psychology, and not one person he's worked with has gotten more than a mediocre match out of him. It's pretty sad when Kane, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Chris Jericho ALL fail to get a good match out of the same guy. When that happens, the fault clearly lies with the unchanging variable of Bray Wyatt. Wyatt should just be released and forgotten.

 

[OYDK]

So my response to all of this is. The character of Bray Wyatt has been an epic fail since almost the beginning.

Wow, well uhhhh that's one way to look at it I guess? I don't know what your definition of a failure is, but Wyatt definitely doesn't seem like one imo. His first feud with Kane was great and I remember there being a ton of intrigue in their Inferno match and the ending of it. Than, he and his family entered into a feud with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk which led to Bryan joining the Wyatt Family which everybody KNEW was not a long term plan, but still complain about it as if Bryan was meant to be a full fledged Wyatt... This led to a memorable moment that will still be played 15 years from now (Bryan on top of the cage surrounded by Yes chants). He also beat Bryan in the match of the night at RR 2013. At this point, I would argue that Wyatt and Bryan were the two hottest stars in the WWE, period. He even got a pinfall victory over Roman Reigns, how many can say that?


Enter John Cena. This feud definitely hurt Wyatt and showcased his weaknesses much more than any other feud did, but that's the nature of the beast when you go up against the best. Again, I would argue that the momentum for this feud did not end until the Cage match, and by that point this angle was nearly over. Being showcased with somebody like John Cena basically proved that Wyatt hadn't been a complete failure from the beginning as you seem to think so. Honestly, this is all a matter of perspective; a failure to you may not be a failure to me, but if we're talking real epic fails, my definition would be more Zack Ryder or Shelton Benjamin than Bray Wyatt.

Bray Wyatt is not a master in the ring... He never will be and people need to get over that, but he has shown he is capable of putting on good, sometimes great matches. WWE obviously still have tons of faith in Bray as he's been put with the some of the hottest stars for the past two years; Bryan, Cena, Jericho, now Ambrose.

All in all, if you're still intrigued by his character and still look forward to seeing his feuds and promos, than he's not a failure. If you don't, than he's not yur cup of tea but Wyatt is far from the definition of a failure at this point in time.

 

[future admin]

People tend to overlook the fact that he's only been around (in this character obviously) for all of what, 16 months?! The Wyatt Family, particularly Bray were incredibly hot towards the end of 2013/start of 2014. Yes, the Cena feud may have halted his progress, but by no means is Bray Wyatt broken to a point of no repair, in fact, a good feud here with Ambrose could really put him back in the mix. Whilst he may not win any titles any time soon, Bray is still more than capable of putting on a good match.

Whilst his feud with Jericho was short lived, it had enormous potential, and it showed enough to Jericho that, and I quote directly from the recent Chris Jericho AMA, "Bray will be a world champion within a year". Now, to claim that Wyatt has never been over, or been a "failure since day one" is not only daft, but completely wrong at the same time.

We all know Bray's in-ring ability isn't as good as others, but 9 times out of 10 you'll get a genuine story out of his actions in the ring. He plays the twisted, sadistic role so well it's almost as if his character is what he's like in real life. Moreover, we all know his promo work is some of the best in the business. After phasing the singing out (which admittedly wasn't very good after hearing it week in week out for about 3 months.) he was still able to make stories of next to nothing.

To answer the question "is Bray Wyatt a failure or success" so early in his career is quite hard, he's had his ups and downs over his tenure in WWE, but to me, he's destined for a successful career.

 

[Navi]

Wow, well uhhhh that's one way to look at it I guess? I don't know what your definition of a failure is, but Wyatt definitely doesn't seem like one imo. His first feud with Kane was great and I remember there being a ton of intrigue in their Inferno match and the ending of it. Than, he and his family entered into a feud with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk which led to Bryan joining the Wyatt Family which everybody KNEW was not a long term plan, but still complain about it as if Bryan was meant to be a full fledged Wyatt... This led to a memorable moment that will still be played 15 years from now (Bryan on top of the cage surrounded by Yes chants). He also beat Bryan in the match of the night at RR 2013. At this point, I would argue that Wyatt and Bryan were the two hottest stars in the WWE, period. He even got a pinfall victory over Roman Reigns, how many can say that?


