For over a year now, Bray Wyatt has proclaimed himself the new face of fear. His eloquent soliloquies each week on World Wrestling Entertainment programming are entertaining and engaging. He is a fascinating character to be sure. When it comes to his in ring style, dangerous is the first world I think of. His intensity is ferocious, his attacks vicious, and he moves like a jungle cat. All of these reasons should be enough to make fans shiver in fear and superstars apprehensive to battle the likes of Bray Wyatt, but there is no reason to fear Wyatt at all.
There is an old saying that goes, “Actions speak louder than words.” I happen to believe this statement to be true, and when applied to Bray Wyatt, it’s easy to see that his mouth is constantly writing cheques that his body cannot cash. Every time Bray Wyatt has promised to bring about the destruction of our heroes, he has failed to deliver. He has perpetrated some brutal attacks on the likes of Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns, but in the end, he never manages to achieve to goals that he sets out.
While this can be demonstrated with a multitude of opponents he has faced in the past, the best example of Wyatt’s scare tactics being nothing more than hype was on display at the biggest show of the year: WrestleMania 31. Weeks prior, Bray had called out the Undertaker in typical creepy fashion. He hid in the phenom’s casket, he proclaimed the Undertaker dead, and talked about how he was the new dark watcher over WWE. What made Bray different was the way he stood his ground when the Undertaker responded. He showed no fear in the face of the dead man. You could feel the tide changing.
At WrestleMania 31 there was something in the air. It felt like a night of new beginnings, and after weeks of build-up, fans were ready for something big to happen. Most had been convinced by Bray Wyatt’s talk that he truly was the new phenom, and his power was now equal to that of the Undertaker. Wyatt walked the ramp in spectacular fashion, bringing an army of scarecrows to life before entering the squared circle. Even at the eleventh hour, he was casting spells and playing parlour tricks to make us believe in his new moniker.
While Bray did give the Undertaker a battle not soon to be forgotten, in the end Wyatt ended up just another notch in the belt of the Undertaker’s long list of victories at the biggest show of the year. The table was set for Bray, and instead of feasting, he flipped it over. Wyatt ended up disappearing for a little while, likely beginning to question himself along with everyone else. The Undertaker had finally proved that the Emperor had no clothes, and revealed Wyatt for what he truly was: A charlatan. A con-man who made you believe in the impossible.
When he returned, Wyatt has took on a new target in Ryback. Sadly, there was nothing new about the self-proclaimed eater of worlds. Wyatt was still using the same tricks as before, all while still claiming to be the new face of fear. Perhaps he felt that Ryback would be an easy target. Someone that he could outsmart in order to make himself look good. The only problem with his plan was that Ryback had seen what we had all seen, and with nothing to fear he managed to stop Wyatt’s momentum before it ever got going.
Once again Wyatt slunk into the shadows, trying to regroup and think of a way he could make people believe again. Instead of coming up with a fresh approach, he went back to the well, pulling out old tricks to dazzle and demoralize. His plan was put into action at Money In The Bank when Wyatt appeared out of nowhere and attacked Roman Reigns, knocking him off the ladder and ruining his chance to become WWE World Heavyweight champion. If Wyatt had worked at obtaining victories instead of convincing his followers that he was still everything he claimed, then perhaps Bray could have been in that ladder match, and maybe even won the championship, making him far more powerful and threatening than any sneak attack could have.
In another demonstration of his stepping backwards in his evolution, Wyatt has once again reformed his “family” by having Luke Harper help him when he just can’t get the job done himself, which happens to be an awful lot these days. It is expected that Eric Rowan will also re-join the group once he is healthy, and not a week goes by that we don’t hear rumours of someone else joining up with Wyatt once more. Of course, those rumours always turn out to be false. Maybe those superstars see what some fans already see, that joining Bray’s family might mean a short term boost of attention, but in the long run, it won’t really get you anywhere. Luke Harper is the best example of this. Despite he and Eric Rowan being one of the best tag teams in WWE, they failed to capture the WWE Unified Tag Team championship under the guidance of the World Eater. It wasn’t until they left Bray that Harper was able to capture his first title, the Intercontinental championship.
Fear is all about control. When we fear something, it gives whatever that something is power. It is that power that Bray Wyatt claims. He wants you to fear him so he can control you. He wants the WWE locker room to fear him so he can obtain power over them. That might be the biggest difference between he and the Undertaker. While some of his peers might fear Wyatt, they respect the Undertaker, because the Undertaker is more than fear tactics. The Undertaker instills respect in his peers and fear in his adversaries because he backs up his threats with action, and victories. He delivers on his promises. Until Wyatt does that, he will only be another pretender to the throne.
When you’re young, you fear the monster in your closet, your boogeyman. Then when you get older you begin to realize that the stories you were told are just that, stories. You learn to face your fears, look in the closet and realize that there is no monster. WWE superstars are quickly beginning to learn that Bray Wyatt is nothing more than a modern day boogeyman, and when it comes to the new Face of Fear, the only thing they have to fear, is fear itself. Certainly not Bray Wyatt.
