FanPost

Why Bray Wyatt isn't a true villain (and how to make him one by WrestleMania)

About two hours into "The Dark Knight," the Joker threatens to blow up a ship full of innocent passengers. Even though I've seen the movie about two dozen times and know he never follows through on his threat, I still get goosebumps during the scene. Why? Because throughout the movie I've seen him make good on his promises to inflict death and destruction on Gotham City, murdering countless people and striking fear in the hearts of everyone.

The same can be said for all great villains. This concept extends to books, TV shows, theater and all other forms of storytelling — villains who say they're going to kill, maim, or destroy, and then follow deliver on their words until they're stopped by a conquering hero.

Professional wrestling is, at its core, storytelling. Characters (especially villains) with no credibility don't advance the story; in fact, they hold it back, at best, and at worst they completely derail it and cause fans to lose interest. In extreme cases, characters lose all credibility and seemingly overnight can go from someone who puts asses in seats to someone who's a joke in the eyes of everyone in the arena and everyone watching at home.

Which brings us to the curious case of Bray Wyatt, an intimidating character with arguably the best promo skills in WWE today. He most certainly looks the part, with his attire, beard, and gang of imposing thugs (Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman).

The fundamental flaw with Bray Wyatt, as has been pointed out by other mindful fans, is that, time and time again, he fails to deliver on his words. The conquering hero slays the villain before any destruction is inflicted. He promises to destroy John Cena, and does not. He spends the month leading up to WrestleMania 31 threatening to erase the Undertaker from the history books, and fails. He picks a fight with Roman Reigns, and accomplishes nothing. Most recently, he claims to have captured the souls of the Brothers of Destruction, yet is soundly defeated.

Even when it appears he's successful (the Wyatts' recruiting of Daniel Bryan in 2013, his win over Dean Ambrose at TLC last year, etc.) the victories are short-lived and carry no ramifications.

No other characters are truly, deeply, fundamentally affected by Bray Wyatt's actions. What's worse, the landscape of WWE is never changed. His presence on Monday Night Raw seems incidental.

In fact, his entire existence seems to rest outside the normal WWE world, or "universe," if you will. Has Bray Wyatt ever truly been interested in a championship? Has he targeted a champion? Why, if his goal is to truly dominate the WWE, would he and the Wyatt Family not seek to amass as much power as possible? Wouldn't that be accomplished by capturing belts? Has there ever been any interaction whatsoever between Wyatt and The Authority?

This represents a failure by WWE's creative team on a massive scale almost unprecedented throughout my time as a professional wrestling fan (20+ years). Bray Wyatt should be a monster, someone who not only changes the general direction of characters he comes in contact with, but also shakes the very foundation of WWE and becomes integral to the show, not a part of one-off segments that can easily be forgotten as soon as the next commercial break rolls around.

Bray Wyatt is now in very dangerous territory. A feud with the Dudley Boyz and Tommy Dreamer will not be sufficient to regain the credibility he needs, assuming WWE wants him to be a top-level heel (something the company is in dire need of right now).

Can he get back there? I believe so, and here's how.

For starters, Wyatt's character must evolve. He (and WWE creative) should not and cannot ignore his losses to Cena, Reigns, Undertaker, and others. He must acknowledge them and admit that he hasn't been aggressive, or ruthless, enough. He must promise to unleash hell on WWE — and then he must do so. He must become a true psychopath.

This should start with the tried-and-true formula of writing wrestlers off TV with injuries. Well-respected names in the pro wrestling landscape (such as Jim Ross) have suggested Dolph Ziggler take a few months off to refresh his character. He should be pummeled by the Wyatts, perhaps backstage, or perhaps in the middle of the ring — a warning shot to the rest of the company that play time is over, and that the devil has arrived.

The Dudley Boyz could be next. Their nostalgic run already feels old. Write them off TV for six weeks — at the hands of a brutal beating by Wyatt and the rest of his family. I'm not sure of Tommy Dreamer's long-term future with WWE, but, the hell with it — injure him, too.

If WWE creative is feeling ambitious (a big "if"), Wyatt could take a few pages from villains of the past. The Undertaker, in his demonic Ministry of Darkness days, was fond of kidnapping characters (including women) or breaking into someone's home. The NWO once buried Ric Flair in the middle of the desert. During the heyday of Evolution, Randy Orton pummeled Mick Foley backstage and tossed him down a flight of stairs. Jake Roberts famously crashed the Macho Man's wedding to Miss Elizabeth by putting a snake inside a box and then giving it to them as a present, scaring the ever-loving shit out of everyone.

Those examples — and many others I didn't mention — prove this can be done. Creepy in-ring promos or backstage talk-a-thons no longer are enough for a character who has given us no reason to believe he's a real threat to anyone.

Bray Wyatt must begin to deliver on his promises. His actions must have consequences, and must be as terrifying and uncomfortable as the words that come out of his mouth. If WWE is bold enough to travel down this path, Wyatt could again be a top-level heel by the time WrestleMania rolls around.

If not, we, the fans, will find ourselves in a familiar spot — yawning during Bray Wyatt's promos and resigning ourselves to the fact that not only will our villain not defeat the hero, the people writing the story never even wanted us to believe he had a chance.

(Listen to The Guilty Pleasures Podcast, new episodes every Wednesday on iTunes and SoundCloud.)

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.