Bray Wyatt or The Fiend: Which Character Is a Better Fit for Triple H Era in WWE?

After the returns of Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Dexter Lumis and Hit Row, the prospect of Bray Wyatt coming back to WWE seems greater than ever.

Under Vince McMahon's control, Windham Rotunda went through the ringer. From Husky Harris through to The Fiend, he won two world titles but also managed to lose nearly every feud and dropped significantly in credibility at times.

However, now that Triple H is in charge of WWE Creative and has shown he will allow wrestlers more freedom with their characters, would he be better returning as Wyatt, The Fiend, Husky Harris or a new character?

Pros and Cons of The Fiend

It would be logical to pick up where Wyatt left off. When fans last saw him, he was the monstrous Fiend, turned on by Alexa Bliss and seeking vengeance on Randy Orton.

Not every feud needs a follow-up, though. We've seen The Viper vs. Wyatt at two WrestleManias, and it's highly unlikely they'll do anything fresh.

Plus, Orton is still out injured. When he returns, his story should be more about RK-Bro rather going back two years to The Fiend.

The positive about The Fiend as a gimmick is that it is a darker character. Giving horror fans something they don't see elsewhere in WWE also opens up a new market to tap into.

The downside is in its limitations. It is significantly harder to write good PG horror stories. It becomes easier to rely on cliches, which quickly become predictable and boring. Something that is viewed as "scary for kids" doesn't translate the same for adults.

The Fiend could be a legendary monster when written well, or a cheap imitation of a concept that has been done to death. There is no way to tell how much more leeway Triple H is willing or able to give to allow the character to flourish.

Pros and Cons of Bray Wyatt

Fundamentally, The Fiend is just an aspect of the Wyatt character. They're treated as the same person.

The Fiend can't cut promos, but Wyatt can—both in a darker tone and in the Firefly FunHouse, if that show also returned.

A return to the leader of The Wyatt Family could be a better direction. That was arguably the peak of when his character was taken seriously as "the next Undertaker" by many fans.

However, the leader of a mysterious cult is no such thing if he has no followers. But who would be in the next incarnation of The Wyatt Family?

If there are NXT recruits who fit the bill, it could be a major boon to their career. No one stands out as an obvious fit, though.

The optimistic view is that the group could open up to allow other talent join, but the pessimistic position is that things really wouldn't be the same.

Pros and Cons of Husky Harris or Something New

Sometimes, it's better to go back to square one or put the past behind you entirely and start anew.

Rotunda was able to reinvent himself with the Wyatt persona and level up for his career. Who's to say he couldn't do the same with something we've never seen before?

The downside to that is how much more work it is to create a new persona. If it isn't an immediate hit, fans will reject it and clamor for a return to Wyatt or another character.

Going back to Harris taps into nostalgia. That is a good way to make something old feel new again. But is anyone actually calling for "the army tank with a Ferrari engine" instead of the otherworldly gimmick?

There are enough names on the roster who are just wrestlers but few are mystical characters. It could be a missed opportunity not to tap into that void.

Verdict: An Amalgamation

Credit: WWE

It is difficult to have your cake and eat it, but WWE might be able to get away with a version of Wyatt that checks off all the boxes.

If the right synergy can be found, the character could be "Bray Wyatt" in name, wrestle more like Husky Harris, tap into the sinister Fiend from time to time, and effectively go down the route Mick Foley did with his different personas.

Cactus Jack was the same man, but he would give much more hardcore performances than Dude Love. Mankind was a tortured, eerie soul, but Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy could get a cheap pop by mentioning the town he is in.

After all, the characters in Firefly FunHouse were references to different versions of the same person's career. Why not expand on that?

An amalgamation of everything, as well as some new twists and turns Rotunda has cooked up, could be how WWE pleases his fans while not alienating audiences craving something new.

Time will tell if and when he returns, and in what fashion. But if a deal is worked out, the best may be yet to come.

---

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, Spotify and everywhere you find podcasts. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.