10 Bray Wyatt Matches That WWE Fans Will Always Remember
Debuting in a vignette on the May 27, 2013 episode of "Monday Night Raw," Bray Wyatt has been a force in the WWE for nearly a decade. Wyatt is a third-generation pro wrestler, the grandson of Blackjack Mulligan and son of Mike "I.R.S." Rotunda. This upbringing undoubtedly helped inspire the creativity Bray has unleashed in so many of the storylines and matches he's been involved with. His unique characters have been an interesting diversion from the heels we're used to seeing on WWE television, whether Bray is playing a bayou cult leader persona as the leader of the Wyatt Family, or the more recent combination of Firefly Funhouse host and his unstoppable alter ego The Fiend.
Bray's recent return to WWE, along with the mysterious Uncle Howdy, reminded us of some of Wyatt's most memorable matches, and how wildly different they are from most wrestling contests. Not all of these are remembered for the great wrestling involved — in fact, one is more memorable for the fact that there was little wrestling involved in the contest at all — but every performance is notable for how different it was from nearly anything we've seen on a pro wrestling show.
Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble 2014
After a frustrated Daniel Bryan joined the Wyatt Family late in 2013, a lack of success for the Family led to Wyatt turning on his newest recruit. This resulted in a singles match at the 2014 Royal Rumble, one of the more brutal in Wyatt's history. Rowan and Harper accompanied Wyatt to the ring, but, after some early interference, Bray told them he didn't need them to fight for him and sent them away. The match itself was great, as Wyatt ate as much offense as he delivered. Bryan made a point to sell Wyatt's offense terrifically, making Bray's attacks all the more brutal — the lariat to the outside was particularly nasty looking. The finish was spectacular, as Bray caught a Daniel Bryan dive to the outside and seamlessly transitioned it into a Sister Abigail that sent Bryan's head into the barricade. Wyatt simply tossed Bryan's lifeless body into the ring afterward and delivered a second Sister Abigail in the ring to secure his victory.
While the crowd was firmly behind Bryan for the majority of this match, this is arguably the best straight singles match of Bray Wyatt's career, earning four stars from the Observer and establishing Bray as a wrestler capable of hanging with one of the best in the world.
The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield at Elimination Chamber 2014
At the start of 2014, The Shield was one of the hottest groups in WWE. While their most memorable matches and rivalries were behind them, and the dissolution of the group via the "chairshot heard 'round the world" had yet to materialize, there were some cracks starting to form in the foundation of the trio. Still, they were a force to be reckoned with, and Bray Wyatt and his family chose to target them immediately after overcoming Daniel Bryan. While Bray also led the charge against John Cena at the same time, the match between the Wyatts and the Shield was one that was incredibly hyped, even with only a short build.
Fans wanted to see these two popular trios collide, and their match at the 2014 Elimination Chamber premium live event did not disappoint. Perfectly situated in the middle of the card, the crowd exploded from the moment the Shield's theme hit. When the trios stood face to face in the ring, a "this is awesome" chant immediately began. The match was fantastic, as all six participants were able to contribute and brought something unique to the fight. The action was intense and constant, and the match's 20-minute runtime felt like five because of it. In the end, Bray was able to eliminate Dean Ambrose from action, and Rowan and Harper put Seth Rollins through an announce table, leaving only Roman Reigns. While he was able to fight off Rowan and Harper for a little while — he would become our Tribal Chief for a reason, after all — the numbers eventually wore Reigns down and Wyatt hit Sister Abigail for the victory. The trios would meet again the following night on "Raw" in another memorable match that nearly equaled this one in intensity and entertainment value.
Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31
The spectacle of an Undertaker match is one of the best parts of any WrestleMania, and both "The New Face of Fear" and "The Dead Man" did their best to make the Undertaker's first match after the ending of his streak something special. Bray challenged the Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 31, and Undertaker accepted by shooting lightning at the rocking chair that often accompanied Wyatt to ringside. Bray wanted to become what the Undertaker had been to the WWE for years, and if 'Taker wasn't willing to pass the torch, Bray would take it and burn the whole WWE Universe if he had to.
The entrances alone were worth the price of admission, as Wyatt was flanked by scarecrows that eerily came alive as he passed. Undertaker looked great from a physical standpoint, and Wyatt performed admirably despite injuring his ankle while warming up for the match earlier in the day. Undertaker controlled the action early, but Wyatt was able to turn things around and hit some offense of his own. The crowd got into things and went from sort of apathetic to full on chanting for the Undertaker by the end, and the image of Bray Wyatt recovering during a ten count by rising into his crab walk, only for the Undertaker to sit up in his Michael Myers inspired fashion, is one for the ages. There were some creative reversals as well — Undertaker was able to turn Sister Abigail into a huge chokeslam, and later secured the victory by reversing the same move into a Tombstone piledriver.
