The 15 Best Bray Wyatt Promos, Vignettes & Segments.
I couldn't possibly talk about the late great Bray Wyatt this week without shedding a spotlight on his promo work.
Probably more so than his actual wrestling, Bray Wyatt will always be remembered for the outstanding work he put into his promos, character work, and vignettes. They were way ahead of their time, even in the 2010s. They were shrouded in mystery, and though at times they made no sense whatsoever, you couldn't help but be mesmerized by his words, his cadence, and his aura.
I went through his career and I put together 15 of his best promos, vignettes, and segments. They represent Bray Wyatt at his best: with a mic, in front of a camera, and with a presence that a once in a generation talent possesses.
#15: The White Rabbit emerges, WWE Extreme Rules (10/8/2022). Weeks of QR codes, along with the revolutionary usage of non-televised teases with Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" track culminated at the end of this PPV, where it was revealed that Bray Wyatt had finally returned to WWE. Multiple appearances of his past characters appeared in the crowd, and then scenes of an abandoned Firefly Funhouse, followed by a door at the top of the stage. It opened, and out came Bray Wyatt, to an absolute monster pop. Though we didn't know that it would be short lived, Bray's return to WWE brought a huge sense of joy to fans everywhere.
#14: The News Reporter Vignettes, WWE Raw (7/8/2013). Ahead of his much anticipated main roster debut, vignettes aired of a news reporter in the backwoods, attempting to find the compound of the Wyatt Family. These were really well shot, and made to look like scummy found footage. The reporter eventually finds the Compound, and sees Erick Rowan chopping wood in a Lamb mask. Luke Harper leads him inside, warning him "not to stray." The reporter sees someone speaking in tongues, and then eventually meets Bray Wyatt in a dimly lit room. These were a nice precursor to Bray's huge debut later in the night.
#13: A Crew Member pisses him off, WWE Smackdown (11/4/2022). Bray talks about how he doesn't always share his feelings. It's a new concept to him. He hates when people play with his feelings. A crew member suddenly appears, and Bray goes on a tangent about the feelings one has when someone cuts them off in traffic. He talks about fantasizing about having that person for 30 seconds alone, and what he would possibly do to them. He says that currently, all he wants to do to this crew member is take his head and smack it off the cement wall. He tells the guy to apologize, almost begging him for it. The guy does that, and walks off. There is an underlying of tension here that I absolutely loved. This stands to me as one of Bray's last great promo exchanges.
#12: Welcome to the Firefly Funhouse, WWE Raw (4/22/2019). This was the debut of the new era of Bray Wyatt, the host of the Funhouse. It was a stark difference to what he was doing the last time he was on TV. Despite looking like a happy place to be, it was obvious the evil tones underneath the surface. As the weeks went by, that evil would surface even more. But here, it was mostly innocent. Mostly.
#11: A Beautiful Hill to Die On, WWE Smackdown (1/31/2014). With their Six Man Tag Team Match at Elimination Chamber official, Bray Wyatt and his family took a moment to address The Shield. Bray talked about how he admired their courage. He says that war and justice is their game, and he digs it. War is his favorite, too. His soul smiles at the thought of seeing white flags. Luke Harper finished by saying that those three boys picked a beautiful hill to die on. This set the tone for their rivalry up perfectly. It was creepy, simple, and well executed.
#10: The Death of Ramblin' Rabbit, WWE Raw (6/10/2019). Bray is doing some handy work around the Funhouse, and then Mercy the Buzzard tries to eat Ramblin' Rabbit. Bray threatens to bring The Fiend out, unless this is resolved. Bray lets fate decide, and looks to his gloves. Heal wins over hurt. Ramblin' Rabbit takes the floor, and he says it's not cool to eat your friends. He doesn't feel safe, and he thinks it's time to expose what's really been going on in the Funhouse. Bray then grabs him by the throat, and squashes him with a mallet. Then, he licks his blood up and says it's delicious. An ad for Ramblin' Rabbit's Bohemian Breakfast Spread airs. There's something eerie about watching Bray kill a puppet here. It oddly works wonders for the horror of this gimmick.
#9: Follow the Leader, WWE Raw (6/17/2019). In the final proper Firefly Funhouse vignette, Bray talks about how our minds are like gardens: they just need some water, some sunshine, and it'll make your ideas grow. He says people will always lie to you. The world isn't round, and dinosaurs are fake. He says he knows what it's like to be different, and that's why he built the Funhouse: so we can all be together. He wants everyone to join them, where the fun never ends. People worship what they fear. Fear is power. Follow the leader. We then see shots of The Fiend dancing around in the Funhouse, and then he disappears. This was the last shot we'd see, before Bray Wyatt returned in person on Raw.
#8: The Sit Down Interview with Michael Cole (7/15/2015). Back in the day, Michael Cole would do sit down interviews with various people throughout WWE. For this one, he interviewed Bray Wyatt. It was a different kind of setting for Bray to deliver one of his most powerful statements. The quietness of the room they were in, and the eerie cadence of his voice captivated all who saw this. It was a typical Wyatt promo of the time: mysterious, ambigious. But the setting here elevated this to a creepy level that even Wyatt rarely reached.
