Three factors that will determine The Fiend's success in WWE

WWE SummerSlam 2019 was a remarkable show for many reasons. One of the reasons why the show became a blockbuster was the in-ring debut of The Fiend, Bray Wyatt's new alter-ego. As the character was very intriguing, it instantly captured the fascination of the crowd.

This is not the first dark and scary gimmick portrayed by WWE. The company has a history of portraying frightening characters such as The Undertaker, Kane, and Boogeyman. However, featuring such a gimmick in the Internet era is a very bold move.

Bray Wyatt did a great job with his former ‘Eater of the Worlds’ gimmick, which also had a supernatural element attached to it. The challenges will be immense while portraying The Fiend, however. Certainly, the gimmick has what it takes to be a success, but creative should also be completely invested in protecting and building it.

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#3 The Level of Preference

The Fiend

The Fiend was not shot into the spotlight just out of nowhere. The creative team gradually got the character across to the audience with some weekly segments called the "Firefly Funhouse". Initially, it looked like a big risk to alter the character of Wyatt, but they had the patience to do the job carefully. Thus, after the debut match, The Fiend suddenly looks like a gold mine.

However, the further success of the character depends on what they do with him from now on. The level of preference that they show towards the character matters. Defeating mid-carders will help his initial growth, but it will not get the character to the top of the food chain. It remains to be seen if creative will give the character some major victories over top-caliber opponents.

A time will come when The Fiend has to face legends like John Cena or Brock Lesnar. When that moment, the management has to give victory to The Fiend if they want to make the character into something big.

#2 Success in Championship reigns

WWE Championship

Only a few superstars in WWE can look credible without championship victories. Big names like John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Ric Flair, and even The Undertaker had been successful only because of major title wins.

The Fiend does not need a title to look strong initially, but as the time progresses it will look odd to see such a dominating character without a title win. A title reign is required to establish himself as a main event level competitor.

Moving from one victim to another in a quest to purely conquer them looks to be the motive of the character, but it will become monotonous at some point. What will refresh things ultimately for the character is a championship storyline.

If done well, then there is no stopping him from achieving long-term success with the company. When the time comes for the creative team to consider giving him a title reign, they should not look back.

#1 Long term vision

The Fiend's debut win

There should be a long-term vision concerning this character; Otherwise, it will sink to the bottom. Many interesting characters have become purposeless in WWE because the creative team didn’t have a long-term goal for them.

Then, there are characters like The Undertaker, who had some purpose for decades like the undefeated streak. When John Cena returns, there will be a purpose for it as he has to cross Ric Flair’s record of 16 world title wins.

This shows how invested the company is in its top names. In regards to The Fiend, there should be some noteworthy investment in the character, like an undefeated streak or some record-breaking achievement.

We can assume that Vince and his creative team will invest much in The Fiend only if they have high hopes for him. Initially, everything looks fine with the character, but meticulous planning is necessary to make this into a success story.

Do you feel that WWE and Bray Wyatt will get it right? Are you not as optimistic? Share your ideas down below in the comments section.