Bray Wyatt's New Firefly Fun House Gimmick Will Make or Break His WWE Career

Few WWE Superstars have come along in the past decade with as much character potential as Bray Wyatt, but management has never pushed him as hard as it could.

The Eater of Worlds has gone through some minor character changes over the years, most notably when he teamed up with Matt Hardy for his first babyface run, but his recent videos are showing a new man.

Wyatt is no longer the leather apron-wearing cult leader who talks endlessly about following the buzzards. He has taken on a new personality of what appears to be a deranged children's TV show host.

Anyone who grew up with Pee-wee's Playhouse knows what WWE is trying to parody with this character. It's a bold move to make such a drastic change to an established gimmick, and it's going to be what makes or breaks Wyatt's WWE career moving forward.

The only reason he has never reached his potential is that WWE has not allowed him to. He is a two-time tag team champion and a former WWE champion, but the inconsistent way the promotion has used him over the years has caused some members of the WWE Universe to lose faith.

The Wyatt Family was supposed to be his shot at glory. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were great teammates who helped him steal the show in six-man tag matches against The Shield on multiple occasions. 

When WWE broke up the group, The Eater of Worlds only saw brief success with the WWE title before dropping it to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33 just two months after winning it from John Cena at Elimination Chamber 2017.

While his tag team with Hardy had its entertaining moments and brought the Ultimate Deletion match to WWE for the first time, it quickly became clear WWE didn't have a long-term strategy for the duo.

They only held the Raw tag titles for three months before losing them to The B-Team at Extreme Rules 2018. Once Hardy took a hiatus to deal with some injuries, Wyatt was lost in the shuffle.

If WWE had plans for him, Wyatt would have returned months ago. The fact that it took so long means the creative team didn't have any ideas about how to use him.

A change to his character was necessary but risky. Other than The Undertaker's change between his biker and Deadman personas, it's hard to think of another Superstar who has kept their name while undergoing such a drastic update this late in their career.

Fans were expecting a familiar Wyatt when the creepy videos of a buzzard puppet began playing in early April, so when he showed up in a red shirt and khakis, dressed like a Target employee, nobody knew what to think.

We are going to have to wait to see where WWE takes this new incarnation of Wyatt's character, but if it doesn't go well, this could be the end for him in the promotion.

However, this gimmick has potential. Using things usually associated with children to make something scary has been a Hollywood staple for years.

The clowns in It and Killer Klowns From Outer Space, the dolls in Child's Play, the Annabelle film series and Stranger Things borrowing the name of its main monster from Dungeons & Dragons are just a few examples of filmmakers using things kids love to scare the living daylights out of them.

Based on the way he destroyed a cardboard cutout of himself with a chainsaw, it's clear the host of The Firefly Fun House is still going to bring his trademark brand of weirdness to the role.

Wyatt is a uniquely talented Superstar who could bring a lot of attention to a smaller promotion, so leaving WWE behind wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But it would be a shame to see him go when he could have been the successor to The Undertaker as WWE's resident supernatural entity.

With the right amount of effort from the company, this new version of Wyatt could be exactly what he needs to get back to the top of the mountain.

---

What do you think? Will Wyatt's new gimmick lead to success or failure?