History YMMV / TheWyattFamily

* TearJerker: On December 26, 2020, Luke Harper, who was going by Brodie Lee at the time of his [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] run, passed away at the age of 41. The Wyatt Family would lose an irreplaceable member and brother.

* RecycledPremise: The concept of Bray Wyatt and his Family strongly echoes an unused WWE wrestler who was going to debut in 2009 commanding a cult-like stable before being cancelled. He was Hade Vansen, and in his sole promo in TV he talked about how he had lived in darkness for his whole life and that he had searched for followers in order to fulfill his mission. If it doesn't sound familiar enough to you, it's necessary to say further that said mission was meant to be The Undertaker's demise, who then "would live on with him being the vessel." Then, after many years, we got the Wyatt Family, and we saw how Bray feuded with Undertaker in order to steal his soul...
** You can go back further, and see elements of [[Wrestling/KevinSullivan "The Prince of Darkness" Kevin Sullivan]]'s HollywoodSatanism run in [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance Championship Wrestling from Florida]] in TheEighties, with the GeniusBonus that Sullivan feuded with [[Wrestling/TheBlackjacks Blackjack Mulligan]], Wrestling/BarryWindham and Wrestling/MikeRotunda, Windham "Bray Wyatt" Rotunda's grandfather, uncle and father.

* VillainDecay:
** The Wyatt family WERE booked pretty much exactly how Skeletor and his goons are in ''Masters of the Universe'', with the role of He-Man being played by literally anyone on the roster. Word is that Vince thinks they're so over it barely matters how they're booked, and so they're the go-to guys to [[TheWorfEffect Worf]] for whichever face du juor is about to get a push.
** The reunited family - Strowman included - is suffering horribly from this. The Family as a unit hasn't won a feud since the one with the Shield, and as of late 2015 they've been repeatedly curbstomped by the reunited Brothers of Destruction. In fact, the only feud Bray's really won was against Dean Ambrose - who's actually in the same boat of being an upper midcarder who WWE management simply won't give any meaningful victories to without pulling them right back afterwards.
** Finally seems to be coming to an end during the build up to the Royal Rumble in 2016, as they spent the last week before the Rumble showing up at the end of ''RAW'' and ''[=SmackDown=]'' and demolishing Roman Reigns and BROCK LESNAR.
** And it's gone back into play from ''[[Wrestling/WWEFastlane Fastlane 2016]]'' and up, with them losing tag matches to a CurbstompBattle with Brock Lesnar to Luke Harper.
** ''[=WrestleMania=] 32'' is conversely the highest and the lowest the Family has ever been. Interrupting a (rather pointless at that) segment with [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], The Rock proceeded to laud Bray's charisma and presence in what seemed to be a push for the Family, before proceeding to make them look like absolute fools by a) defeating Rowan in a record ''6 second match'' that likely no one will remember and pissed off more people than it made happy and b) proceeded to sweep the whole family with ease with the returning John Cena. To say the Family is gonna have a hard time recovering from this embarrassment is an understatement.

%%* EvilIsCool

* EvilIsCool

** [=WrestleMania=] 32 is conversely the highest and the lowest the Family has ever been. Interrupting a (rather pointless at that) segment with [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], The Rock proceeded to laud Bray's charisma and presence in what seemed to be a push for the Family, before proceeding to make them look like absolute fools by a) defeating Rowan in a record ''6 second match'' that likely no one will remember and pissed off more people than it made happy and b) proceeded to sweep the whole family with ease with the returning John Cena. To say the Family is gonna have a hard time recovering from this embarrassment is an understatement.

** [=WrestleMania=] 2016 is conversely the highest and the lowest the Family has ever been. Interrupting a (rather pointless at that) segment with [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], The Rock proceeded to laud Bray's charisma and presence in what seemed to be a push for the Family, before proceeding to make them look like absolute fools by a) defeating Rowan in a record ''6 second match'' that likely no one will remember and pissed off more people than it made happy and b) proceeded to sweep the whole family with ease with the returning John Cena. To say the Family is gonna have a hard time recovering from this embarrassment is an understatement.