Enter John Cena. This feud definitely hurt Wyatt and showcased his weaknesses much more than any other feud did, but that's the nature of the beast when you go up against the best. Again, I would argue that the momentum for this feud did not end until the Cage match, and by that point this angle was nearly over. Being showcased with somebody like John Cena basically proved that Wyatt hadn't been a complete failure from the beginning as you seem to think so. Honestly, this is all a matter of perspective; a failure to you may not be a failure to me, but if we're talking real epic fails, my definition would be more Zack Ryder or Shelton Benjamin than Bray Wyatt.

Bray Wyatt is not a master in the ring... He never will be and people need to get over that, but he has shown he is capable of putting on good, sometimes great matches. WWE obviously still have tons of faith in Bray as he's been put with the some of the hottest stars for the past two years; Bryan, Cena, Jericho, now Ambrose.

All in all, if you're still intrigued by his character and still look forward to seeing his feuds and promos, than he's not a failure. If you don't, than he's not yur cup of tea but Wyatt is far from the definition of a failure at this point in time.

The reason I called him a failure from the beginning is because of the fact that other than the match against the Shield, which was a huge win, he and the family haven't done much of anything.

Yes he cuts a fantastic promo, but that's about the extent of it. If you look at his track record it's been one failure after another. He promises a lot and delivers nothing. When you compare his promises to other promo artist like Paul Heyman, it's night and day. Heyman's a pretty horrible wrestler, but what he says is going to happen, happens. Bray Wyatt on the other hand talks a good game, but that's it.

Like I said, he entered into the feud with Bryan, fail. Then he started with Cena, again fail. Jericho came along, another failed promise. I don't blame him personally, I blame the booking department who has let him and the rest down horribly.

The Wyatts might have had some good matches along the way, but overall their track record has been a losing one. For the promises he's talked about and the promo's he cut, he should be in control and winning with all these plans put forth, that never happened.

It's to the point where he opens his mouth and I leave the room where I used to sit and listen to what he was saying

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to agree with Aus Beast in that the book on Bray Wyatt is FAR from being written. Wyatt has only been on the main roster since July 8, 2013 and the guy's only 27 years old. I know that there's this thought process that unless a wrestler wins a title and/or becomes a full time main eventer within a year that he's destined for failure and I have no idea where or how that line of thinking first came about. Maybe it comes from the fact that we've gotten spoiled as fans and want immediate gratification.

I do agree that his booking against Cena could have been better, but that's not exactly Wyatt's fault. It was Vince McMahon's choice because he has this paranoid belief that Cena's fans will stop supporting him if isn't booked to look nigh unbeatable. With a few minor tweaks here & there, namely not having booked so that he's able to handle and overpower all three Wyatt Family members simultaneously, Cena could've still come out on top of their feud while Wyatt looked stronger than ever.

At this early stage in his career, for the most part, I'd have to label him as a success because he's one of the most over talents on the roster. When he first arrived, Wyatt was getting the "Husky Harris" chant treatment from the smarks, but those quickly disappeared once they saw how interesting he was as a character and how good he was on the mic. I have a feeling he'll be WWE World Heavyweight Champion eventually but, as I said, he's only 27 years old. It's sometimes easy to forget that because he seems to be and looks much older because of the beard and because of his character. Peaking too soon can lead to unforeseen consequences down the road and the best example of that, as I've said in lots of posts, is Randy Orton. Orton was a 6 time World Champion, Intercontinental Champion, Tag Team Champion and Royal Rumble winner all before he was even 30 years old with the result being that people are burned out on Orton today as World Champion or even contending to be World Champion.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Is anyone else bored with Bray Wyatt? He's done the same little routine for as long as he has been around and it has grown tiresome. His character doesn't even make any sense. "I'm a monster, you're a monster, the fans are monsters" over and over and over again.

What is he accomplishing? Am I really supposed to believe that someone with his beliefs would be touring the world with a professional wrestling company? And how can I as a viewer buy everything that he is selling when he is so poor with his facial expressions and body language. He comes off more like an obnoxious gym teacher than some "believer".

Then there is his ring work. Where do I start? Every move it looks his opponent is doing all the heavy lifting. Sister Abigail seems like the kind of move that hurts him more than his opponent. An opponent that he wastes time kissing. And the spider thing is cute but now that we've seen it over and over again with his other three moves how about someone just kicks him in the head instead of just staring at him.

