WWE veteran on whether Bray Wyatt's heartfelt promo was real (Exclusive)
Bray Wyatt spoke straight from the heart during his emotional promo on Friday's WWE SmackDown, according to legendary booker Dutch Mantell.
Wyatt seemingly broke character to discuss his real-life troubles outside of the ring after his release from WWE last year. AEW's Chris Jericho tweeted after SmackDown that he did not "buy a word" of the three-time world champion's heartfelt speech.
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk show with Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III, Mantell gave his thoughts on the widely praised segment:
"How long do you think he's been wanting to do that interview? I bet you he's done that interview a thousand times in his head driving up and down the road, making the airplane trip, or just thinking, he has practiced and perfected that interview after all these years, and we finally saw it come out." [4:42 – 5:05]
In Mantell's opinion, Wyatt meant everything he said during the promo:
"Whether it's good or bad, I actually think it's good because we saw the real Bray Wyatt without a gimmick or a character surrounding him," Mantell continued. "The crowd literally ate that up. They could tell that he was himself and he was actually pouring out his heart to them, and he had actual tears. That interview, no writer wrote that for him. It was straight from his heart." [5:05 – 5:41]
Watch the video above to hear Mantell's thoughts on Wyatt's possible portrayal of multiple characters moving forward.
Should Bray Wyatt appear as The Fiend again?
In 2019, Bray Wyatt's The Fiend character became one of the most popular acts on WWE television. The horror-themed persona's last match ended in defeat against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37.
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Fiend says hi. #RAW https://t.co/HjPXkIwE77
Dutch Mantell expects fans to enjoy Wyatt's work as The Fiend if the character returns:
"Of course, he'll go back to being whatever character they want him to be, The Fiend or whatever, and the fans will eat that up too. They understand how the wrestling business kinda works with the characters and all that. So, for him to be himself, I think that stunned them. I'm sitting back and I said, 'Man,' and you can tell when it's heartfelt. He was choking up and he had tears. You had to believe what he was saying." [5:42 – 6:23]
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray said earlier this week that Wyatt should not bring back The Fiend character.
Do you think Bray Wyatt should perform as The Fiend again? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.