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The Fiend hasn't been seen on WWE television since TLC 2020. At the pay-per-view, Randy Orton burned Bray Wyatt's alter ego alive in the Firefly Inferno match, an assault which would have killed a normal man.
But The Fiend is a supernatural WWE character, and his return to television has been teased for weeks now. Orton and Alexa Bliss have carved out their own separate feud during Wyatt's absence. The two will also face each other in a match at WWE Fastlane.
As usual, there is always the possibility that Wyatt could return at the upcoming pay-per-view. Even if he comes back after Fastlane, fans have a question in mind — how exactly will The Fiend "change" upon his eventual return?
Right after last year's TLC pay-per-view, The Eater of Worlds teased on Twitter that there could be a transformation in store for his onscreen persona. Since then, rumors have also indicated that Wyatt might undergo a change in appearance, and fans might see him with a new look when he comes back.
With that in mind, let's take a look at five possible changes WWE could make to The Fiend upon his return.
#5 The Fiend could return to WWE with a new or modified piece of theme music
It's no secret that Bray Wyatt's theme songs have generally been great. As The Eater of Worlds, he was accompanied to the ring with the song, "Live in Fear" (feat. Mark Crozer.)
The hit tune's lyrics were retained in a more aggressive take on the theme music for The Fiend — "Let Me In" (feat. Code Orange.) This theme even became Google's 26th most hummed song of 2020 (listed by Billboard.)
If The Fiend is set to transform during his WWE return, could he also come back with a new theme song? Since his current theme music is already remarkable, could a remix be on the way instead?
Either way, Wyatt's theme songs always reflect the character's state of mind. His Firefly Fun House persona came out to a cheerful song, while The Eater of Worlds' music encapsulated his deranged tendencies. This theme was complimented by an eerie state of calmness. Meanwhile, The Fiend's current theme conveys how this persona is filled with pure rage.
If Bray Wyatt's state of mind changes upon his return, a new or modified piece of theme music should characterize that shift in mood, too.
#4 The Fiend must be scarred or burned to a certain degree upon his WWE return
The Fiend is a supernatural monster, but even this character had to take some time off after being set on fire at WWE TLC 2020. So in terms of the storyline, Bray Wyatt's alter ego isn't invincible after all.
It can be assumed that while the fire couldn't kill The Fiend, he was affected by it to a certain extent. This result would explain the character's absence from WWE programming. Perhaps The Fiend is recuperating from the injuries he suffered at TLC.
The events of Randy Orton and The Fiend's Firefly Inferno match shouldn't be forgotten anytime soon. Upon the return of Wyatt's alter ego, the character should display the scars he suffered at TLC.
This won't be the first WWE will lean on the makeup department for this particular saga. In January 2021, Orton wore a protective face mask with heavy makeup to sell his burns after Alexa Bliss launched a fireball toward his face. But this development didn't last long, as it was entirely scrapped after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Let's hope that if WWE decides to implement some kayfabe scars or burns over Wyatt's body, the company should at least stick with the effects for a while.
#3 Will The Fiend return to WWE with a new mask?
After everything that happened during the Firefly Inferno match at WWE TLC 2020, there is no way that The Fiend's mask remained untouched from the flames.
If the fire didn't completely destroy his mask, The Fiend will likely return with a burnt facial covering. But if his mask was completely engulfed in flames, it should be replaced by a new one when The Fiend comes back.
Either way, it doesn't seem possible that The Fiend's iconic mask will be the same when he returns to WWE programming.
Kyle Scarborough, who played a key role in creating The Fiend's mask, fueled the fans' speculation recently. He tweeted out cryptic art illustrations regarding Bray Wyatt's alter ego.
While his tweets neither confirm nor deny how The Fiend will look when he comes back, the illustrations prove that the possibilities are endless.
To be fair, it is quite hard to create a follow-up to The Fiend's horrifying mask and retain its unique aura. After all, The Fiend has one of the most intriguing looks among at least 75 memorable masked gimmicks in WWE history.
But then again, Wyatt has repeatedly proven that his bizarre creativity has resulted in some interesting outcomes in WWE. It's safe to trust a man who successfully reinvented himself into one of the most complex WWE characters of all time.
#2 Bray Wyatt's Firefly Fun House persona in WWE may no longer coexist with The Fiend
Bray Wyatt's Firefly Fun House segments occurred before The Fiend's WWE debut. While The Fiend is a ruthless monster who rarely speaks, Wyatt's Firefly Fun House persona thrives in promos.
This optimistic persona acts as the bridge between The Fiend and the WWE Universe. But unlike The Fiend, Fun House Wyatt isn't exactly a supernatural entity himself.
Wyatt's naive, harmless demeanor is a stark contrast to The Fiend's brutal personality. With that in mind, fans will understand if Wyatt's evil alter ego has survived, even after he was set on fire by Randy Orton. But if The Fiend made it through the fire, can the same be said for his Firefly Fun House counterpart? Probably not.
Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently pitched a similar outcome during an episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo:
"I would do so much intricate storytelling here. Because that’s what you could do with Bray. We’ve got to come out of this. This guy really had to be burned in a fire. He really had to be disfigured. But much to our surprise, The Fiend is not Bray, he’s a completely seperate character! And it never was Bray!"
If The Fiend and Bray Wyatt were two separate entities, the latter would still have hosted the Firefly Fun House segments in the former's absence.
It is possible that the fire released The Fiend from the shackles of being tied to his jovial counterpart. After all, fire is often known to be a symbol of purity in religion and literature. It could be fascinating to see WWE play with this idea.
#1 The Fiend should complete the "classic movie monster" arc after his WWE return to become even stronger than before
Bray Wyatt is a huge fan of horror films, and he has derived inspiration from the genre throughout this WWE career. It's no secret that The Fiend has a lot in common with classic movie monsters and slasher villains.
At TLC 2020, the character went through an incident that would have destroyed most WWE Superstars. But just like any popular movie monster, The Fiend will return in the near future, possibly stronger than ever.
The names of some iconic fictional characters such as Godzilla and King Kong have been frequently mentioned in conjunction with The Fiend. Despite the efforts to put down these movie monsters, they always remain dominant at the end of their respective films. The Fiend operates in the same way.
As they all say, what doesn't kill someone only makes them stronger.
The Fiend isn't gone forever, and upon his WWE return, the character might re-emerge from the flames as an even stronger version of himself. If or when that happens, Randy Orton will most likely face his worst fears in WWE.
How exactly should The Fiend "change" upon his WWE return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