I know the guy works hard at what he does and I respect that but he's become a giant caricature. The fans don't even know how to treat him any more. He just become one of those guys that Vince loves with an interesting look and 80's era DNA.

It is time that the guy made a change.

I started a troll thread back in April with this post above. The post was meant to get a reaction out of people and it worked well. However, I think it worked well because there is a lot of truth in it along with the hyperbole and obnoxiousness.

Bray Wyatt is evil John Cena. He doesn't fit in with the Reality Era fan. He just does stuff and says stuff that seems more like a caricature than an actual person. His latest attack on Ambrose just feels like a guy trying to start a feud because he needs to keep his job, not some higher cause. And that I believe is the biggest reason why Wyatt is more of a failure than a success. He has reached the point where he is somewhere between incompetent or just full of shit.

 

[Mustang Sally]

There is an old saying "Actions speak louder than words". Bray Wyatt to me has become all talk no action.

Other wrestlers talk about their winning streaks, who they've beaten and who they're aiming for......but it always concerns what happens during matches, since that what pro competition is about.

Bray Wyatt can't be viewed the same way. Just as his speeches are almost unintelligible, so is his mission.....but one thing seems sure; whatever he's looking to accomplish, winning wrestling matches doesn't have much to do with it.

Think of Brother Love. Although he wasn't looking to physically beat up on anyone, he had a mission that was wildly different than everyone else: he wanted to bring love to the world, instinctively understanding that he could conquer only small sections at a time. The organization he chose to deliver his message was the World Wrestling Federation (which surely needed the injection of love ). But he wasn't looking to beat up people to put across his message; he was seeking to dazzle us with words that would convince us to join him in his mission.

That's sooner what Bray Wyatt is doing, except he uses physical punishment to get it done, largely through sneak attacks, but also through sanctioned wrestling matches.....If we try to rate him on his won-loss record, he won't seem very formidable....because winning and losing is of no consequence to him. It's the punishment he doles out that counts, apparently wanting folks to learn how they can achieve salvation of the soul by having Bray beat the living shit out of them. Yeah, that's irony, folks.

Who knows? Harper & Rowan might wind up at odds with Bray because they feel he was holding them back in terms of success in the WWE rankings .....or, maybe they will be just as unconcerned about that as Bray.

Either way, if we're regarding Bray as a disruptive force, trying to win people over to his way of thinking, he's a success.....and that's what he cares about. If we look at him as a guy trying to become a world title holder, he's a failure.....which won't bother him at all.

 

[MartialHorror]

Unfortunately, I think the WWE mucked up Bray Wyatt entirely. Yeah, he's not great in the ring, but he does have a good character...who keeps failing. He defeated Daniel Bryan, but that only ended up skyrocketing Bryan into the main event scene and he failed to corrupt him...whoops. He failed to corrupt Cena and lost. Whoops. He barely seemed to overcome professional talent enhancement Jericho...and his goals during that feud still made no sense by the time it was mercifully over.

But hey, they can still fix this. After all, look at what they're doing with Ryback, who was jobbing far harder before he took a leave. Now the Wyatts are being repackaged and...did they just seriously put Bray in a program with Dean Ambrose? THE ONE PERSON WHOM THEY PROBABLY SHOULD NOT BE PUTTING HIM IN A PROGRAM WITH?!

Now Bray either has to lose...again...or Ambrose has to lose...again...WWE is short on star power, but now they're really intent on not building any new main eventers. Both have lost too much. Some can counter that Bray has never been about winning matches...which is strange because he wins more matches than he seems to win at 'corrupting' people or whatever...or that Dean Ambrose never cared about winning matches...which has obviously worked out for him because that logic keeps Rollins safely away from him....But wrestling is about winning matches.

So one has just secured himself a position as a midcarder. For those who complain about Cena going over Wyatt, it should be noted that during that time period, there was too much star power. Cena, Orton, Batista, Triple H, Bryan, Kane, Barrett, the Outlaws, Lesnar, Undertaker, Big E and CM Punk (at first, and people had expected him to return at that point) were all close to the main event scene. There was little room for Wyatt as the top heel while the Authority was around. But because the WWE didn't try, they're now short of relevant superstars.

