WWE Reportedly Pushed Bray Wyatt To Revive Popular Character

As per a recent report regarding plans during his latest run in WWE, the company was hoping to take advantage of the popularity of Bray Wyatt's old Fiend gimmick and actually pushed him to bring it out of retirement. Considering he didn't think he would ever do so again during an interview, some are wondering if the decision not to unretire the character has left WWE unsure about Wyatt's future with the company.

Fight Fans is reporting that WWE was not "overly fond" of how the Pitch Black Match played out, specifically because they felt his new mask didn't grab attention as his Fiend mask did. And, part of what was so attractive for WWE when it came to The Fiend is that the character sold a ton of merchandise. Speculation is that WWE doesn't feel Wyatt's new persona is as good as The Fiend and won't sell merchandise on the same level as Wyatt's old gimmick. Knowing that, it sounds like Wyatt was pushed to bring The Fiend out of retirement following the January Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

Furthermore, talks intensified over the past month or two but there is currently no movement on a Fiend revival. Most insiders don't seem to know if and when Wyatt will even return. He has been off of programming since February 2023 and it is said to be due to an illness.

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The Fiend Is A Polarizing Character

A good portion of the WWE Universe seemed to love The Fiend, but there were plenty of wrestlers who reportedly hated being involved with that character in a storyline capacity. The big complaint was that it left many performers dissatisfied creatively and that it was hard to The Fiend gimmick to get anyone over. Those who worked a program with him were typically worse off than before getting involved in a feud.

If WWE is still hoping to bring that character back, they'll need to find an effective way to get around those obstacles.