Bray Wyatt Returns to WWE Following Weeks of 'White Rabbit' Teases

Bray Wyatt made his return to WWE on Saturday at Extreme Rules following his surprise release from the company last year.

The 35-year-old's highly anticipated return came as part of a viral campaign WWE has been running for the past several weeks, teasing the arrival of the "White Rabbit."

On Saturday, the lights went out in Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center after Matt Riddle defeated Seth Rollins by submission in a Fight Pit match.

Lone spotlights then shone on Firefly Fun House puppets throughout the arena one-by-one as Wyatt was heard serenading the crowd with "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands."

Eventually, the camera found Wyatt, who lifted a mask to reveal himself as the show went to a close:

After being in the WWE system for 12 years, The Eater of Worlds was released in July 2021, making him another in a long line of notable talent cuts following WrestleMania 37 three months earlier.

Wyatt's final WWE match came at The Show of Shows where he lost to Randy Orton while competing under his Fiend gimmick. He appeared in a Firefly Fun House segment on the ensuing episode of Raw but was kept off television for the next few months and did not resurface in the company.

In August 2021, Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Bryan Rose of F4WOnline) that Wyatt would "most likely" sign with All Elite Wrestling, but that never came to pass.

While there have been some unexpected WWE releases in the past couple of years, Wyatt perhaps was the biggest surprise due to the perception that he was someone who earned former chairman Vince McMahon's trust long ago.

Wyatt was always given ample mic time and creative freedom with his character, and he was often positioned at or near the top of the card.

In his nine years on WWE's main roster under the Bray Wyatt gimmick, he was a two-time universal champion and one-time WWE champion, and he had held both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

Much of his first stint in WWE was spent without a title in his possession, though, due to the notion that his character was so strong that he often didn't need a championship.

The deciding factor in his return to WWE may well have been the change in leadership in July, when McMahon retired as chairman, CEO and head of creative.

His daughter, Stephanie McMahon, took over as chairwoman and co-CEO, while Triple H was named vice president of talent relations and head of creative.

The Game had a huge hand in the initial creation of the Wyatt character, as Wyatt came up through FCW and later NXT before joining the main roster.

With Triple H perhaps being even more willing to let Wyatt spread his wings creatively, WWE became an attractive landing spot for him once again.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).