WWE's "Wyatt Swamp Fight" actually explained
It's been a while since Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt faced each other in a bizarre Swamp Fight during The Horror Show at WWE Extreme Rules.
Since then, the WWE Universe has been split over the decision of whether this fight was good or not. Whatever your opinions are, this article aims at providing a different context and inspiration behind this year's Extreme Rules main event.
Thanks to one of Bray Wyatt's recent tweets, some interesting allegory behind the Wyatt Swamp Fight was revealed.
So, the Wyatt Swamp Fight was somewhat based on Dante's Inferno, which is the first part of a 14th-century Italian epic poem, Divine Comedy.
Now that sentence alone might have prompted an average WWE fan to stop reading any further, but I'd like you to stay with me here.
In the poem, there are nine circles of hell located within the Earth, and the Wyatt Swamp Fight specifically derives inspiration from The Fifth Circle of Hell (Anger), as described in the pictures shared below.
Abandon All Hope, ye who enter/exit here
The aforementioned phrase has been a part of Bray Wyatt's lore for quite a while now. While WWE fans didn't exactly know where it all came from, numerous theories always circulated around the internet.
However, Dante's Inferno clue has finally revealed the exact source behind Wyatt's popular sign, and we have seen it all numerous times before.
While The Wyatt Family Swamp may be a gateway into Bray Wyatt's complex universe, exiting the Firefly Fun House door would doom any individual to one's own ill-fated existence, as evidenced by what happened to John Cena at WrestleMania 36.
In either case, it's best to avoid "entering" or "exiting" The Wyatt Family Swamp and The Firefly Fun House, respectively, as both gateways probably signal a bad ending for Bray Wyatt's opponent in WWE.
How WWE's Wyatt Swamp Fight was visually inspired by the philosophy of Dante's Inferno
Correlate the above picture with the final few moments during this year's Extreme Rules main event.
I'm sure that the presence of a boat on a river stands out in both cases. WWE fans thought it was a clear nod to Matt Hardy's dilapidated boat from the Broken/Woken universe, but now it's apparent how some passages of Dante's Inferno (explained below) inspired several visual cues behind WWE's Wyatt Swamp Fight.
For anyone who didn't understand why some moments seemed random and odd, I can assure you that there was an overarching philosophical purpose behind it all.
The above text perfectly encapsulates the meaning of the "Wyatt Swamp Fight" as a whole.
To put it in layman's terms, Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman are the "actively wrathful" who fought each other viciously on the surface of the Swamp, and beneath the water, lies a bigger evil (passively wrathful) that cannot find any joy in this world. This bigger evil/passively wrathful being is The Fiend, who rose from the depths of the Swamp at the end of WWE Extreme Rules 2020.
There has been a long-standing debate of whether or not Bray Wyatt's cinematic matches in WWE physically take place. So if these fights are deeply rooted in psychological warfare, it's safe to assume that Braun Strowman's "Monster Among Men" persona is submerged under the swamp right now, and this brings us to Alexa Bliss.
Is Alexa Bliss the actual Sister Abigail?
It has been already established that the actual Sister Abigail died a long time ago, so Alexa Bliss can't be the actual Sister Abigail, and that's a short answer to this popular question.
However, Alexa Bliss wasn't randomly picked to play a role in Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt's feud in WWE. Now that we're past the actual facts related to Dante's Inferno, let's theorize a little bit.
Bliss has a history with Strowman, we all know that. While Abigail was a dark figure who guided the Wyatt Family, Alexa Bliss symbolizes a figure of light who was responsible for creating a lovable and grounded version of Braun Strowman during WWE's Mixed Match Challenge period, which was far different from his "Black Sheep" persona.
So it makes sense why The Fiend attacked Alexa Bliss recently. It's possible that only a figure of light such as Bliss would act as the perfect "bait" to lure Braun Strowman into a confrontation against Bray Wyatt's scariest alter-ego at WWE SummerSlam.
Whether you liked this particular cinematic match or not, I just think it's interesting that underneath the surface, there is always a beautiful complexity to Bray Wyatt's creative work in WWE.
Hopefully, this article helps in showcasing some hidden concepts behind the Wyatt Swamp Fight, while also shedding light on the future of Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman's feud.
Do let us know your thoughts and theories on Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman in the comments section below.