Like every other sport in 2020, professional wrestling has had to adjust to the COVID-19 period. For WWE, that meant the rise of cinematic matches, such as The Undertaker V AJ Styles at Wrestlemania, and Bray Wyatt V Braun Strowman at Extreme Rules.

Braun Strowman has been WWE World Champion since beating Goldberg at Wrestlemania. Goldberg took the title from Bray Wyatt shortly before. Wyatt, in his guise as The Fiend, has been pushing Strowman ever since in a quest to get back his championship belt.

But it was two Bray Wyatt’s that led the charge back to becoming champion. The Romper Room styled Firefly Funhouse Bray Wyatt that wears sweaters and plays with puppets. The Bray Wyatt that has children sound overs cheering or sympathising with his every phrase. The Bray Wyatt that waves at the camera, and embraced Braun Strowman in the middle of their first re-match.

Then there is Bray Wyatt aka The Fiend. The scariest dude in all of WWE. The guy who never speaks. The guy who battles Braun Strowman in a swamp match. The one who apparently invoked Alexa Bliss as Sister Abigail. The evil genius.

But in the last couple of weeks, we have been reminded of the original Bray Wyatt. The cult leader. The Eater of Worlds. The Bray Wyatt that had the eerie promos from NXT leading up to his main roster debut alongside Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. The Bray Wyatt that had “the whole world in his hands”.

I’m not sure how the original Bray Wyatt fits in to the narrative between Funhouse Bray and The Fiend. But then again, I had no idea where Bray was going when I first saw the Funhouse after a prolonged absence.

This I do know.

Bray Wyatt is the most compelling character the WWE has had in many years. Since his first promos in 2013, Bray has been just watchable. Seven years later, Smackdown is mainly for seeing what Bray does next. With Braun turning on Alexa, is The Fiend a face at SummerSlam? Unthinkable, but compelling.

Look at Bray’s resume already. Wrestlemania matches against The Undertaker, John Cena twice (although one was something altogether other than a “match”), Randy Orton; and an altercation with The Rock. These are the biggest names in modern wrestling. Bray is obviously thought of highly.

Whatever happens at SummerSlam, I’m sure Bray Wyatt will continue to be must see TV. Still only in his early 30s, this third generation wrestler just gets it. He knows less is more. He knows character development. He has already headed one of the best stables in modern times.

Mick Foley was the last guy to have three characters at the same time in the WWE. Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love were three distinct personalities, although we all knew it was the same guy. The difference with Bray Wyatt is that all three of his personas bleed into each other, making each unpredictable.

And that’s what makes wrestling fun.

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