Right now though, Harper is likely to become the more relevant performer.

 

[MCMG]

How are we defining failure? Bray has put on some fantastic matches and delivered wonderful promos. He has wrestled some of the biggest names in the company and, is probably, a solidified main-event talent. That doesn't scream failure.

If I was to say Bray could have been booked better or been even stronger then, sure, I can accept that. He has lost a lot, which doesn't help. To Cena and Jericho most notably. He also failed in his attempt to integrate Bryan into his family and I'll guess the same will happen with Ambrose.

Many of his promos seem meaningless. The writers need to do a better job of actually holding the audiences attention whilst he says something that is interesting yet is still a little vague. It can be done but it's obviously hard work. I'm ok with them splitting up the Wyatt Family. There is potential in Harper and Rowan so letting them go on their own isn't the end of the world. The nature of the split was well done because I think they can put them back together with ease.

Overall, I'd say Bray has been a success. In just over 15 months he is over and has accomplished a lot - especially in the ring. The only issue is his longevity and remaining interesting. A feud with Ambrose can make sense because they are both messed up. A feud with someone like Orton makes sense because of all the layers to Orton.

In the long term, however, there might be moments where he is just feuding with another guy and Bray is merely some guy who looks funny and speaks crap. I hope that day doesn't come but you can never tell with the WWE.

 

[Brushfire]

I think it's too early to call him either a success or a failure - aside from his younger brother Bo Dallas (24), Bray Wyatt is the youngest member of the current WWE roster (27), and I think that needs to be kept in mind when judging him, particularly his ring work (which personally, I don't think is as bad as people make out - his psychology is outstanding).

I hope that they bring more focus to this feud with Ambrose which is seemingly being kept on the backburner right now, with a couple of midcard interviews being almost all we've gotten from that feud so far despite it only being a week and a half until their match at Survivor Series. I think there's potential to get both of them over in that feud if they do it right, and it being completely overshadowed by the Team Cena v Team Authority match is not helping at all.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

The reason I called him a failure from the beginning is because of the fact that other than the match against the Shield, which was a huge win, he and the family haven't done much of anything.

Yes he cuts a fantastic promo, but that's about the extent of it. If you look at his track record it's been one failure after another. He promises a lot and delivers nothing. When you compare his promises to other promo artist like Paul Heyman, it's night and day. Heyman's a pretty horrible wrestler, but what he says is going to happen, happens. Bray Wyatt on the other hand talks a good game, but that's it.

Like I said, he entered into the feud with Bryan, fail. Then he started with Cena, again fail. Jericho came along, another failed promise. I don't blame him personally, I blame the booking department who has let him and the rest down horribly.

The Wyatts might have had some good matches along the way, but overall their track record has been a losing one. For the promises he's talked about and the promo's he cut, he should be in control and winning with all these plans put forth, that never happened.

It's to the point where he opens his mouth and I leave the room where I used to sit and listen to what he was saying

^^^this is perfectly written of how I feel about Bray Wyatt infact I probably couldn't have said it better.
I wouldn't consider Bray a failure, because his career is far from over, but I would say at the moment he is failing pretty bad. When you look at his most important feuds since coming to Raw, he failed in everyone of them and honestly didn't do anything to get people talking.
Feud w/Bryan- it was more about Bryan then Bray. Bryan joined the Wyatts (which wasn't even explain how Bray got him to join) then a week or two later attacked them and quit the wyatts. Hoenstly besides the cage match I don't even remember much from that feud.
Cena- this feud Bray was on point promo wise, he was cryptic but wasn't too cryptic to were you didn't understamd why he was after Cena. The main issue with this feud was that he lost every time, heck I consider that cage match to be a loss considering what people saw before the lights went off. (Cena had demolished all 3 wyatt family memebers).
Jericho- still to this day I don't understand sh!+ about their feud. My cousin was talking and he said it was because Jericho always talk about coming back and saving people and that wyatt didn't believe in saviors......ummmmmm? O.K? But didn't Wyatt "save" Harper and rowan, and also the last 2 or 3 Jericho returns, Jericho never used the "Save us" gimmick, so people had to remember back 5 years ago when Wyatt didn't even exist to understand why he was after Jericho?
Bray wyatts is great on the mic (sometimes too cryptic) and descent in the ring, but his major issue isn't that he's too cryptic or not that good in the ring , its creatives bad booking for him. (Heck look at his feud with Ambrose now its getting more developemnet on Smackdown then it is on Raw) One thing I don't understand they always had who ever he was feuding with beat both Harper and Rowan, so why was it so hard for Wyatt to get a win over his foe?

