How many different characters has Bray Wyatt portrayed in WWE?
With a career span of more than a decade, Bray Wyatt is one of the most prominent figures in WWE. The former Universal Champion comes from a lineage of professional wrestlers which was started by his late grandfather, Blackjack Mulligan.
Wyatt has had a plethora of characters during his wrestling career. Some clicked with the audience while others fizzled out. He is the only superstar to have won the ‘Best Gimmick’ and ‘Worst Gimmick’ Awards. Bray is widely praised for his creative genius and his ability to put over difficult personas, be it a utopian leader or a supernatural fiend.
Windham Rotunda was not always known as Bray Wyatt. He debuted in NXT as Husky Harris on May 2010. The character wasn’t that impressive but Windham continued to make work out of it until his main roster as a "Nexus" member. Eventually, Harris was written off the television and repackaged as the iconic cultist leader Bray Wyatt.
The infamous Wyatt Family was formed in mid-2012 with initial members Luke Harper and Eric Rowan. Emerging heels, Wyatt’s faction gained much renown due to their utopian (dystopian) ideologies. At their peak, they feuded with top stars like John Cena and Randy Orton and won multiple individual titles. Braun Strowman later got involved with the Wyatt Family in 2015.
WWE coined Bray Wyatt as “The Eater of Worlds” due to his god-like moniker. This gave them the impetus to portray Wyatt as a darker character after the Wyatt Family was dissolved. A part of the Firefly Fun House, Wyatt’s demonic alter-ego is a gimmick that has impressed fans of the PG-Era.
The Fiend was first seen in WWE on the July 15 edition of RAW in 2019. He attacked Finn Balor and apparently paid tribute to the legendary Mankind by debuting the Mandible Claw. Over the years, Wyatt portrayed his schizophrenic nature in the Firefly Fun House segments and in-ring performances as The Fiend.
Windham Rotunda was released by the company in July 2021. He returned after 18 months at Extreme Rules this year, following multiple teasers in the ‘White Rabbit’ saga that directly linked to his previous personas.
Bray Wyatt was on WWE SmackDown this week
Recently on WWE SmackDown, Bray Wyatt cut an emotional promo to thank the audience for their continued support. It was one of the rare occasions when he broke character to mingle with the crowd.
Once that was over, WWE continued to tease a new role for the returning superstar as part of the Wyatt 6. The former Universal Champion had a different entrance theme named Shatter, as well as a unique mask. His cryptic words to end the show intensified the hype for his potential Firefly Fun House stable.
“You got no idea who you’re dealing with, do you? Oh, but you will.”
The Eater of Worlds is still his normal self as of now, but we may see more shades in his character in the near future.