#7: The Man in the Woods, Superstar Ghost Stories. For a bit, various WWE wrestlers would tell ghost stories and have them uploaded to WWE's YouTube channel. Bray Wyatt was a natural fit for this, because who would even know if what he was saying was true or not. In this story, he talks about growing up in Louisiana. He talks about how Sister Abigail rescued him, and brought him to a cabin in the woods. She said to beware the man in the woods. He is real, and he is the eater. One day, Bray and his friends went rabbit hunting. They heard a noise. They thought it was a bear, but it got louder. It let out sad howls. The friends ran off. Bray was afraid, but intrigued. He dropped his slingshot and moved closer to the sound, so close that it radiated in his ears. Then, he saw it. Seven feet tall, walking upright. No skin pigments, pale as a pearl. Thin yellow hairs to his knees. He was dragging a gator. He looked at Bray. His eyes were yellow. Bray stood frozen. Bray eventually ran, and found the cabin. He sprinted inside. He ran straight to Abigail, and apologized. He told her about the man in the woods. She asked what he said. He didn't say anything, but he did hand him his slingshot. She said "don't you understand, Bray? It's his slingshot, too. YOU are the man in the woods." I think we can all agree that Bray Wyatt was a fucking great storyteller.
#6: I Hated my Daddy, FCW (3/15/2012). This was the very first Bray Wyatt promo I ever saw. In it, Bray - with Eli Cottonwood - talks about how his daddy was a shrimp boat captain, and he hated him. His dad was mean, and he pulled Bray out of school. Randomly, one day, his daddy's boat caught fire, and sank to the bottom of the sea. Bray went away for a while, and taught himself how to read. He learned that the world will throw a guy like Bray away easily. But Bray is better than all of us, and he wouldn't want to be the guy standing across from him. Bray will take pleasure in watching that person burn, just like his daddy. A fantastic early promo dripping in eerie undertones.
#5: The Fiend is revealed, WWE Raw (5/13/2019). After weeks of build up, the Firefly Funhouse had its first major twist: the reveal of Bray Wyatt's secret identity known as "The Fiend." With the help of all his Fireflies, he has the courage to reveal this secret. He says there's still some darkness in his head, but this time is different. Now, he can harness it, and control it. There's a vacant expression on his face right before he reveals The Fiend that is just pure evil. From there, we see ghastly images of a hell scape, and standing there is The Fiend. To the tune of a demonic rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," we get an up close shot of The Fiend for the first time, and it's as horrifying as you can imagine.
#4: The Final Resting Place, WWE Raw (3/23/2015). As Bray prepared for his encounter with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31, Bray ponders why people avoid the truth. He says everyone is guilty, because they hate the person they've become. They hate their job, because they're greedy. They hate seeing the person in the mirror, so they cake their face in makeup. It changes nothing, because everyone is a liar. Bray, however, is different. He's not a liar. He cuts through deception, and he speaks the truth. The Undertaker is just like us: he's a liar. He hides the fact that he's lost, and he tries to deny that he wants his soul to be set free. Bray is the Angel with the Burnt Wings to send him to the other side. During this promo, the lights shimmer, and the sound of thunder play. Bray says those spirits are his now. They march to his command. He has judged Undertaker, and he is guilty. Bray will take his rightful place among the Gods as the new face of fear, and he will finally help Undertaker rest in peace. Though the match at WrestleMania ultimately meant nothing, this promo is absolutely epic. It had the makings of an incredible follow through to make Bray seem like a major deal. Alas, it's simply a great promo regardless.
#3: The New Face of Fear, WWE Raw (5/27/2013). The first vignette hyping the arrival of Bray Wyatt to the main roster was exceptional in its short duration. It told you everything you needed to know about this new wrestler, and his family. He talks about how society has poisoned the souls of men, and it hovers over them like a dark cloud. Bray has a secret of his own. They are the ones you've been told about, and they are walking up right. He ends the vignette by saying that they're coming. A wonderful introduction into the world of Bray Wyatt.
#2: You Saved My Life, WWE Smackdown (10/14/2022). Following his incredible return to WWE at Extreme Rules days earlier, Bray Wyatt arrived to Smackdown with a lot to say. It was without a doubt the most heartfelt promo of his career, as he poured his heart and soul out to the audience and told them all about what he had gone through in his absence from the spotlight. It's the most sincere kind of rambling, as Bray talks about how grateful he is and he's nervous. The crowd loves this guy. This is just him, a version he's never introduced before. Genuine Bray Wyatt. He lost a lot of things, including his career, his self confidence, and people close to him. He lost his way, and he got to a point where everything he did came off as meaningless. He was wrong, though. People told him thank you, and wondered when he'd come back home. Those people told him that he saved their life. Bray says the fans were there when he was weak, and he thanks them, and he says that they saved his life. It's an exceptionally human promo from Bray, and it's hard not to get choked up by it.
#1: Kings of the Jungle, WWE NXT (2012). I couldn't for the life of me find the exact date of this promo, but ever since I first saw it back in 2013, it's been my personal favorite promo of Bray Wyatt. It's short, it's simple, but it tells you everything you need to know about the Eater of Worlds. Deep in the woods alongside Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, Bray talks about how ever since the beginning of time, there's been those people who denounce his name. They say Bray is a liar, and his words mean nothing. Bray wants to play a game, where we pretend that Bray hasn't told a lie, and that he's every bit of the monster they think he is. He ponders how you can stop something like this. How can you stop something that wins wars without lifting a finger, or stop something that's been worshipped by every culture since the dawn of ages, or stop something that can't be destroyed? He says he's out here with all his friends. He's the King of this Jungle, and all you have to do is look at the sky and follow the buzzards. I feel like people work their entire careers to pump out a promo that's half as good as this. This was legendary work, and Bray hadn't even peaked yet. His cadence here is amazing, his laugh sinister, but what stands out to me is the same thing that stands out in all his promos: the conviction. When you hear this, there's not a shred of doubt in anything he says. He believes it. He makes it feel real. He convinces you that he truly is Bray Wyatt and not Windham Rotunda. This promo fucking rules.