 

[hatehabsforever]

Personally I think it is a little bit early in his career to anoint him a success or doom him as a failure, because it is still relatively early in his career, and no one knows what the future holds and for whom. But if I were to generalize, I would call him a success at this stage of the game, and I am by no means a big fan of his work or his current gimmick.

There are a lot of posters on here who are very quick to jump to conclusions, many if whom have unrealistic expectations in general. If someone bursts onto the scene, and some people like him, the expectation is quickly that he will be the WWE Champion (or the heavyweight champion when that belt still existed), and will be consistently main eventing episodes of RAW, Smackdown, or PPV's. Anything less than that is quickly deemed to be a failure. Which frankly is both inaccurate and unfair. Someone who is a fixture in the mid card, and is consistently featured in programming , is considered a failure because he doesn't occupy the top position in the company.

Let's not forget, it wasn't that long ago that Bray Wyatt was Husky Harris, doing a whole lot of nothing, floundering in near obscurity as a member of the new Nexus, and even less than that, until he was gone. Fast forward a little, give the guy a bushy beard and some horrible clothing, and a gimmick with a limited life span, and he's a fixture on TV. The fact of the matter is, he's an average wrestler at best with a physique hardly chiseled in granite, yet there he is on TV, week in and week out, sputtering the same incoherent rumblings that he's been spewing for months. A guy who they couldn't find anything for a short while ago, is now consistently interacting with guys at the upper echelon of the company. Hardly seems like failure to me.

Not everyone is going to become WWE Champion. Not all guys will find the main event. Truth of the matter is, most won't, yet many will go on to have long successful mid card careers. For every John Cena or Randy Orton or Brock Lesnar, there's a Kofi Kingston or a Dolph Ziggler, or even a Zack Ryder, who I'm sure would give his left nut to be where that failure Bray Wyatt has been the last year or so. Before calling the guy a failure, let's be realistic in our expectations. Let's be honest in our talent assessments. And let's give the guy more than a year or so before we classify him as a failure.

 

[enviousdominous]

How should we gauge the difference between success and failure?

I think that getting past the "HUSKY HARRIS!" was a huge step for him. His entrances have a cool vibe with all the cell-phone lights. I like when his promos are high energy. He's decent in the ring for my money, his finisher plays into his character.

I think that his character made such a huge impression that it made sense to use it against the top faces of the company, which unfortunately for him meant that he'd have to make the faces look even stronger by sacrificing his own ability to look strong. His most notable wins were over Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho, but even with those the only thing at stake was a forgettable grudge.

I would hardly call his character a failure this early. I would hardly label failure on anyone who after wanting to be a pro-wrestler eventually finds themselves on tv in a WWE ring.

 

[Zycho32]

I've noticed everybody keeps putting the context of the Cena/Wyatt feud in a total vacuum. As in, they are mystified over the decision.

Does anyone forget what was going on around that time?

The post-Wrestlemania PPVs showcasing the Cena/Wyatt feud had a main event of Daniel Bryan trying to survive against Kane in Extreme Rules... then one PPV later Bryan was out with an injury that seems to have gotten worse over the months. So the top storyline babyface and champion is out of the picture with Summerslam on the horizon... and Brock Lesnar waiting in the wings.

What would you do if you had to plan that far in advance?

After Bryan, who was the next top babyface? People would argue Reigns, people could be talked into Cesaro, most would not say Cena- but that's out of sickness and oversaturation than anything else. By MitB, a vacant WWE title had to be won, and the victor would most likely bed fed to Brock Lesnar in the Main Event of Summerslam. If John Cena is still one of the top babyfaces who draws and gets major reactions, then he has to be prematurely aborted from the Wyatt storyline, hence the Last Man Standing match that has everyone here scratching their heads. He has to escape that feud to believably be a part of the title match(that Wyatt was a part of it was a bone thrown to him because of the aborted storyline).

