adminYou’ve Got A Fiend In Me
Yowie Wowie! The hottest property in the business, Bray Wyatt, faces off against Seth Rollins this weekend at WWE’s Hell in a Cell PPV. When Wyatt’s smiling face appeared back on WWE programming back in April after a long absence, few could have predicted the overwhelming fervour his new character would produce.
If the last week has proven anything, it is that in the business of wrestling you need to stay fresh. You need to stay relevant. Most importantly, you need to give the fans what they want. Sometimes that is something they don’t even know they wanted yet.
Wrestling Royalty and Rushonrock’s King of the Ring Andy Spoors chats with John and Reese Burrows as they take a trip to the Firefly Funhouse and discuss Ramblin Rabbit, Huskus and (gulp!) The Fiend. All you have to do…is let us in.
What were you first impressions of Bray Wyatt’s new gimmick?
Andy Spoors: I vividly remember Twitter erupting in a schizophrenic state. Half of the WWE Universe seemed to be fascinated, the other felt it was the most ridiculous thing they had seen and Bray Wyatt was finished.
John Burrows: I was completely baffled by that first episode but loved how layers and layers were peeled off with each new episode.
Why is this such a big deal and is it much different from any other Superstar?
John: It’s all unbelievably clever, all the references to his former incarnations, the quirks of each one whilst being able to get jabs in at the dirt sheets (Huskus the pig, feeding McMahon the devil money etc). We love how he’s always diving into his past gimmicks and the satire he draws from it.
Andy: You have to remember, WWE used to go big on debuts. Kane is one of the most memorable and the return of The Undertaker was something special but even two legends as big as those were never afforded this much artistic license. Everything Wyatt has done has felt off and it becomes all the creepier and better for it. This has been a throwback and new territory for WWE programming.
John: The set design of the Firefly Funhouse is epic, to the point where I watched Mr Tumble with my youngest yesterday and wondered about what he gets up to in his own time!
So nothing to worry about, it sounds like he’s doing a great job!?
Andy: That is true to an extent but there have been some great ideas in wrestling that burned brightly and fizzled out just as quickly. One phrase that springs to mind and rings true in WWE can be borrowed from The Dark Knight movie : ‘You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain’.
The WWE Universe have grown bored of once fan favourites such as John Cena, Roman Reigns and now Seth Rollins. You have to stay relevant and fresh…
Reese: We were worried initially that ‘the fiend’ character wouldn’t live up to the hype – remember, we’ve not seen a character only cut promos backstage without wrestling for a LONG time but that entrance was outrageous, especially given the pressure on it to succeed.
John: Our concerns are obviously how they handle him going forward. The booking at the minute in particular, they’ve put themselves in the corner. If he takes the belt, what then? If it’s a stupid DQ win for Seth then that’s just going to kill momentum. So yeah, concerns start and end at Hell In A Cell. He didn’t need to be put into that match at all. In essence, it’s the booking, and everything OUTSIDE of Bray’s hands we’re worried about.
What’s the best part of it all then?
Andy: The new entrance has to be up there with one of the best in terms of shock factor. The production value was insane. Roughly cut camera angles, flashes of that Slipknot-style mask and the music! Mark Crozer’s trippy ‘Live In Fear’ was so atmospheric and matched his cult leader vibe. The fact the exact same song has been used but remixed and reworked by Code Orange adds another level of detail. It’s unique and produced like a weird hybrid of Art Attack meets, True Detective via House Of A Thousand Corpses.
John: The lantern! Man, the lantern. Carrying a prosthetic of your own severed head is just crazy. Even the detail there about it being his own face with the eyes sown shut, to insinuate there’s a fiend in everyone.
Catch Bray Wyatt and his alter ego ‘The Fiend’ this Sunday, as he takes on Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship. It all goes down at the Hell In A Cell PPV exclusively on the WWE Network and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next.