What happened to The Fiend at WrestleMania 37?
'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt made his final in-ring appearance for WWE at WrestleMania 37 when he lost to Randy Orton. It was a non-title WrestleMania rematch between the two men from 2017, but it ended with a bad reception yet again.
Wyatt's booking and handling by WWE often received criticism, even after he debuted The Fiend character. The demonic entity went on a tear, taking out opponents with ease and remaining undefeated as the WWE Universal Champion.
WrestleMania 37 marked the end of a string of bad booking decisions by WWE. The Fiend made his return at Fastlane 2021, months after he was written off TV when Randy Orton 'immolated' him in the main event of TLC. At The Show of Shows, the duo opened Night Two and Alexa Bliss would turn on the demonic entity and cost him the match in underwhelming fashion.
This instantly received criticism because the nearly half-year-long feud between Orton and Bliss culminated in the most underwhelming way possible. The match itself didn't last long, falling shy of the six-minute mark. Alexa Bliss was aligned with The Fiend since the summer of 2020 and after more than half a year in her new character, she abandoned him and turned on him at WrestleMania 37.
The Fiend's loss at WrestleMania 37 summed up his WWE career
Over five years before Bray Wyatt debuted The Fiend character, he was already dubbed as a future top star, with many comparing his character to The Undertaker. Although his character differentiated from The Phenom in several ways, it held a cloud over his head.
Despite this, Wyatt proved to be a generational talent in WWE and relied on charisma, presence, and ability to talk over his in-ring skills. However, there have been several big matches that he lost, undoubtedly preventing him from reaching the level that he could have in the company.
Some of the big matches that Bray Wyatt should have won but lost include his bout against John Cena at WrestleMania 30, Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33, Goldberg at SuperShowDown 2020, and Orton again at WrestleMania 37. These were only a few of the many instances where WWE seemingly pulled the rug from underneath Wyatt.
The Fiend character was a breath of fresh air and was the most protected full-time superstar in WWE until his loss to Goldberg at Super ShowDown 2020. If Wyatt's alter-ego never makes his return to the company, then it will have been a run with mixed reception and moderate success.