Who was The Fiend? The supernatural and fear-striking character Bray Wyatt will fondly be remembered for
In 2019, Bray Wyatt, aka Windham Rotunda's creative juices were at his peak when he introduced the supernatural gimmick known as The Fiend.
WWE fans were left in shock after the tragic passing of former champion Bray Wyatt was confirmed. A unique wrestler, possessing an exceptionally creative mind, Wyatt will be remembered for putting on some classic matches and leading innovative storylines. Outside his performance in the ring, Wyatt excelled with his out-of-the-box thinking and evolved his gimmicks with time. From starting his career as Husky Harris to portraying Bray Wyatt and then The Fiend, Rotunda's journey in WWE was truly remarkable.
In 2019, Wyatt's creative juices were at his peak when he introduced The Fiend – a supernatural character with traits that would scare the bejesus out of the onlookers. After losing to Randy Orton in a House of Horrors match, Wyatt took time off from the WWE to heal his injuries and was away for eight months. In the build-up to WrestleMania 35, WWE would air strange vignettes featuring puppets of witches, lizards and other toys. The day after the Showcase of the Immortals, a repackaged Wyatt returned to WWE TV as host of the kid-friendly skit known as The Firefly Funhouse. But the segment that started off on a lighter note soon began to turn dark as Wyatt would indicate an alter-ego of his, a demonic character, eventually revealed to be The Fiend.
Considered one of the strangest alter egos in WWE history, The Fiend was extremely enjoyable. The beauty of professional wrestling is to tell and sell stories – win or lose – and The Fiend did with aplomb. The Fiend was unbeaten in his first run, squashing Finn Balor on his debut at SummerSlam in 2019 and going on a rampage destroying the WWE roster including legends Jerry Lawler and Kane. Besides Sister Abigail, The Fiend debuted a new finisher, the Mandible Claw, with Rotunda taking a leaf out of the legendary Mick Foley's book.
Flaunting a mask, designed by legendary make-up artist Tom Savini, The Fiend became an instant hit, and the WWE could not have thought of picking someone more appropriate than Wyatt in playing the role. The only time the character rubbed the WWE fans in a wrong way was during his heavily criticised Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins. As The Fiend kept kicking out of everything that was thrown at him, the ending of the match – which was due to referee stoppage after Rollins buried his opponent underneath a pile of steel chairs – drew a clattering of boos and jeers from the crowd. The character however resurrected itself and defeated Rollins in the following Crown Jewel PPV to win his first Universal Championship.
Initially on Raw, the title, along with Wyatt and The Fiend, moved to SmackDown, where he held the title for 118 days, defeating the likes of Rollins, Daniel Bryan and The Miz along the way. His reign ended at the hands of WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg at WWE Super Showdown in February of 2020, marking The Fiend's first clean defeat, an outcome which irked fans heavily. But the backlash barely inflicted damage to the character as The Fiend got involved in a storyline involving Braun Strowman. He defeated Strowman and Roman Reigns in a triple-threat match to win the Universal Championship for the second time, and in between got himself occupied in an angle with Alexa Bliss, who became The Fiend's understudy, displaying supernatural characteristics herself.
The Fiend's final WWE feud was against Randy Orton. After losing the title to a returning Reigns at SummerSlam 2020 in a tiple threat match involving Strowman, The Fiend was drafted back to Raw, where the Orton rivalry began. Orton defeated The Fiend in a Firefly Inferno match, setting him on fire and putting him off TV for three months. As the WrestleMania 36 season kickstarted, a burnt Fiend returned at WWE Fastlane in March, sporting a charred look.
This set up a WrestleMania match between him and Orton, which resulted in Orton picking up a second straight win courtesy a distraction. Alexa Bliss appeared in the middle of the match and with black liquid pouring down her face, allowed Orton to hit the RKO and pick up the win. After the match, The Fiend and Bliss engaged in a tense staredown as the arena's lights dimmed. However, when the lights returned, both enigmatic figures had vanished. It was the last time The Fiend ever appeared on WWE TV.