While it is arguable that Wyatt would have benefitted from a win here, and that perhaps Wyatt should have even been the one to defeat the Streak and carry the Undertaker's legacy as the supernatural force in WWE, the two superstars were able to put those debates aside for the sake of putting on a great WrestleMania match.
Six Man Elimination Chamber Match, Elimination Chamber 2017
Bray Wyatt. AJ Styles. Baron Corbin. John Cena. Dean Ambrose. The Miz. In 2017, any pairing of these performers could main event a premium live event. Instead, we were given an all-star lineup for the Elimination Chamber match with the added bonus of the WWE Championship being on the line. At the time, Styles and WWE Champion John Cena had been involved in a rivalry for several months. Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble earlier in the year and won a match earlier in this show against Luke Harper, who was recently exiled from the Wyatt family — a match based on Harper's suspicions on Orton's intentions with the Wyatt family, which Orton had recently aligned with.
The match itself has everything you'd want in an Elimination Chamber match: violence, some fun spots off the side of the chamber, and a new champion. WWE managed to keep the Styles/Cena storyline going even though Cena was eliminated fourth, allowing AJ and Bray to close out the match. That move also allowed the fans to get excited about whether they wanted Styles or Wyatt to exit the chamber as the new WWE Champion. Ambrose, Corbin, and Miz all played their parts incredibly well too — Ambrose as the lunatic who cared little for his own health, Corbin as the overenthusiastic rookie heel, and Miz as his usual cowardly heel self, looking for the easy pinfall.
Bray's first title reign wasn't as memorable as this victory was. He would have one successful defense in a triple threat match on "SmackDown" against Cena and Styles two days after his title victory. But Wyatt's title reigns are rarely the things we remember about him. It's the character work, the promos, the love he has in crafting these maniacal villains — that's what makes Bray Wyatt so memorable.
WWE Champion Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33
Proving Luke Harper's suspicions to be correct, Randy Orton went ahead and burned the whole Wyatt Family compound to the ground to set this WrestleMania match up. Orton previously said he would refuse to challenge Bray, but that was clearly an attempt to set Wyatt up for his dramatic turn on the cult leader. While the build was memorable for being the end of Sister Abigail's grave and the Wyatt's homestead, the match was just as memorable for its bonkers premise and execution.
This was a stacked WrestleMania — one that featured Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns, "Kingslayer" Seth Rollins vs. Triple H in an unsanctioned match, and the surprise return of Team Extreme in a tag team ladder match. Bray Wyatt needed something to make this championship match get on the same level as those legendary matchups, and he chose ... bugs. The image of thousands of relatively silent fans becoming Bray's fireflies in a darkened arena was amazing, almost unsettling, but that wasn't what fans will remember most about this match. After Orton got the upper hand quickly, Bray countered by projecting images of maggots onto the mat. The power was never really explained, but Wyatt sure made the most of this one-match-only ability by using it several more times before he lost the title to an RKO after he attempted a roach-enhanced Sister Abigail.
Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy in an Ultimate Deletion match on WWE Raw, 3/19/2018
In late 2017, a rivalry between Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy developed that would go on for months. After a loss on "Raw" unlocked the "Woken" version of Matt Hardy, many hoped for some of the more "out there" matches and affectations of the elder Hardy brother that they had seen on Impact Wrestling. This match was proof that WWE was willing to entertain those hopes, if only for one night. An unchained cinematic match shot at the Hardy family compound, this battle began with Bray Wyatt approaching the gates when a hologram of Matt, projected from the drone Vanguard-1, invited Wyatt inside. Hardy's wife Reby played a piano version of Bray Wyatt's theme as he entered the ring, and things only got wilder from there.
A Roman Candle pyro attack, a full recreation of the Wyatt Family Compound, and a Scooby-Doo-like Whack-A-Mole segment were all notable parts of this memorably bonkers event. This was 20 minutes of madness that somehow aired on a regular episode of "Raw," culminating in what seemed to be the end of Bray Wyatt, as the "New Face of Fear" was tossed into the "Lake of Reincarnation" after distractions from Brother Nero and Señor Benjamin to finish the fight. While Benjamin was unable to recover Wyatt's body from the lake immediately after the match, Bray would return to team with Matt as the "Deleters of Worlds" later in 2018.
The Fiend Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor at SummerSlam 2019
After an absence of several months following the dissolution of the Deleters of Worlds, vignettes featuring the now-familiar puppets from the Firefly Funhouse began to air. Those led into the reintroduction of Bray Wyatt, now the host of a children's show where he moved with silly sound effects, spoke directly to the camera, and talked about how he's learned to deal with his rage. Part of that rehabilitation led to the appearance of an alter ego, "The Fiend." With a mask designed by horror legend Tom Savini and his studio, this new face of terror was a monstrous creature that brought all of Wyatt's worst personality traits to the forefront. The Fiend was tremendously popular, and his first full match at SummerSlam was a perfect debut for the demonic presence.
Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt had a brief program against one another previously, making him an ideal target for the Fiend's initial appearances. The Fiend made his in-ring debut against Balor after attacking him in the weeks prior. Everything about this version of Wyatt was intensified, from the debuting cover of his entrance music by Code Orange, to the remodeled lantern the Fiend brought to the ring made to look like Bray Wyatt's head, to a new and more vicious moveset. The match only lasted about four minutes, and Finn was mostly victimized throughout before the Fiend applied the Mandible Claw, rendering Balor unconscious. It was a memorable, vicious, and fantastic way to introduce this new and legitimately terrifying vision to the audience.
The Fiend Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins at Hell In A Cell 2019
The Fiend moved on to a program with Seth Rollins soon after his debut, and this match was memorable for all the wrong reasons. After such a fantastic debut, WWE quickly moved into this championship rivalry and Rollins was portrayed as being terrified of the monstrous Fiend going into the premium live event. The match itself was a cacophony of awful decisions, from the red lighting that stayed on throughout the contest, to the long runtime of the match, all the way to the amount of offense that Seth got, even if it was no-sold by the Fiend. The ending of the match was the biggest failing, though: even after his many finishers, Seth was unable to pin the Fiend, and he resorted to piling debris on the monster and attacking the pile with a sledgehammer. That, apparently, was a bridge too far for the referee, who decided to call the match a disqualification in favor of the Fiend.
The whole concept of a Hell in a Cell match is that the brutality and hatred between the competitors needs to be contained in an enormous steel structure, and the ending of this match basically undoes that concept by allowing a referee stoppage because the brutal match was ... too brutal? The crowd was vocal throughout the match in their support of the Fiend and their hatred of Rollins. Unfortunately for WWE, that support quickly turned to vocal disgust when the DQ finish was announced, even after the Fiend was allowed to get some of his momentum back by way of a post-match attack on Seth.
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena in a Firefly Funhouse match at WrestleMania 36
After losing his WWE Championship to Goldberg at Super ShowDown, Bray Wyatt turned his attention to a recently returned John Cena. Cena had cut a promo claiming he wasn't going to be wrestling at WrestleMania 36, because he wanted to step aside and allow the future of WWE to be in the spotlight. He was challenged by the Fiend afterward, and the build that led up to their match was a fascinating study on Cena's past as viewed through Wyatt's eyes. To his credit, even Cena didn't know what to expect leading into WrestleMania. Speaking to Den of Geek, John Cena said, "I remember specifically asking what a Firefly Funhouse match was. And the answer was literally, 'We don't know.' And in most performers that would cause panic, but I was just riveted by the open field that we could possibly create something special."
The match itself was more of a performance, taking place in the empty arena of WrestleMania 36. WWE took advantage of that setup by creating a cinematic experience that ran through Cena's past and some alternate histories as well. It's also surprisingly emotional, as Bray allows the "Doctor of Thuganomics" to land some pretty devastating verbal blows on him for the sake of the story they're telling. The match did end with some physicality, as the Fiend appeared and hit Cena with a Mandible Claw and Sister Abigail to score a pinfall, counted by Funhouse Bray himself. Revisiting it today, the Firefly Funhouse match holds up as an interesting alternative to a standard wrestling match, and likely one of the most memorable (if divisive) WrestleMania performances of all time.
Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman in a Wyatt Swamp Fight at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules 2020
Another match memorable for its presentation more than its substance, this "Wyatt Swamp Fight" saw Bray Wyatt's cult leader persona resurrected by the Firefly Funhouse version of the character. Wyatt had failed to capture Braun Strowman's WWE Universal Championship earlier in 2020 at Money in the Bank, and was off television for a few weeks afterward. That loss led to a challenge for a non-title match at 2020's The Horror Show at Extreme Rules premium live event, but one in which Bray Wyatt would return to destroy Strowman, who he claimed to have created. Another cinematic affair, this matchup took place in a desolate swamp and featured some brawling between Strowman, Wyatt, and some masked goons intercut with Wyatt's trademark visual insanity. Strowman even faced off against his Wyatt family persona midway through the fight, adding to the drama.
A lengthy talking segment followed that attack, as Evil Doppelganger Braun knocked Good Braun out with a shovel and Braun awoke, tied to a chair. Evil Alexa Bliss joined in the fun after Braun escaped, and the fight eventually made its way to the swamp itself, where Braun and Wyatt brawled for a bit before Braun eventually overpowered Bray and heaved him into the water. Braun committed a cardinal horror movie sin afterward, turning his back on the water and proclaiming, "It's over." That led to Strowman being pulled into the water from behind, and the Fiend rising from the now red water to return to WWE television.
While the match wasn't the best example of WWE's pandemic era cinematic matches, it was still a good time and a creative use of the swamp setting. It was also a return to Swamp Guy Bray, who is arguably the most popular version of Bray Wyatt, even if it was for one night only. It was a memorable trip to the swamp that triggered the Fiend's final championship run thus far.