Former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt was released suddenly this past July following a 12-year stint with the promotion. The move surprised many due to how big of a name Wyatt had become in recent years. Wyatt had not made an appearance on television since his loss to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 36.
While there’s been quite a bit of conversation around Wyatt’s release, Fightful Select has reported new details previously unknown about Wyatt and his relationship with the company. Among these details is information previously detailed such as talents being told that Wyatt’s release was for fiscal reasons. That detail may have not been clarified to Wyatt himself, as Fightful divulges.
Fightful also noted the strain with creative. It’s said that the creative team was told during the summer months that Wyatt would ultimately return to television. Despite this, creative seemingly didn’t have a plan for the program’s payoff between Wyatt and Randy Orton. Fightful went as far as saying that they were told by their source that “there was ‘never a true creative endgame.'” Both Orton and Wyatt were among the talents vocally upset at the booking of their WrestleMania match and the story that they were given to tell.
This report culminates with Fightful reporting that “numerous” people behind the scenes repeated the same story: Wyatt did not like the creative direction and made that evident. It ended up at the point where there were people backstage who felt that Vince McMahon soured on Wyatt due to how critical he was of his creative direction.
Many still believe that releasing a talent such as Bray Wyatt wasn’t conducive to managing the budget, according to the Fightful Select report. Wyatt was among the top merchandise movers in WWE and very few brought in as much money as Wyatt had during the Fiend angle. It’s at the point where “several” tenured superstars feel like their job security is non-existent.
This report drops as Wyatt’s non-compete clause expires and he is eligible to sign with a another promotion. Where he goes remains to be seen, but he’s undoubtedly the biggest commodity on the market. We should be seeing more from the three-time World Champion in the near future.
Should there be any further updates, Bodyslam.net will keep you posted.
