Bray Wyatt breaks character to discuss Uncle Howdy ahead of WWE Royal Rumble

Bray Wyatt's return to WWE back in October 2022 sent fans into a frenzy. Will he bring back the Hawaiian shirt and "Man in the woods" character, or The Fiend, or someone completely new? Whilst all the answers haven't been revealed yet, we now know that Bray's character in 2023 is the closest to his real-life persona.

Perhaps the main focal point of his storyline on WWE SmackDown is the newly introduced character Uncle Howdy. A recent interview with the former three-time world champion with Ryan Satin on Out of Character by WWE on FOX gave us some insights into what this character is about.

"Uncle Howdy is, there’s so much more to it than you think. It’s not just so cut and dry, the spooky man in the background. There’s more to it. There’s complexities that you haven’t got to see yet. There’s things I don’t understand about it. And that’s the beauty of it, is it’s going to grow organically. But the story of it, I don’t think, has been told yet, and once you understand what it really is and where it came from – in my childhood and who Howdy really is – it’s much deeper than you think it is, then you would perceive it to be.” [13:15-13:49]

When asked if they were all connected: the Uncle Howdy character, The Fiend and "Man in the Woods," which refers to Bray's Hawaiian shirt-wearing cult leader persona, Wyatt claimed that they are all based on things that happened in his life, and are small tidbits of a giant story. He further stated:

"Where Howdy came from, I can't explain it, because it is such a dark thing. Where it came from is a very very dark thing that happened in our lives, in my life. And it's, you know, if it was shared, it would be almost too much. I14:22-14:42]

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Is Uncle Howdy Bray Wyatt's opponent for WWE WrestleMania 39?

Bray Wyatt is listed within WWE as the number one babyface on SmackDown. Speculating about the former three-time world champion's WrestleMania 39 scenario, industry veteran Dave Meltzer reported that the "top guys" do not want to work with Wyatt. It is not necessarily the wrestler's fault, but the kind of character he has and the creative aspects of it.

He believes Wyatt will battle Uncle Howdy on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Whether this is the direction WWE is heading en route to Mania or not, suffice to say that fans have welcomed this new rendition of Wyatt. He is beloved and evokes curiosity and viewership, which is a win-win for both the Stamford-based promotion and the viewers.

He was recently seen on WWE RAW XXX wherein The Undertaker, whom fans have drawn comparisons with Bray, evidently "passed the torch" to the latter.

Bray Wyatt has largely improved under Triple H's leadership and is set to wrestle in his first match on television since WrestleMania 37 in 2021 at the Royal Rumble premium live event on Saturday night.

The former WWE Universal Champion will take on LA Knight in the first-ever Pitch Black match. Tune in to Sportskeeda as we will update you with the latest news and stories to come out of the event.

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If you'd like to learn some fascinating facts about the Royal Rumble, check out the below video!