Luke Harper VS Bray Wyatt (Plus The Ascension)

[ryder123]

As we all know, Luke Harper is leaving The Wyatts and is starting his own path in WWE which I'm sure will be a success considering the amount of work Harper puts into his matches and the facial impressions he pulls. He is Gold. It got me thinking about his first major feud as a Singles competitor. Will WWE give us Harper and Bray off the bat? Its without a doubt a feud that I personally would enjoy watching.

So there's two ways this could possibly go, The first being, Luke Harper debuts and for the first few weeks he puts down local jobbers as WWE will want to get a win streak going and remind us all how good he is. He will probably unleash a few new move sets also. So Harper defeats a jobber when the lights go out. The Ascension debut on Raw and attack Harper. This goes on for a few weeks leading to the question, who is behind the attack? is the Ascension doing this themselves? After a standoff with Harper and Ascension, Bray Wyatt comes out and sides with Harper when out of nowhere he hits Sister Abigail on Harper. Obviously it will make Harper look Weak especially since he just debut on his own.

The Second Scenario is pretty straight forward. Bray Wyatt comes out and talks about the Wyatt Family success over the past year and a half. He tells Harper and Rowan its time for the end. Harper comes out and Bray talks about what he will accomplish on his own. Harper gets down and worships Bray, Bray suddenly grabs Harper and connects with Abigail. Bray leaves the ring leaving Harper lying looking back at him angry.

I don't know what will happen Eric Rowan and I'm honestly not to bothered. Another thing, Harper could debut as a heel and attack Wyatt thus making Wyatt Face. Its all there. So much potential. I just hope we don't get a Luke Harper/Kane feud which we probably will. Thoughts?

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Personally, I'm not a fan of Luke Harper leaving the Wyatt family regardless of who turns on who. The idea that I get from Luke Harper is that he's been brainwashed as a loyal disciple and I can't think of any good reasons why Bray Wyatt would turn his back on a loyal disciple like him in the first place. I do think if they really wanted to split them up, then it would be that Luke Harper suffers one of those send-off losses where we don't hear from him for months. And then when he returns as a repackaged Luke Harper, his reason for no longer being aligned with the Wyatt family is that he's been awoken and right then is when we start hearing about a group called Ascension that he keeps alluding to.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I still think that there's a lot of untapped potential with The Wyatt Family but, unfortunately, it looks as though Vince himself doesn't see it or isn't really interested in pursing it. Based on the vignettes, it doesn't seem that Harper is turning on Wyatt or is being turned on. With Harper being set "free", it certainly seems like the Family is breaking up, but I wonder if Wyatt might merely be sending Harper & Rowan out on their own to sort of spread Wyatt's message. Throughout history, whether it involve small cults or worldwide religions, the heads of the order would send their disciples, especially their most trusted & devoted ones, out into the world in order to spread their dogma. The message is the same, the purpose is the same, the disciples are merely operating independently.

While probably not what's happening, it could be a means of splitting the original family and, under special circumstances, reunite the original trio with new members who've come into the group. In this case, there are reports of The Ascension joining Wyatt and, if true, then MAYBE Harper & Rowan are out on their own for 5 or 6 months, have no interaction with Wyatt or The Ascension and on Raw one night, seemingly out of the blue, they reunite; they return to the flock after having spent months spreading the message of the shepherd and make the family stronger than ever.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

^ Yeah, I could see that happening. I just hope WWE is creative enough to pull something like that.

 

[Messiah]

Luke Harper is not gold. That's ridiculous.. He has solid matches and that's it, it's going to take a lot more than that to be a success in WWE...

How many people have WWE made a success in the past few year's?.. None.

Some can argue Daniel Bryan but most will say the fans made him a success just based on his reaction when WWE wasn't doing shit with him besides that comedy shit.

 

[crazy_lou]

harper could be good if given the chance. harper has good size, has had great matches in limited time on raw- see his match with cena, and he has great facials, which can sell a sports entertainment match better than almost any move if done effectively. some guys got their matches over so much more with facial expressions, think the rock, jericho, kurt angle, just to name a few off the top of my head.

 

[OYDK]

Don't count out the possibility of a swerve here as Jack-Hammer pointed out. It seems to me (and seemingly the majority of you) that there is still a whole lot to be done with the Wyatt Family. A dominant championship run from Bray with Harper and Rowan protecting the belt, tag team titles, a possible face run... I just don't see WWE breaking these guys up when we haven't even really delved into their backstory. Who the hell was Sister Abigail? How did Bray and Abigail find Harper and Rowan? How exactly did Bray "fix" these two men? So many questions and I for one, would be disappointed if we never get the answers.

I like your idea a lot though but I think Harper needs to be the heel in this program. This way the WWE can limit his mic work and really have Bray tell the whole story. Maybe we'll find the answers to my questions DURING a Harper-Wyatt feud. Who knows really, but good idea. I'd be invested.

 

[Navi]

I don't mind if they split up the Wyatt's. As far as I'm concerned Harper was the standout of the group anyway. Wyatt is good on the mic and should only get in the ring when needed. Rowan is forgettable and always has been.

The only problem I see with this is the Ascension being lumped in with Wyatt, they don't need him. As I said on another thread, they are a pretty good tag team that pretty much destroyed everyone in NXT, and they did it by themselves. There is no good reason I can think of as to why they need Wyatt at all.

Methinks that the Wyatts were going nowhere and they've been made to pay for it with the break up. Somehow I just can't see the Ascension in dirty T-shirts and jeans acting like a couple of backwoods yokels. It would totally destroy any credibility that they've managed to attain. I really hope they don't go this route and take out one of the best things in NXT before they even get started on the main roster.

