"You belong with me" - AEW star on meeting Bray Wyatt in WWE developmental
Bray Wyatt's sudden passing last month left the wrestling world stunned. Since his tragic demise, members of the wrestling world have been sharing stories of the WWE Superstar, praising his kindness and unparalleled creativity. ROH star Dutch (fka Bill Carr) is the latest to share his experience with The Eater of Worlds.
Dutch is a member of the Ring of Honor stable, The Righteous, which also includes Vincent, Bateman, and Vita VonStarr. The group officially signed with Tony Khan's promotion recently and will look to make an impact in AEW and ROH.
In an interview with Bryan Asbury on Developmentally Speaking, Dutch recalled his stint in FCW – WWE's former developmental territory – from 2010 to 2011, where he met Windham Rotunda, who would go on to become Bray Wyatt.
Dutch had kind words for The Eater of Worlds, claiming that Bray immediately made him feel comfortable:
"Day one, again, like I said, walking in there and being intimidated by all the larger-than-life athletes. Seeing Windham, Bray Wyatt was there my first day. And I mean, we've been hearing all the stories over the last week or so about how humble and how nice he is, which is 100% the truth. Because he came right up to me and he was like, 'You look like you don't belong, you look like you belong with me.' And it's, you know, the same body type, the same build, so he immediately took me under his wing and made me feel comfortable, and yeah, it was a great experience with him." [From 24:08 to 25:03]
Check out the full interview below:
ROH star Dutch describes Bray Wyatt's "Axl Mulligan" character, comparing it with The Fiend
Bray Wyatt went through several creative evolutions during his time in WWE, with some of his most dramatic changes coming in the early years. After Bray's "Husky Harris" character was sent back to developmental, he tried out a masked persona known as Axl Mulligan before eventually morphing into the cult leader that made him famous.
In his interview with Developmentally Speaking, Dutch described the character, calling it a "prequel" to The Fiend, a demonic persona that Wyatt would introduce years later on the main roster:
"We tagged a little bit here and there, which was fun. We only got to work each other, I think, once, and this was during the time period where he was on the main roster, got called back down to developmental for whatever reason, and he didn't really have any ideas – he had some ideas. So he wanted to put himself in a mask, so it was kind of, I guess, kind of a prequel to what The Fiend would eventually be. But he put himself in like a Slipknot mask, wore jeans and a Misfits t-shirt, and called himself Axel Mulligan." [From 25:06 to 25:50]
Wyatt's run as The Fiend saw him reach the top of the mountain in WWE, winning the Universal Championship twice.
Were you a fan of The Fiend, or did you enjoy Bray Wyatt's Eater of Worlds persona more? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
When using quotes from this article, please credit Developmentally Speaking and give a h/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.