There are very few things that most WWE fans can agree on, but one might be around the fact that the Bray Wyatt character needed an upheaval. While he’s been one of the few off-the-wall personas to truly connect organically with the WWE Universe in recent years, the creative team has often misused Wyatt and his family, with some storylines and matches hitting their mark (and well), while others have failed epically.

The Bray Wyatt gimmick is hard to manage in general, but living in this PG-era of the WWE doesn’t help either. Having said that, there’s no doubt around the in-ring ability, mic work, and believability of Windham Lawrence Rotunda, who has always smashed it, despite the hand that has been dealt to him over the years with such a unique and multi-faceted persona.

Enter: Firefly Fun House, a newly-packaged character that Wyatt debuted last night on RAW, after a very long absence from the WWE, and plenty of teasing over recent months around a return and freshly-vamped up gimmick.

It was received with plenty of mixed reviews on social media. Some within the WWE Universe welcomed the promo that aired near the end of Monday Night RAW, where some were not fans of it in the least.

Here’s my take on it all and I have to be honest: I found the promos around a buzzard puppet (in a box) to be lame. The second installment of teaser promos with the odd-looking toys, doll house, and then that creepy doll that resembled Paige or Nikki Cross really peaked my interest. And I found last night’s new Bray reveal to be fascinating.

What I Liked About It

It’s a new package that has evolved from the old Wyatt, which is well-played in my opinion. Rather than scraping his enigma persona, a character that many fans adored, heel and all, they have brought Wyatt to a new level. Old-Bray fascinated many, and from his cryptic posts on social media, to cryptic vignettes, and cryptic messaging on the mic during live and in-ring promos, it seems Creative has done a few things right in this re-vamp: they’ve pulled all the things that worked in the past (and work well) with the old Wyatt character, yet scrapped away the old one to create new and evolved stories with the Bray; thus, also being able to pull from his history, which is an important thing.

They’ve clearly kept those David Lynch-esque vignettes, kept the creeped-out messaging, and if anyone follows Wyatt on social media, he’s continuing the cryptic tweets that draw us in where we truly want to understand Wyatt and where he’s coming from; ones that make us feel like we are “winning” when he think we know what his point of view is. While I may have not liked the buzzard puppet to begin with, I love the fact that he’s there now (it all makes sense), adding another layer to the idea that the new Wyatt felt like the told Bray was a puppet or tool of sorts (or at least that is my perception).

Once again, Wyatt is portrayed as an insecure child in this new character, fighting to find his way and where he fits in the WWE. The true essence of the old Bray was that as vile as he was, we all know how much he hated himself; how insecure he was; and once again last night he proved just how much by destroying his old image. Tying in child-like themes once again adds to the odd, creepy, and crazy; continuing the illusion that Wyatt is simply a lost soul, who tries to mask any sense of dependence. It also links the idea that he had a very dysfunctional childhood. And instead of having a cult of cronies in Harper and Rowan, Wyatt’s focus this time around is manipulating the minds of children, which many distorted leaders tend prey on, as kids’ minds are easy to influence.

Same Wyatt mystery; however, new clothes, new attitude, new following to fool.

Before I make a huge assumption, either way, I’m going to truly digest the next few weeks with this new Bray. From promos, to potentially in-ring action, it’s easy to jump to conclusions and place a stamp of failure on something that is new. But, like anything else, it’s time for fans to take a chance, enjoy the ride; this “new” Bray Wyatt may offer a world of opportunities for both the character, wrestler, and his fans.

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