* Tearjerker: On December 26, 2020, Luke Harper, who was going by Brodie Lee at the time of his AEW run, passed away at the age of 41. The Wyatt Family would lose an irreplaceable member and brother.

* EarWorm: Their entrance theme.

** [=WrestleMania=] 2016 is conversely the highest and the lowest the Family has ever been. Interrupting a (rather pointless at that) segment with Wrestling/TheRock, The Rock proceeded to laud Bray's charisma and presence in what seemed to be a push for the Family, before proceeding to make them look like absolute fools by a) defeating Rowan in a record ''6 second match'' that likely no one will remember and pissed off more people than it made happy and b) proceeded to sweep the whole family with ease with the returning John Cena. To say the Family is gonna have a hard time recovering from this embarrassment is an understatement.

** And it's gone back into play from Fastlane 2016 and up, with them losing tag matches to a CurbstompBattle with Brock Lesnar to Luke Harper.

* FridgeHorror:
** Where did Luke Harper and Erick Rowan come from, and why are they following Bray Wyatt? When one considers how Wyatt temporarily brainwashed Wrestling/DanielBryan into joining his Family, tried to turn Wrestling/JohnCena into a monster, and ''succeeded'' into turning Wrestling/{{Kane}} ''back'' into a monster, it does suggest a certain pattern: Wyatt tries to corrupt people, and is always recruiting for his Family. This raises the unsettling possibility that, like Bryan, Cena, or Kane, Harper and Rowan were just two wrestlers who caught Wyatt's eye for whatever reason, [[TraumaCongaLine and]] [[{{Brainwashed}} then]]... [[FaceHeelTurn well]]...
** As far as being two wrestlers, the obvious is true, but let's get specific here. Before entering WWE, Luke Harper was a tough, no-nonsense {{jerkass}} [[WrestlingDoesntPay wrestling truck driver]] under the name Wrestling/BrodieLee, whereas Erick Rowan was a less successful but equally no-nonsense proud Scandinavian going by Thoruf Marius. Furthermore, we can presume they'd never met each other during those stints. For the demon that possessed Husky Harris to be able to take those two men, break them down and rebuild them into near-catatonic worshippers of his cause as well as a fearsome tag team despite having been complete strangers before this…the things he must've done to them had to have been ''[[NightmareFuel truly horrendous]]''.
** Never mind that — what the ''hell'' did he do to Wrestling/BraunStrowman? We're talking about a 6'8", near-400-pound powerlifter that could probably crush Bray if he were so inclined (and Bray himself is no small fellow). And add to that the fact that he didn't show up until much later - was Wyatt already in the process of breaking Strowman while he and the other two prominent Family members were making their first public appearances? What if Strowman was in one of the other rooms of Bray's swamp hideout?? And for that matter, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse where's the guy that was in the zombie-like trance in that one room?]] Is he still there? Is he even still alive?
** In light of Braun Strowman's absolute rampage through ''Monday Night Raw'' since being split off from the rest of the Family in the 2016 draft, it is becoming painfully obvious that Bray Wyatt ''tamed and corralled'' this monster. This brings to mind two ''very'' horrifying questions: how under God's hot sun did Wyatt '''''ever''''' pull something like that off in the first place, and ''what was he intending to save the full extent of Strowman's destructive power for?''
** '''What in God's name''' did he manage to do to Wrestling/RandyOrton? First off, this is Randy freaking Orton we're talking about. Second, Randy's had a notoriously ''awful'' history as far as joining stables, and usually prefers to work alone. ''Third'', the two had been bitter enemies up to the point where he joined them, but has recently referred to Bray as a 'god'. [[MoreThanMindControl This all suggests that Wyatt had a little more than a creative sales pitch up his sleeve…]][[ReverseMole or, as the story would reveal, that Orton himself did…]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The fact that the crowd all lights their phones up and Wrestling/MichaelCole literally says ''lol he calls these his "fireflies"'' guarantees that they have turned fan favourites and such they will never be the creepy, off kilter faction that they should. They are mass market as it gets, which is only the tip of the "Wyatts are being wasted" iceberg (''Losing constantly, not being scary, no meaningful feuds, stealing peoples' powers only to have them [[CliffhangerCopout revert back within 2 days]], and more! Next time, on Raw!'')

