#98: The Fiend vs. Finn Balor, WWE SummerSlam (8/11/2019).
The Bray Wyatt character needed serious rehab as 2019 went on. He hadn't been seen on television since dropping the Raw Tag Team Titles with Matt Hardy in the summer of 2018. Many wondered if his character would ever recover from so many big match losses.
Then, a vignette aired of a buzzard puppet popping out of a box.
I will stand by the following statement: The Firefly Funhouse gimmick is the best thing Bray Wyatt ever did.
For weeks, Bray, now portrayed as a children's show host, would welcome WWE fans into the Firefly Funhouse, where we would get to see just how cooky and off the rails he had become in his time away. Soon, though, the fun would cease, and we would meet the real secret he was keeping: The Fiend.
Looking like the very physical incarnation of Hell itself, The Fiend was a monster in every sense. Wearing a mask that looked burned to his face, with a clown-esque attire, Bray stated that when The Fiend came out, he could be anything that he wanted, and that he wanted everyone to experience the Funhouse, where the fun would never end.
Finally, in July of 2019, Bray Wyatt would make his return to WWE TV on Raw, where The Fiend would attack Finn Balor. These two have a bit of history before this, as they feuded in 2017. I'm probably alone in this, but I really wanted to see "Sister Abigail" wrestle "The Demon King" at TLC that year. That would've sucked so much, and I would've loved it.
Bray's entrance here is the stuff of legend. It's the first formal look at The Fiend live and in person. He looks like a total demon, coming out in darkness, carrying a lantern that looks like the severed head of himself. I remember around this time, it was announced that SummerSlam wouldn't be a PG event, and I think this was the reason why.
Fiend immediately grabs Balor by the throat and headbutts him to the mat. Running headbutt drops Balor by Fiend. He connects with a kidney shot, and he Irish whips Balor to the turnbuckle.
Big clubbing blow to the back of the head sends Balor right to the mat. Fiend grabs Balor's head and twists his neck around violently. Fiend lifts Balor up and hits a nasty Urinage.
Fiend looks at his gloves, and he chooses Hurt over Heal. He grabs Balor and goes to hit Sister Abigail, but Balor slips out and hits the Sling Blade. Shotgun dropkick sends Fiend to the corner.
Double stomp by Balor. He hits another shotgun dropkick that drops Fiend. Balor goes to the top and goes for the Coup de Grace, but Fiend catches him on the way down with the Mandible Claw. Balor goes out, and the ref counts to 3, and The Fiend takes the win.
Welp, that wasn't much of a match! The definition of a squash, as Wyatt basically killed Balor here. He dominated, and looked every bit of the monster that was teased during the Firefly Funhouse promos. Balor would leave this match to go back to NXT, where he'd have what I believe is his best WWE run to date.
The Fiend was off to a great start with this match. The presentation was off the charts, and he looked like a killer badass in his victory over Balor. So naturally, WWE found a way to fuck it all up in record time. But hey, little victories.