Early on the Sept. 16 episode of Raw, just after the segment announcing Bray Wyatt & Seth Rollins’ Universal title Hell in a Cell match for next month’s pay-per-view (PPV), with the Firefly FunHouse theme still playing, the rundown of matches for the rest of the show looked like this...
Meanwhile, in the Upside Down... pic.twitter.com/0qbLil6WgX
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) September 17, 2019
On commentary, Renee Young mentions the seeming snafu, which leaves Corey Graves flabbergasted:
I assume these upside-down graphics on RAW were a mistake but they should be used in a 'Bray Wyatt is taking over RAW' storyline and not just brushed away and forgotten. pic.twitter.com/jfSVjMx3uh
— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) September 17, 2019
As Rob Lopez (no relation to Seth, we don’t think... have you tried 23 and Me, Rob?) did, Twitter became atwitter with theories about how this was related to Bray Wyatt, The Fiend, and the FunHouse.
Arguments in favor of it being intentional include that Graves & Young reacted at all as opposed to ignoring it until it was fixed, and the fact we know Bray’s “reality” can interact with WWE’s ‘reality’ because we spent weeks spotting the other inhabitants of Firefly FunHouse backstage - and they’re freaking dolls. Messing with technology doesn’t seem like a bridge too far when there are puppets popping up without their puppetmaster.
Arguments against it being intentional are that, well, these things happen on live television and it’s not like they haven’t happened on Raw before. Also, WWE’s social media didn’t call attention to it, even after it was being talked about on Twitter. It’s their job to capitalize on buzz like that, as they have before when it comes to Bray.
Finally, at the end of the episode, the FunHouse theme and graphic played after The Fiend took out Kane and made Seth cry. In addition to other distortions, this version featured the logo displayed upside down...
And this is how #RAW comes to an end...
— Javier DraVen ☠️ (@WrestlingCovers) September 17, 2019
THAT WAS AWESOME!!! We need the full version of this theme ASAP! #FireflyFunHouse pic.twitter.com/K7tRnVE4U4
This doesn’t necessarily answer the riddle of the earlier upside down graphics, though. Maybe they changed it to reflect the earlier screw-up? Production had almost three hours to flip a few frames.
Mostly - who cares?!?! It’s a sign of how interesting Bray’s whole act is right now, and the different ways WWE can play with it to keep it interesting.
Should it continue? Are there other ways they can show how Firefly FunHouse affects Raw, and The Fiend affects the FunHouse?