Bray Wyatt: Midyear Report Card and Predictions for Rest of 2015

2015 initially held such high hopes for Bray Wyatt.

After breaking up The Wyatt Family in the fall of 2014, Wyatt was aimless. His feud with Dean Ambrose served as his arrival in singles competition. Once the calendar turned and Wyatt disposed of The Lunatic Fringe, it was time to set sights on more grandiose rewards.

This year has seen Wyatt rise as high as a wrestler can go in WWE without actually winning a title. However, his rise been coupled with some amazingly low points, as he has remained out of sight for weeks or even months on end.

It’s time to turn in a progress report on The New Face of Fear and to determine what needs to happen in the second half of 2015 for Wyatt to climb to the top of the mountain in WWE.

Report Card Criteria

Credit: WWE.com

The report card looks at a number of criteria: in-ring work, promo skills, and quality of feuds (who has the wrestler competed against, or does WWE trust the wrestler to work against top-tier talent).

Following a review of those criteria, a wrestler will be given a midyear letter grade.

Finally, we’ll take a look into the crystal ball and see what lies ahead for the wrestler for the second half of 2015.

Let’s get started.

In-Ring Work

This is the toughest criterion by which to grade for Wyatt. For every positive critique one could make, there is a counter to knock Wyatt down.

Wyatt has delivered in big moments. His performances against Undertaker at WrestleMania 31 and Ryback at WWE Payback were great. Frankly, he was the highlight of the Royal Rumble at the company’s first pay-per-view of the year.

Unfortunately, those are also the only matches he’s had on WWE’s pay-per-view slate (three out of seven, if you’re counting at home).

It’s not just pay-per-views. Wyatt’s been shielded from appearing on television for much of the first half of 2015. He’s appeared in televised matches (Raw, Smackdown, Main Event, Superstars) a dozen times thus far. Roman Reigns, by comparison, has appeared 37 times, according to the Internet Wrestling Database.

Wyatt’s matches can also suffer from a slow pace. Part of this can be contributed to his physical style and his storytelling, but at times it’s also used to mask his limited repertoire. We saw glimpses of him breaking this mold in the Ryback match with his senton off the ring apron.

However, that match also lasted a shade over 10 minutes and was heavy on punches and brute strength.

Ending on a positive note: Wyatt makes his opponents look good. He made the 50-year-old Undertaker look great a year following decimation at the hands of Brock Lesnar, when many in the Internet Wrestling Community wondered if Undertaker should have been stepped back in the ring.

He sells his opponents’ bumps well, a trait that seems lost on many wrestlers today.

2015 First-Half Grade: B-

Promo Skills

Even in a category in which Wyatt excels, there have been some bumps along the way in 2015.

Since his introduction to the WWE Universe, Wyatt has been one of the most mesmerizing characters in the company. In 2015, Wyatt has worked exclusively as a singles competitor, which has provided the opportunity to take his character to different levels.

However, the argument can be made that his New Face of Fear gimmick stalled out before it could ever get going.

The first quarter of this year found Wyatt in peak form, essentially working alone to build his match with The Undertaker. While cryptic in nature, there wasn’t much question as to who he was addressing.

Following his loss to The Deadman at WrestleMania 31, Wyatt became more elusive not only in appearances but in messaging. His usual poignant delivery felt uncharacteristically disjointed. The Ryback feud (if one could call it a feud) might have been good inside the ring, but the promos aimed at Ryback didn’t provide any punch.

But Wyatt’s found a groove again, this time working with Roman Reigns. His promos have been crisp, his direction clear. The “Anyone But You” angle has been stellar and could vault these two into a feud fans want to see.

2015 First-Half Grade: B+

Quality of Feuds

Wyatt is a bona fide main event-level Superstar in WWE and has been treated as such in his feuds. Not every wrestler gets to take on Undertaker at WrestleMania, you know.

WWE continues to treat Wyatt as a special attraction, booking him against Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, a rejuvenated Ryback and the aforementioned Undertaker throughout 2015. That’s star-quality booking, and it’s likely to continue.

But while his opponents are a who’s who of the company’s elite, the feuds themselves have been more hype than anything else. The Ambrose angle, which ended at the beginning of the year, went on too long (how many no-DQ matches do we really need between these two?).

The Undertaker match was a one-off pairing, and he lost. His feud with Ryback never materialized into anything more than one really good pay-per-view match.

Now he's moved on to Reigns, which—if booked correctly—could lead to a very entertaining campaign. If not, and Reigns conquers Wyatt at Battleground before heading back into the main event scene, then Wyatt will once again be seen as an entertaining character who’s more bluster than contender.

2015 First-Half Grade: B

Final Grade, and Projecting the Rest of 2015

Credit: WWE.com

2015 First-Half Final Grade: B

Wyatt is one of the most compelling, over characters in the WWE Universe. Legions of fans become his fireflies when he enters the arena. His promos are analyzed by countless Internet fans, and he’s arguably been given the best roster of opponents in the company through the first half of the year.

While he still needs polish inside the ring and should expand his offense, Wyatt continues to be a top performer when he’s given opportunities.

And therein lies the rub: Like many wrestlers on the main roster, Wyatt has suffered from a lack of direction.

However, this underutilization from WWE Creative seems to affect his character more than others. Wade Barrett has been saddled for the better part of a year with terrible creative direction and bookings but makes the most of his performances. Plus, he’s on TV every week.

The argument has been made by B/R’s own Ryan Dilbert that Wyatt doesn’t need to contend for titles to be compelling. Is that true, though?

Remember this year’s first pay-per-view? At Royal Rumble, Bray Wyatt stood in the ring, defiantly goading the locker room, pointing to the WrestleMania 31 sign in the rafters and telling everyone, “This is my year.”

WWE needs to do more of that for Wyatt. He had purpose, direction. He had an end game.

Let his current feud with Roman Reigns ignite that spark. Let him use the former Shield member as a springboard to championships. If WWE trusts Wyatt enough to have him compete against the company’s best, then why not let him do so for a title?

WWE needs to turn “Anyone But You” into “Why Not Me?” After dispatching of Reigns at both Battleground and SummerSlam, inject him into either the Intercontinental or United States Championship scene.

Not only would that fuel Wyatt’s purpose, but it would get him in front of the WWE Universe more often.

The alternative is more of the same, keeping Wyatt a mystery figure who pops up from time to time to put over an up-and-coming wrestler.