And I can't see Harper going after Wyatt right away. There is bigger fish to fry and let him get his feet wet before he takes on his former boss. There is no reason for him feud with Wyatt, I'll wait to see if they give him one.

 

[Mustang Sally]

.... but I wonder if Wyatt might merely be sending Harper & Rowan out on their own to sort of spread Wyatt's message.

That's what I've been presuming. Sure, in time these former teammates (family) will be at each others' throats; the fireworks produced by that specter will be too much for WWE to resist, but there's plenty of time before they need to do that......these three aren't going anywhere......so the initial stages of the break-up will still result in them teaming up occasionally even while espousing Bray's philosophy and tactics in different directions.

Admittedly, I'm not as bowled over by Luke Harper as many folks on this forum seem to be. Sure, he's got that big body Vince McMahon loves, yet I don't see much in his repertoire that makes him stand out from anyone else.....although he might have more in his arsenal than has been seen; stuff that he may have been ordered to keep under wraps in order to not overshadow the effect of the Bray Wyatt character.

We'll soon see......& it's all good.

 

[laodaron]

The problem with the Wyatts is that by only having all three of them together are they a complete wrestler. Bray is great with being able to promo, and as the face of the family, but he's just atrocious in the ring. Luke is the obvious ring master of the family, his ability to command the match, tell the story, and execute the moves is unmatched by any other big men in the WWE right now. I don't even know about him as Brody Lee in the Indies, but his work in WWE has already been great. And Erick Rowan, while mostly left out, plays the perfect silent brawler.

Keeping them together as a trio maintains only the status quo. Bray couldn't get a decent match with Chris Jericho, but Chris Jericho gets what I consider a 3.5-4 star match with Randy Orton at NoC, and you could tell both of them were just phoning it in. There's no reason Bray couldn't have had a good match with Jericho, except Bray just can't do it in the ring.

But I'm nervous for Luke Harper to leave the family, because I don't know how well he'll be able to promo as a true competitor in the WWE. Match-wise, he's fine. Microphone wise, he'll be relegated to the low card.

That and I do not buy into the Ascension hype. I've seen several of their NXT matches, and I think there is plenty of other talent to bring up and leave them down at NXT.

 

[ZUMBOdriver]

I've heard some express their doubts about Luke Harper, but Luke Harper will be one of those people who will ultimately overachieve. I feel he is, at least, above average in just about every category you can rank a wrestler in. Brass may not be in love with him, WWE fanboys may not see it like they do in a guy like Reigns, but Luke Harper will overachieve on his own. I'm confident in that.

Now, how they're going about dissolving the current incarnation of the Wyatt family may not sit well with everyone. I wouldn't mind seeing Wyatt feud with his former muscle guys following a big split between the faction, but I also don't mind a more quiet breakup of the group if the end game is worth it.

What is the end game? For me, it's Bray Wyatt vs The Authority. He is tailor made as a face to go against The Authority.

Having Harper and Rowan turn on Bray Wyatt could potentially diminish Wyatt's cult leader persona. By setting them free, he still maintains that mystique, and WWE can continue with their plans without changing Bray "too much." The cult leader persona is something Bray shouldn't lose even if turning face. Tweak the persona maybe, but ultimately, keep the same character. He gets cheered currently anyway.

So, you have a still cult-ish, good guy Bray Wyatt going against the bad guys. The Authority can claim Bray has brainwashed the masses, and continue to paint Bray as a psychopath as Bray tries to put a halt to "what's best for business." Of course the crowd will be strongly behind Bray, and honestly, a program like this would have a lot of similarities to the Daniel Bryan program from last WM. Bray and Daniel Bryan could even be forced into some strange bedfellow situations against The Authority.

Would this be during Wrestlemania? After Wrestlemania? Personally, I'd pull the trigger this Wrestlemania. This notion that Roman Reigns must beat Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania to be legitimized is laughable. It's that kind of forced booking that will make people resent Reigns, just like Cena, even if he does beat Lesnar. And the writing is on the wall for that to happen, like it or not.

Wyatt is far more ready than Reigns, or at least it seems to me. Better mic work, better character development and just all round better to be honest. And the many losses and beatings from Cena to Wyatt this past year, plus the fact he's being kept off of television or "misused", will only help Bray get over more as a face when the time comes. The time to make Bray Wyatt a big star is right now.

Maybe down the line Harper vs Wyatt can happen. They will always have their pasts to play off of. And please god, leave The Ascension out of this. They're not too good. But if they plan to go the route of Bray "setting free" to the rest of his family, if the end game isn't a big time face turn for Wyatt, it would be considered a waste by me.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Last night on Raw apparently Eric Rown has been set free and later in the evening so was Bray Wyatt. I think this is going to kind of be an upgrade to the Wyatts. With Lesnar as champion and therefore the champ rarely being on TV, it seems they have been focusing on some newer talent, mainly the former SHIELD members, who have proven their success before just as the Wyatts have. I think this is going to be sort of the way Lesnar was supposedly only operating at 50% when he first came back and fought Cena. I think they are going to say something to the effect of the Wyatts not being at full power. They were being restrained and now are set free. This would go to explain why Wyatt would laugh anytime a face would foil his plans or send him running from the ring. Perhaps now they will really start doing evil things, since before they mainly just did some run ins on whoever Bray feuded with. I think it will come down to either Bray, Reigns, Ambrose and/or Rollins to get the belt at WM31.