(SIDE NOTE: Somebody- I forget who- put together a list of 'fresh storylines' that anyone involved in that title match NOT John Cena could have with Brock Lesnar. Whoever that was seemed to forget that freshness alone wasn't likely to generate enough draws- especially in WWE's viewpoint but maybe in the point of the mainstream as well)

But I digress. This is about the Wyatts. You can't really call them a failure under the circumstances- they were getting by wonderfully on group play and 'abnormal' promos, they got sidetracked by outside circumstances, and now they are rebuilding. There's still room to work with them. Still many directions you can take a family that's about to be branched out.

 

[L@RISANO]

I have always said that the Bray Wyatt character has loads and loads of potential especially as a candidate for Top Heel in the WWE.


However, as time has gone on, it is clear he hasn't been handled properly, especially coming onto the end of the feud with John Cena.
Now, I don't agree with some who claim that the John Cena feud caused his loss of momentum. I think that feuding with John Cena cemented his undoubted potential to be in and around the Main Event scene.


However, where it went wrong I feel, is that Daniel Bryan's injury forced the WWE's hand with the Cena-Wyatt feud and they had to re-elevate Cena in time for his eventual feud with a returning Brock Lesnar.



All that said; Bray Wyatt still benefitted from the Cena feud quite a bit in terms of being elevated into a Main Event level talent that just required another feud and strong enough booking to cement himself as such.

But... that type of booking never came, which led to shocking booking decisions such as all 3 Wyatts being buried to make Cena look like a threat to Lesnar for NoC.
The Y2J feud for Wyatt never interested me whatsoever, and so far the Ambrose feud vs a now 'reborn' Wyatt is going much the same way as that very Y2J feud where Wyatt rambles, and his opposition remains in virtual limbo. Basically nothing seems to be happening.



And thus, my main gripe with Bray Wyatt is that in essence, he has NEVER managed to 'convert' anyone and thus Win a feud to advance his character whatsoever...and the more he fails, the less potential the character will have as we go forward until all the potential evaporates eventually.

So, answering the question about Failure or Success:- I'd say at this point, by how the current Wyatt-Ambrose feud is going with seeming rehashes...he is headed for slow failure, but can definitely be salvaged if the WWE change up the Bray Wyatt booking formula currently in use.



For me personally, this Ambrose-Wyatt feud is important to both and I am curious as to how it will be booked in such a manner that both get required momentum to go forward as threats to the Top guys.

To besides, if both hopefully succeed, then I can genuinely see them being rivals who can always have animosity for each other as the years go on which allows them to be somewhat like Taker-Kane/HHH-HBK, etc...


Here's to Reigns/Rollins/Ambrose/Bray Wyatt all succeeding as Main Event talents, amongst others.

 

[MartialHorror]

I'd say Wyatts feud with Chris Jericho did more harm than his feud with Cena.

The Cena feud was badly written on almost every level, but at least it was kind of ambitious. The Jericho feud just seemed lazy and uninspired after an admittedly strong start. Fans lost interest because it was boring, in contrast to the inspired- but dumb- Cena feud. I firmly believe that feuds are more important than individual wrestlers.

People like to complain about Daniel Bryan appearing to join the family, but I actually think that was more successful than people realize. The crowd was invested, even if the turn angered them. When Bryan got Bray in that cage, they went crazy. The Cena feud at least had some good moments, although wtf were they thinking when they recreated that idiotic 'Hogan/Warrior' spot involving the mirror. I think Bray Vs Ambrose is a mistake, but it can work.

Who do you think Bray should feud with? Who can help put Bray back over? Orton is taken as he must battle Rollins, the Big Show could work but I want to see Bray take on a younger person (after fighting Jericho), Sheamus...maybe, but would anyone care? Oddly, I think Jack Swagger would be an intriguing opponent, but it might be too late as Swagger has become a jobber again following his Rusev defeat. Ziggler...I guess it depends what WWE's long term plans for Dolph are, as he can't really afford a loss right now either if he ever wants to get out of the midcard.

