Is Bray Wyatt beyond saving?

[prophet]

Bray Wyatt cut a promo on RAW alluding to his next target and reiterated that he's 'the new face of fear'. The only problem is he's never beaten anyone and nobody is afraid of him. So at this point, after single handedly carrying the Undertaker feud then doing the job to him, is Bray Wyatt destined to the abyss of nothingness he's been in since Cena buried him? I love Bray's work but how is anyone supposed to take him seriously when he loses every big match he's ever had and carries on with the next enemy as if nothing ever happened? Not referencing the Taker loss was just bizarre.

I also can't see any face left for him to feud with that would be semi-relevant without him losing in the end. He'll either sink into the mid-card to wait his turn and feud with Cena (again) or Bryan (again) or work with someone like Roman Reigns in a feud he'll ultimately lose. I'm struggling to see a way back for him. In an ideal world you'd put Harper and Rowan back with him because that partnership is fruitful for everyone involved but without any clear motives/direction the cult is just as irrelevant as before.

How do you solve this problem?

[The Legend]

Pairing him with Rowan and Harper again would be a smart move and not a totally unrealistic story to develop. As for guys I could see him face to get back on track. I think they could do a good couple month program with Dolph Ziggler that he could come out on top of, because let's face it Ziggler is lost forever.

Also, I can't wait for 6 months to a year from now a feud with Finn Balor will be brilliant. I'd like to see them put a back and forth feud out where you can lift both guys regardless of who actually wins in the end.

[Kirbi]

Pairing him with Rowan and Harper again would be a smart move and not a totally unrealistic story to develop. As for guys I could see him face to get back on track. I think they could do a good couple month program with Dolph Ziggler that he could come out on top of, because let's face it Ziggler is lost forever.

Also, I can't wait for 6 months to a year from now a feud with Finn Balor will be brilliant. I'd like to see them put a back and forth feud out where you can lift both guys regardless of who actually wins in the end.

I will face nothing of the sort!

I do agree with getting the band back together though - and giving them a bit more direction.

[Hanley!]

He is in a bad position right now. And my guess is that he will continue to flounder for some time now. But he's not beyond saving. Wyatt is one of the easier performers on the roster to turn around, if they wanted to put the effort in.

One of the big things holding Wyatt back at the moment is that he's a cult leader without a cult. So he needs some followers. Give him Harper and Rowan back, they're not doing much on their own. I would have Harper feud with some midcard babyface, before destroying him in one particularly brutal segment and writing him off television (if only for a week or two). Meanwhile, Rowan could get close to some babyface performer, before betraying him at an opportune time and destroying him in similar fashion. These segments could happen separately at the same show, before Wyatt welcomes them back into the Wyatt Family in an awesome heel moment.

I'd consider even having both guys win a midcard championship before being welcomed back into the fold.

Here's what I'd want to establish with their re-entering the Wyatt Family:
1) They look stronger than when the group split up. Therefore making the Family more of a threat now.
2) It's clear that the intention was always for them to get the family back together. They were just proving their worth to their leader.

It's going to take at least a couple of months to build Harper and Rowan up to the point where they can join the Wyatt Family again, so in the mean time, I'd just have Wyatt lurking. Rather than constantly cutting rambling promos, I'd show a lot of him just watching other people's storylines unfold. Any time there's extreme violence, he can be shown at ring side or backstage or in the crowd, visibly and disturbingly enjoying the sight of it.

So when Harper and Rowan rejoin Wyatt (possibly presenting him with their spoils in the midcard championships), they can start working towards building a cult that actually means something. I'd refashion Wyatt as a kind of Tyler Durden sort of figure. He could encourage people to give up their material goods and possessions, stop being "sheep", and go back to living as the primal beasts they are supposed to be.

I'd give him a couple of extra recruits early on in this run: Adam Rose would be a good pick. He's both got tons of pointless material shit and is going nowhere on his own. One of Wyatt's henchmen could beat the hell out of him and then remake him in Wyatt's image. I'd add at least one woman too, early on. Then later when the group picks up steam, you could consider adding another higher level guy after a prolonged feud.

