WWE Rumors on Uncle Howdy and Decline in Gimmick-Themed Events; Tyler Breeze Retired

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Reported Inspiration Behind Wyatt's Uncle Howdy

The unique and strange Uncle Howdy character that has been involved with Bray Wyatt since his WWE return at Extreme Rules last month, was reportedly inspired by a 1982 movie.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Talha Asad Iqbal of Ringside News), the Uncle Howdy mask is based on the character Captain Howdy, who was played by Richard Kiel in the 1982 film Hysterical.

Kiel was a well-known character actor due to his enormous size at 7'2", and he is perhaps best remembered for appearances in the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, as well as the Adam Sandler film Happy Gilmore.

The face of the Captain Howdy character is extremely similar to the Uncle Howdy mask, although it is unclear if there is some deeper meaning to the connection than that.

Wyatt has cut multiple promos since his WWE return, but he has been interrupted by Uncle Howdy on a couple of occasions.

Uncle Howdy has been mysterious to this point, leaving fans to wonder if it is simply one of Wyatt's alter egos like The Fiend once was, or if the character is actually being played by another wrestler.

Wyatt was shockingly released by WWE last year amid budget cuts despite being a three-time world champion and one of the promotion's most popular stars.

His return has been well received, and he has consistently received huge reactions from the crowd, which suggests his Uncle Howdy storyline will continue to be a main focus on SmackDown.

WWE Reportedly Getting Rid of Themed Premium Live Events

WWE head of creative Triple H is reportedly looking to put even more of a stamp on the product moving forward by lessening and perhaps even eliminating themed premium live events.

According to Meltzer (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), sources have said there will be fewer themed premium live events, with Hell in a Cell being used as the primary example.

While Hell in a Cell has been its own event since 2009, Triple H is reportedly planning to eliminate it so he can use the Hell in a Cell match type when a feud calls for it rather than forcing it onto a specific card.

No specifics were provided aside from Hell in a Cell, but the new philosophy leaves fans to speculate whether events like Money in the Bank, Extreme Rules and Elimination Chamber could be in jeopardy as well.

It seems likely that WWE's "Big Four" events of WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series are safe, but anything beyond that is in question.

Triple H did make a move to add different branding to Survivor Series, as the show later this month will be known as Survivor Series: WarGames, and will feature two WarGames matches, marking the first time WarGames has been contested on the main roster.

Themed premium live events have had their place and created some great moments over the years, but lessening them and allowing more creative freedom for top rivalries over the course of a year could be a great thing for WWE programming as a whole.

Breeze Says He's Retired from In-Ring Competition

AEW star Shawn Spears said this week that former WWE Superstar Tyler Breeze has told him he is retired from in-ring competition.

Appearing on The Sessions with Renee Paquette (h/t Sunil Joseph of Ringside News), Spears noted that there are times when Breeze will do some work in the ring at the wrestling school they run together, but he has maintained that he is no longer an active wrestler.

Spears added: "He can still go, he still does everything. But I say to him, 'Hey man, getting ready for a second run?' He goes 'Nah, [I'm] retired.' So I don't know. That's the true answer. But I see the excitement sometimes when he hops in."

Breeze is best known for his time with WWE from 2007 until his release in 2021. He began under the names Matt Clement, Mike McGrath and Mike Dalton in developmental, but it wasn't until he transitioned to the Tyler Breeze character in 2013 that he found significant success.

His pompous supermodel gimmick got over huge with the NXT audience and led to him getting called up to the main roster. Breeze didn't experience much individual success on Raw or SmackDown, but he eventually formed a beloved tag team with Fandango known as Breezango.

Breezango won the NXT Tag Team Championships on one occasion, but both Breeze and Fandango were released from the company as part of budget cuts in 2021.

Breeze has not been an active wrestler since his release, instead opting to focus on his school. He has also done some training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, and he returned to the UpUpDownDown YouTube channel alongside Xavier Woods, who is a WWE Superstar and one of his closest friends.

If Breeze decides to return to in-ring competition, he has an in with both WWE and AEW, but he is seemingly happy with pursuing other ventures within wrestling for now.

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