3 Reasons why The Fiend Bray Wyatt is ready to become Universal Champion, and 3 reasons why he might not be
When you're a globally dominant brand like WWE, it just goes with the territory that you will face a lot of criticism. Some of the criticism is fair, and some of it is not, but to their credit, the WWE often forges its own path forward and sticks to their vision, for good or for ill.
Sometimes this can lead to frustration among the WWE Universe and critics alike. These days Roman Reigns is universally over, having made a come back after facing a recurrence of leukemia, but when he won the Royal Rumble match in 2015, everyone agreed it was too soon, and he was loudly booed out of the building. Even Reigns admits that he's never heard the crowd boo louder.
There were a lot of reasons why Roman Reigns was booed upon his victory, despite being a babyface. The truth was that fans never moved past the Shield gimmick--in part because they were never allowed to. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose evolved their characters after the Shield split, but Roman kept the ring attire, music, and through the crowd entrance.
But we would be remiss if we didn't bring up another factor. There were two Superstars on the rise that fans desperately wanted to see win the Rumble in 2015. One was Daniel Bryan, and the other was Bray Wyatt using his 'Waylon Mercy' gimmick.
Wyatt even got on the mike during his stellar Rumble performance and announced that it was his year, to the delight of the fans, in spite of him being a heel.
Things didn't come together for Bray Wyatt, but his future looks promising indeed. He's set to face Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal title at Hell in a Cell--oops, I mean The Fiend is scheduled to face Rollins. Bray Wyatt's Firefly Fun House has reignited fan interest in RAW, but is he really ready to become the top star in WWE?
Here are three reasons why he is ready, and three why he might not be.
Wyatt is ready #1: His physique has improved tremendously
In the world of pro wrestling, there are many different body types. Men like Keith Lee and Samoa Joe defy expectations and pull off insanely athletic moves in spite of looking 'fat.'
However, there's no doubt that some WWE Superstars are carrying around some extra pounds, and it affects their in-ring performance and overall look. One of the top names on that list would have been Bray Wyatt, up until he made his most recent character change.
Bray Wyatt always had an endomorphic build--in fact, he still does--but fans could see that he wasn't at his ideal weight. Now, with a more streamlined physique, he's leaner, meaner, and yet somehow looks bigger and more powerful than ever before.
To be blunt, Bray Wyatt has a champion's body now, and maybe that wasn't always the case. With his new dedication to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Wyatt has proven he can be relied upon. At his new, smaller dimensions, he can more easily avoid injury and has vastly improved his cardiovascular conditioning. These will both be key to enjoying a long reign with the Universal Title.