“The Fiend was going to strike” - Former WWE writer reveals the real story behind the key aspect of The Firefly Fun House (Exclusive)
Former WWE writer Jon Rineman recently detailed how the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland helped him develop an idea for The Fiend's Firefly Fun House.
Jon was part of the creative team that was responsible for creating "The Fiend" persona for Bray Wyatt and bringing The Firefly Fun House to life. One of the key aspects of the house was Bray Wyatt hanging pictures of his victims after striking them as his alter-ego.
The former writer recently spoke about the creative process behind the character with Kevin Kellam of Sportskeeda Wrestling. Jon detailed that he suggested to Vince McMahon about The Fiend hanging an empty frame before he took down his next victim as a signal for his attack.
Jon also revealed that he got the idea from the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland:
"We were closing every episode with The Fiend striking and we were coming up with creative different ways to do it,"- said Jon. "I was just thinking about it and I was thinking about how every time Bray struck somebody and took them out of action, he'd hang the picture behind him on the wall like some kind of a memorial and that reminded me of the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. So, I said, 'Sir,what if to signal that The Fiend was going to strike, we had an extra picture frame that's empty and we come in on The Fiend and he's hammering it onto the wall, and there's no one in the frame yet.' That's how we kind of hint that there's going to be a new victim at the end." [24:55 to 26:24]
A look back at Bray Wyatt's run as "The Fiend" in WWE
Bray Wyatt underwent several evolutions during his time with WWE and was hailed as one of the most creative performers. The former Universal Champion unleashed the abstract monster known as The Fiend in 2019 when he attacked Finn Balor after the latter's match on RAW.
The horror is upon us….
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The next several weeks saw The Fiend attack several WWE legends like Kurt Angle, Jerry Lawler, Kane, and Mick Foley with the Mandible Claw.
Bray then defeated Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel in a falls count anywhere match to win the Universal Championship. The former WWE star later dropped the title to Goldberg in his first on-screen loss as the dominant character.
He was then part of a short feud with Braun Strowman that saw Alexa Bliss side with the Firefly Fun House leader.
Bray's final feud in WWE was against his arch-nemesis, Randy Orton. The two faced off in a match at WrestleMania 37. The Viper managed to defeat The Fiend thanks to a distraction from Alexa Bliss.
The former champion was released from his contract on July 31, 2021, ending his 12-year tenure with the company.
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