 

[Mudlup50]

I'll be the guy to say it was Cena's fault. I started watching again right when the Wyatt's and the Shield fought, I was interested by both factions. While the Shield seemed like everyone could break out, the Wyatt's was obviously Bray's vehicle. Interest level:7

Then Bray got into his feud with Cena, and even though the feud had been done to death before with Cena rising above the hate, it had me interested. When he lost at Wrestlemania it was a questionable decision but I wasn't irate or anything. He rebounded to win the next PPV but it almost felt like he lost. Then the next PPV he did lose...but I don't think this is Cena's fault! Hear me out here, Bryan had just been announced as injured and Cena was the guy to take the belt to go towards Summerslam(to be mauled by Lesnar), so Cena won the feud. I seriously think Cena would have lost if Bryan hadn't been injured.
Interest level:8

Now if you remember correctly, Bray was back on TV the next week because he was in the MitB match after the belt was vacated. I read someone said Bray vanished, he didn't! He lost at MitB, but from a serious perspective, most of us are glad he did. Cena could absorb the mauling by Lesnar...Bray couldn't.
Interest level:7

Then he started his feud with Jericho, which a large chunk of the community seemed thrilled for. Yet for one reason or another the feud fell flat. I've read on here other people agreeing that Jericho's promos with Triple H from this year, were more entertaining than the ones with Bray. So let's give Jericho some blame too. Anyway, ending the feud on Raw seems stupid, until you realize how heel heavy the upcoming PPV was, and Orton needed a legitimate win to be pushed back up to main event caliber(if you wanna argue this, he hadn't won a match on ppv for about 6 months).
Interest level: 5

Then he was sacrificed to Cena again on Raw, and while it makes complete sense to use one of Cena's rivals from this year, Bray got the shit end and had to be sacrificed. Again, it makes sense! But Bray was unlucky.
Interest level: 4

He had a very short, mini feud with Big Show for a couple weeks...yea
Interest level: 3

Now he interferes in Ambrose/Rollins and is feuding with Dean, yet once again no real reason has been offered up. Even worse, he's down the family now! So instead of it being an underdog story of 1 v crazy 3, it's 1 v 1.
Interest level: 2

To take a quote from MLB The Show 2012, "if you wanna point fingers on who's to blame, you're gonna need both hands."
1. Lacking Cena conclusion(not his fault just shitty luck)
2. Off feud with Jericho(both of their faults)
3. Mini feud with Big Show(to give them something to do)
4. Lack of behind the scene story(Bray)
5. The month off didn't help
6. Being fed to Cena(Vince's fault)
7. Orton's crummy year

Really you can keep going. Bray has just had one of the worst years in terms of luck. Daniel Bryan's push hurt him, his injury hurt him, a bad return for Jericho hurt him, etc. Is Bray a failure though? I don't think so, his character can rebound! Wins and losses mean nothing to him if he could finally do something worth while like gaining a new follower or something...so who knows what the future holds. Right now though, failure

 

[Notorious718]

I think it's too early to call him either a success or a failure - aside from his younger brother Bo Dallas (24), Bray Wyatt is the youngest member of the current WWE roster (27), and I think that needs to be kept in mind when judging him, particularly his ring work (which personally, I don't think is as bad as people make out - his psychology is outstanding).

This. Wyatt hasn't been on the main roster long enough for me to make such a judgement. Really, this is a question that shouldn't be asked until he retires and that's likely to be awhile considering how young he is. Who knows? In five years, he'll only be 32 and hitting his peak. He might be a solidified main event player by then and even a world champion.

If I have to judge him based on his booking so far, I don't think I would call it a failure. "Failure" just seems too harsh considering he is one of the most over performers on the roster although I do agree that his booking has been stupid more often than not. I never thought he looked strong in his feud against Cena and with his gimmick as a cult leader, I feel like his splitting from Rowan and Harper was immature. Was the point of that to push Rowan and Harper and get them over through Bray Wyatt? What does Wyatt get out of this? Even his feud with Ambrose (which I've been waiting a long time for) feels insignificant with neither of them making live appearances on Raw in England and it feeling overshadowed by the Team Cena/Team Authority storyline. I guess if I had to pick a word to describe his run on the main roster so far, it wouldn't be failure but underwhelming.

But hey. He's still young. He's not perfect but he's better than many talents I've seen his age in the past. He will still grow and improve over time. Or at least, I sure hope he does.