[WNS Column] Is The Wyatt Family Finally on the Verge of Greatness?

Since debuting along with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in the summer of 2013, Bray Wyatt has been one of the most interesting and polarizing characters on WWE programming. His microphone skills are nothing short of spectacular. He is very athletic for a man of his size and is capable of having great matches inside the ring. However, for all of his attributes, WWE just doesn't seem to know how to properly book Bray Wyatt, who many have labeled as being the heir apparent to The Undertaker.

 

To put it quite simply, Bray Wyatt has not been made to look like an indestructible monster. In fact, Wyatt has suffered more than his fair share of losses, including a squash match loss to John Cena on the August 25th, 2014 episode of Monday Night Raw. Wyatt has suffered losses to Cena, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, and The Undertaker. All big-name stars, but every loss just seems to make Bray look weaker and weaker.

 

Bray Wyatt's promos have always seemed to indicate that he is a man on a mission. He doesn't just attack people at random, he always has a reason. He's very goal-oriented. But it seems like more often than not, he comes out on the losing end of his rivalries. He had a decent feud with Dean Ambrose in late 2014/early 2015 that Bray did win, as well as a very short program with Ryback, which saw Bray defeat Ryback at the Payback pay-per-view in May of 2015. No offense meant to Bray or Ryback, but their one-month feud was absolutely pointless. It really didn't do anything to benefit either one of them in the long run. It was never even really explained why Bray targeted Ryback other than "he was in Bray's way."

 

WWE broke up The Wyatt Family in late 2014 in a move that confused many fans. It did appear as though maybe WWE had plans for Luke Harper to become a breakout star, and they even gave him a short run with the Intercontinental Championship in November/December of 2014. Overall though, Bray, Harper, and Erick Rowan all seemed to flounder without each other.

 

Bray did a pretty good job in the build-up for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31. His promos were absolutely on point. Their match at 'Mania was nothing remarkable, but it did appear to bring new life to The Undertaker. Unfortunately though for Bray Wyatt, it was just one more loss.

 

Most recently, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and the newest member of the family Braun Strowman, waged war against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Although The Wyatts seemed to get the better of the former Shield members for a few months, Roman Reigns ended up defeating Bray Wyatt at the October Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Later that night, The Undertaker suffered a loss to Brock Lesnar in the culmination of their epic rivalry, which gave The Wyatt Family an opportunity to attack "The Dead Man" after the match and carry his unconscious body backstage, reigniting Bray's feud with Undertaker.

 

The Wyatt Family now find themselves in a feud against The Undertaker and Kane, the legendary Brothers of Destruction. For the past few weeks, Bray Wyatt has claimed that he now possesses the supernatural powers that Kane and Undertaker have displayed over the years.

 

This is essentially the storyline that many WWE fans have dreamed of for years now. There's always been a fantasy scenario where the "next Undertaker" would come along and attempt to replace Undertaker as the new, dominant, supernatural force that presides over the WWE landscape. Back in 2004, it appeared as though Kevin Fertig as the Mordecai character would be the one to step up and challenge Undertaker to decide who would be the new supernatural "Phenom" in WWE. The Mordecai character was dropped after just two months and was never brought back. Fertig would return to WWE programming in 2006 as the vampire character Kevin Thorn in WWE's revival of ECW, but the Kevin Thorn character only lasted until 2007 and Fertig never appeared on WWE programming again.

 

In the realm of WWE storylines, if Bray Wyatt now possesses the combined powers of both Kane and Undertaker, he should now be virtually unstoppable. Bray should be made to look bigger, badder, and stronger than ever. If Bray and The Wyatt Family can defeat Kane and Undertaker once and for all at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, it should be the turning point of Bray Wyatt's career. Especially if Bray really does end up acquiring the power of Kane and Undertaker and displays these abilities going forward.

 

It seems unlikely that The Wyatt Family are going to end the careers of Kane and Undertaker at Survivor Series, especially with WrestleMania 32 approaching next April. WWE is hoping that WrestleMania 32 will break attendance records and draw more than 100,000 fans at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Surely they'll want to have WWE legends such as The Brothers of Destruction on the card to help draw as many fans as possible. Although The Wyatts probably won't end the careers of Kane and Undertaker at Survivor Series, that doesn't mean that they couldn't get a win. Quite frankly, they NEED the win.

 

The Hands of Time are clearly taking their toll on both Kane and Undertaker. Neither one of them is anywhere near as physically athletic as they used to be. The Wyatts are younger and in the prime of their careers. Kane and Undertaker have been made to look very human over the past couple of years. They can't keep wrestling forever. Sooner or later, Kane and Undertaker will need to retire. Before they go, why not make Bray Wyatt and The Wyatt Family look good? Who would possibly be a better choice to take the torch from The Brothers of Destruction than The Wyatt Family?

 

If WWE wants Bray Wyatt and The Wyatt Family to be viable big-name stars who can help carry the company for the next decade, why wouldn't they have them win this feud against The Brothers of Destruction? Why not have Bray Wyatt and his family step up as the new, unstoppable force that wreaks havoc and dominates WWE for years to come?

 

And perhaps the most important question of all: Why would WWE even bother having Bray Wyatt reignite his feud against The Undertaker if they're just going to have Bray lose again? Undertaker and Kane are both clearly at the tail end of their careers now. If they're going to go out, why not let them have one last epic rivalry against The Wyatt Family and have The Wyatts emerge victorious?

 

As for WrestleMania 32, there's no reason why Kane and Undertaker couldn't still appear at WrestleMania, even after losing to The Wyatts. And there's also no reason why either one of their careers should continue much longer past WrestleMania 32. WWE can try to get as much as they can out of Kane and Undertaker from now until WrestleMania, but regardless of how they're used at 'Mania, there's no reason not to help elevate The Wyatt Family. Let Kane and Undertaker elevate The Wyatt Family to the next level, so that way when Kane and Undertaker do finally retire, The Wyatts will be a suitable replacement for them.