Bray Wyatt Would Thrive Without the Wyatt Family

All good things must come to an end—even the creepy ones—and if you read into recent vignettes on Raw, it appears as if the Wyatt Family may be splitting up.

Following a vignette where Wyatt was heard saying he intended to set Luke Harper free, PWInsider (subscription only; h/t WrestlingInc.com) reported that the group is headed their separate ways.

If true, the move comes after weeks of inactivity from the stable, namely Wyatt's absence from WWE Night of Champions. This was the first pay-per-view not to feature Wyatt in a wrestling match in nearly a year. The absence, and possible split, could be just what the (witch) doctor ordered for Wyatt and his disciples.

Following universal praise, fans were beginning to become restless with what appeared to be repetitive promos where Wyatt’s weekly messages were disguised in double-talk:

"

Man, Bray Wyatt has gotten stale.

— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) May 20, 2014"

"

I heard whisperings of people stating Bray Wyatt is becoming stale, last week. Does that still hold true this week? #Wrestlezone

— WrestleZone.com (@WRESTLEZONEcom) April 28, 2014"

"

Bray Wyatt's underwhelming feud with Chris Jericho combined with his gimmick getting stale has completely killed his momentum.

— Sean O'Rourke (@JTMagnolia87) September 26, 2014"

Wyatt’s “stale” character has more to do with the combination of excess WWE programming and the attention deficit that defines the social media generation. But in any event, the fan of today has to be overstimulated with rapid-fire evolution and Wyatt is up to the challenge.

After getting lost in his messages, a simple change of production in his most recent promo forced fans to once again engage. The dark, ominous surroundings throughout were reminiscent of something out of the Saw franchise.

Wyatt’s message, for once, was clear: He was going to set Harper free. Twitter reacted accordingly:

"

That Wyatt Family promo was awesome, highlighting Luke Harper, but that felt like something they should have done a while ago. #Raw

— Kevin Berge (@TheBerge_) September 30, 2014"

"

Pretty sweet Luke Harper vignette.

— Mat Men Podcast (@Matmenpodcast) September 30, 2014"

The focus may have been on Harper, but the implications are much grander for Wyatt himself. As a singles star, Wyatt will be able to expand his influence beyond “the family.”

If the Wyatt Family went their separate ways, Wyatt wouldn’t be so closely defined by his family members. Walking to the ring alone every week accompanied by the fireflies in the crowd would make it seem more like everybody was a Wyatt Family follower, with no bearded exclusivity.

Each ensuing feud for Wyatt would carry the possibility of his opponent becoming a convert. After already molding two individuals in his own dark image and turning them loose on society, his mission of seeing the world burn has only just begun. Could Bo Dallas be next?

All good things do indeed come to an end. But an apparent new direction for the Wyatt Family signals great things for its leader.

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