WWE Hurting Bray Wyatt with Campy Moments, Cheap Wins

Bray Wyatt is becoming a scavenger in a cartoon world rather than the ominous predator he has the potential to be.

The way he come about victory at TLC was fitting for the strange year he's had. Mid-match electrocution got him the win against Dean Ambrose. That follows victory by way of scary child and an ambush preceded by a hologram version of himself.

It's as if WWE is reserving its most hokey ideas for Wyatt.

None of 2014's moments have stretched the audience's suspension of disbelief like those belonging to Wyatt. While other heels are dominating their opponents (e.g., Brock Lesnar) and sending them to the hospital (e.g., Seth Rollins), Wyatt is getting the corniest slice of the booking pie.

At the close of TLC, after an undercard that mostly underwhelmed saved for Dolph Ziggler's title win to start the night, Wyatt and Ambrose gave all of themselves to make their match a memorable one.

Ambrose leaped high off a ladder to elbow-drop a prone Wyatt into a table. The Lunatic Fringe stabbed his foe in the throat with a Kendo stick.

Even standard moves had extra oomph on them; Wyatt hit Ambrose with a clothesline that had to steal his breath for a moment. 

Unfortunately, though, the lasting image from all that carnage is the final one from the bout.

Ambrose looked to drive a TV he found under the ring into Wyatt's face. It was plugged in, however, and the force of him yanking it created a cloud of sparks that blinded him. Wyatt slipped in afterward for the win.

Credit: WWE.com

The first issue with that ending is with its believability.

This is not what happens when you pull on plugged-in electronics. At most, the cord would split and offer a fizzling bit of a charge. WWE's version of the event came off like a moment out of Looney Tunes.

So instead of fans buzzing about a great effort from two men or the momentum Wyatt should have after winning a pay-per-view main event, the focus is on an implausible climax.

And this result doesn't help Wyatt nearly as much as it should. He didn't beat Ambrose as much as he fell into a win.

Ambrose dominated the bout. Wyatt survived long enough for Ambrose to suffer a Wile E. Coyote moment and took advantage. That's not exactly going to have folks thinking of Wyatt as a destroyer. 

It's an odd pattern that is developing.

When WWE wanted to welcome back Wyatt in a big way at Hell in a Cell, it resorted to campy tactics then as well. The Man of 1,000 Truths wormed his way into Ambrose vs. Rollins, but not before a hologram image of himself radiated out of a lantern.

Credit: WWE.com

That moment makes one assume that WWE Creative came up with it while severely sleep-deprived.

It has Wyatt associated with decisions that leave a big chunk of the audience shaking their heads. Rather than his presence bringing up images of destruction, more of this type of booking will have fans waiting for the next silly stunt.

Wyatt is an anachronism in that way, his stories seemingly coming out of early-'90s WWE while everyone else has moved on to more grounded narratives. One almost expects Wyatt's next win to come courtesy of an exploding camera a la Yokozuna vs. Hulk Hogan.

Defeating Ambrose, aided by a TV or not, is better for his image than getting housed by John Cena. Still, after Wyatt's last pay-per-view win was such a fluky one, it would have made more sense to get him to a three-count in a less contrived way.

At Extreme Rules, Wyatt won his Steel Cage match with the help of a young boy with a demonic voice.

Cena was set to walk out of the cage, Wyatt out cold behind him. Then a kid in a choir robe sang "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" after seemingly trading voices with the singer for Morbid Angel.

That unsettled Cena enough for Wyatt to exploit the situation.

Credit: WWE.com

Compare that to Lesnar throttling Cena at SummerSlam, Rusev's numerous wins where he left his opponent unconscious or even The Miz outsmarting Dolph Ziggler and the rest of the Battle Royal field at Battleground. Each time, the heel came out looking strong, intimidating or resourceful. 

After wins involving a TV blowing up and a kid distracting Cena, Wyatt looks more lucky than anything else.

WWE is clearly capable of booking heels as intimidating men doling out great hurt. It's doing just that with Rusev, Lesnar and Rollins. Rusev took down Jack Swagger once again, wrenching him in the Accolade until he passed out. No TVs or scary kids were needed to accomplish that.

Rollins may have lost at TLC, but his 2014 resume includes him sending both Randy Orton and Ambrose to local medical facilities with his Curb Stomp. 

Wyatt needs more of that kind of story. He crushed Ambrose's trachea on SmackDown, but the fan favorite was able to shake it off in a matter of days. Ambrose's run-in with the TV looks to have hurt him more than Wyatt.

Moving forward, WWE has to find a way to get him a more definitive victory. Otherwise, it's hard to take Ambrose as a serious threat. The company can't continue to veer into the ridiculous with him either.

The goal after he finishes off a foe should be for him to leave the audience in awe, their neck hairs upright, not have them sighing in frustration.