Personally, I think Wyatt shouldn't wrestle very often. He should be the hypocritical leader, who doesn't always practice what he preaches. Most of the time Wyatt's family should do the fighting for him. Then when he does wrestle (mostly on pay per view) it will seem like more of a big deal.

Preferably the Authority would be broken up early on in this story, because two heel stables going at the same time would be a bit much. But the Authority are getting old anyway.

This is just what I'd consider doing right now. But it's the basics that are important. Wyatt needs a cult. And the cult needs to have some basic purpose. And really that's about it.

[Str8Shooter]

Steve hit the nail on the head. I like that idea a lot.

I don't think he's beyond saving, few wrestlers are, they can always be rebuilt or repackaged with some smart booking for a while. Wyatt can still talk, although whether he needs to be more assertive about it or someone needs to tell him that he should be more focused with his promos.

Harper and Rowan returning to the fold is pretty much a no brainer in my opinion. Harper can work but is in generic monster heel territory with no signs of getting out anytime soon, and Rowan is in even worse shape with his babyface run.

[Chewy]

It's really just a shame that Takers ant be fucked turning up twice in a year.

I suppose in line with Hanleys suggestion just have him have some significant interaction with a solid mid card guy like Harper or the like resulting in them winning the US or IC title.

Then just have them surrender the title to Bray without a match, or just dropping to get the sister Abigail.

Next Bray goes after the other mid card title with another newly groomed subject and they do likewise, maybe someone like Ambrose as they have a past and you could write in that despite the matches their was some subliminal indoctrination going on.

Next step he goes after the WWE title looking for another disciple to be his champion, enter John Cena as a heel, or if you want it at WM, the Undertaker.

By including that despite beating Bray he was able to take possession of their mind anyhow, or that the 'loss' was part of the plan for Wyatt all along, he would suddenly look like the real prophet or cult leader he was supposed to be.

[lyonssv]

This is what I was afraid of if Bray lost to Taker. Don't see how his character recovers from that. They had built him for several months to be a beast, and then had him job to Undertaker essentially losing all credibility. A win at 'Mania would have possibly propelled him into the main event in my option, just the way they had booked him. He would have looked like a million bucks. But now, I honestly don't know what they can do with him. It's a Shame.

[Circled Square]

Based Wyatt carried a damn feud and sure it was shit overall but he got me/others into it, by himself, towards the end. For those saying "Why did he lose?" I guess the answer is Undertaker is not done, next year is his final year. You know the old saying, you go out on your back. Would be bad for him to lose two WM's in a row.

[Westcoastvibes]

This is what I was afraid of if Bray lost to Taker. Don't see how his character recovers from that. They had built him for several months to be a beast, and then had him job to Undertaker essentially losing all credibility. A win at 'Mania would have possibly propelled him into the main event in my option, just the way they had booked him. He would have looked like a million bucks. But now, I honestly don't know what they can do with him. It's a Shame.

The issue with a win at mania is I can almost guarantee that wwe was more worried about taking steam away from lesnar by having bray beat taker also instead of using it to build bray. I do feel as though wwe could have saved bray after the loss at mania by having him destroy someone higher in the ranks on raw after, maybe ziggler or barrett. Then go on a destruction run having him just decimate low card guys week after week until he got put in a lengthy feud for a belt, better yet, have wyatt bring back the hardcore belt and have him fight off people backstage for months. Have him do odd and violent things to defend his belt to build his dark persona.

[Daz]

He's the best character in the company.

It's the creative team who don't know what the fuck to do with him who need saving.

[Candyman44]

He does't lose every single big match though does he? He's defeated Kane, Bryan, Cena, Jericho and Ambrose in PPV matches. I think he'll be fine he just needs to move on from this Undertaker thing quickly and get a new feud on the go.

I would however like Taker to make a quickfire return and continue the feud, he did look in much better shape, can't see it happening though. I have no doubts about Wyatt, he keeps me interested and he seems to have the backing of people, he was pushed well and highlighted in the Rumble match.