'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It has been over two months since the former Eater of Worlds, Bray Wyatt, debuted his new gimmick of a smiling host who gives life lessons to his friends but has a hidden dark secret.
After introducing us to his demonic avatar - The Fiend, Bray Wyatt mentioned that he is here to protect us and that he has control over him. But that hardly seems to be true. Last week's episode was considered by many as the last one in the series, and there were many reasons to believe that as well.
The way Bray and his friends (or followers?) insisted everyone to "follow the leader" and let him in, that looked like a scene from a scary movie and could really haunt people at night. In the end, The Fiend Bray Wyatt seemed to disappear from the Firefly Fun House, leading to the speculations that the monster has been set free.
Many expected him to show up at Stomping Grounds tonight, but that did not happen. On the RAW following the PPV, we saw Bray make his presence felt in a rather strange way as first Abby the Witch, and then Mercy the Buzzard were seen secretly watching The Miz and Kofi Kingston, respectively. Bray is definitely here, and he might return to the ring anytime now.
Now, I love this gimmick as much as most of you do, but there are some reasons that I would like to put over as to why this new gimmick might fail to deliver once Bray Wyatt actually returns to the ring. Feel free to let me know your views on this in the comments section, whether they are favorable or against mine.
#5 Fans have too many expectations from him already
The Firefly Fun House was an instant hit among the fans, as week after week Bray Wyatt and his friends - Mercy the Buzzard, Abby the Witch, Rambling Rabbit, and Huskies the Pig Boy - kept us waiting for the 3-minute long episode of Firefly Fun House.
If you are a reader of the Best and Worst articles of RAW on Sportskeeda, you would notice how these segments are often considered the best part about the 3-hour show. Even the biggest of critics of WWE have appreciated this new gimmick, with many even calling it the best gimmick WWE has produced in years.
Now the issue here is as simple as this - expectations often lead to disappointment. We are so used to see the brilliance of this new character that even the slightest of an error during his in-ring return could lead to a huge backlash among fans.
The only way to avoid this is to give it some time. Remember how many disliked the Firefly Funhouse segments in the beginning, but soon started enjoying it? The same could be the case with this.
#4 WWE's history of dealing with such out-of-the-box characters
Bray Wyatt and his Firefly Fun House are one of the most innovative characters ever produced in WWE. As much as the current segments have been a big hit, WWE's history of handling such out-of-the-box characters isn't that great.
The latest example of that would be the Broken/Woken Matt Hardy gimmick. After the huge success of this gimmick in TNA and rest of the world, WWE also tried to use it in their programming, but it's safe to say that they were unable to replicate the same level of success.
Even Bray Wyatt's old gimmick with The Wyatt Family had so much more potential that WWE did not explore. While the current segments of Firefly Fun House have been exceptionally written and directed well, I'm just afraid that they might soon become stale if WWE does not continue to push its limits and let this character become larger than life.
This is too good to be messed up, Vince!
#3 It's tough to create the atmosphere of the Firefly Fun House live
Another issue with this gimmick is that so far we have only seen the pre-recorded segments of Firefly Fun House. While WWE needs to be given credit for the direction and production of these episodes, one has to understand that it would be very tough to create the same atmosphere in a live ring.
The special effects and editing that we have seen in the segments should not be considered as the mark to look up to, as it's definitely not possible to get to that level in the ring. Bray himself mentioned last week that some ideas are full of worms and are no good, referring to the weird worm projections to the ring during his WrestleMania 33 match against Randy Orton.
Don't be surprised if WWE tries to again do something like that to try to create a spooky feel but fails miserably with it. Just one simple question: would The Fiend look dangerous when he will stand in the ring in the middle of thousands of fans? I doubt that.
#2 Might lose its aura after suffering a loss
How often have we seen a character dive down the ranks the moment it faces the first loss? A recent example of this could be Asuka's undefeated streak that ended at WrestleMania 34 at the hands of Charlotte. The once unstoppable Asuka tumbled down the ranks and suffered many losses after that, hurting her credibility.
The recent rumors that have surfaced the internet are that Vince McMahon is looking to give an undefeated streak to Bray Wyatt's new character, and it makes complete sense. There's no doubt that the character would be highly protected, but there has to come one point when he'll have to suffer his first loss.
I'm afraid that once that happens, the aura behind Bray Wyatt and The Fiend might be lost. This was the main issue why Wyatt's old gimmick did not stand for long as well. As much as he would terrorize his opponents during his promos, continuously losing to them didn't help the cause as he was no longer being taken seriously by the WWE Universe. Let's just hope that does not happen with this new gimmick as well.
#1 Creative Control
One of the major reasons for the huge success of the Firefly Fun House has been the creative control of the character being with Bray Wyatt. It is easily visible how different these segments are from the rest of the show and how well thought and planned they are.
One of the biggest reasons for the failure of the Broken Matt Hardy gimmick was that the creative control was not fully with Matt Hardy. As for now, Bray Wyatt has a huge say on the direction of his new character, but whether this would be the case once he returns to the ring is yet to be seen.
As much as I agree that this gimmick could be the next big thing in WWE, Vince needs to not interfere much with it and let Bray continue to manage The Fiend according to him. I'm interested to see what happens to the Evil Vince McMahon character.
Who do you think will Bray Wyatt attack first when he returns to the ring? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