* CounterpartComparison: Hmmm... a CreepyAwesome, [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] and [[StrawNihilist nihilistic]] DarkMessiah. [[Wrestling/{{Raven}} Where have we seen that before]]?

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Bray is the main attraction, but Luke is getting the wraps from the Internet community who want him to have his own legitimate career. There is an agreement that Luke and the family are good for one another, though.

* FashionVictimVillain:
** Subverted with Erick Rowan's attire. His coveralls would look ridiculous with another wrestler in another gimmick, but his look makes him look like, if anything, an old-fashioned gas station attendant or mechanic-turned slasher movie serial killer. It actually works pretty well, especially with the mask.
** Braun Strowman's pants have dark patches on the inner thighs. [[https://twitter.com/TableofJapan/status/653210032763441152 He looks like he's pissed himself.]]

** In light of Braun Strowman's absolute rampage through ''Monday Night Raw'' since being split off from the rest of the Family in the 2016 draft, it is becoming painfully obvious that Bray Wyatt ''tamed and corralled'' this monster. This brings to mind two ''very'' horrifying questions: how under God's hot sun did Wyatt '''''ever''''' pull something like that off in the first place, and ''what was he intending to save the full extent of Strowman's destructive power for???''

* RescuedFromtheScrappyHeap: Braun Strowman BIG TIME! After the Brand Split in 2016, Braun got spent most of 2016 squashing jobbers and gradually improving. Shedding some pounds, expanding his moveset and in-ring psychology, Braun Strowman went from Scrappy to fan-favorite over the course of 2016. Braun can now move surprisingly quickly for a big-man and has gotten the opportunity to show off his strength more than he did in 2015 with fans wanting him to enter the main event scene.

* TheScrappy: Braun Strowman was this once it became clear how green he was in the ring, with the only thing going for him being his size. When Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter reported that Vince had been pushing for a Strowman/Taker match at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 32'' after Wrestling/JohnCena was injured in earlier in the year, the fans said "hell no" and there was mass protest from the IWC, as many felt that Taker couldn't get a good match out of him and would possibly be injured while trying to do so. When Meltzer reported that the match was no longer on the board, many breathed a sigh of relief -- only to panic even more when he said the current plan was to push Strowman into a title program with Wrestling/RomanReigns after 'Mania and, provided that goes well, a possible match with Wrestling/BrockLesnar at ''Wrestling/SummerSlam''. The IWC immediately announced that they were okay with Reigns again if that were the case. Although he later recovered from scrappydom as seen above.

* FridgeBrilliance: At [[Fridge/BrayWyatt Bray's Frige page]].

* StartMyOwn: Husky Harris, not too long ago, was part of a [[PowerStable Power]] [[Wrestling/TheNexus Stable]] with a [[Wrestling/CMPunk charismatic, super-hammy, preachy leader]] at the helm...

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Wyatt and his gimmick were likely not meant to be anything significant, but his captivating promos and unsettling character caught the attention of [[SmartMark older male fans]] in a manner not unlike Wrestling/{{The Shield}}, resulting in a surge of popularity and a continued push. He not only was called up to the main roster much earlier than most expected, but also got cheered while feuding with [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson DANIEL BRYAN]].
** Bray is the main attraction, but Luke is getting the wraps from the Internet community who want him to have his own legitimate career. There is an agreement that Luke and the family are good for one another, though.

* FridgeBrilliance[=/=]MythologyGag:
** Bray's confidence going into [=WrestleMania=] XXX and the New Orleans crowd's ''overwhelming'' support of him makes a lot of sense given that Bray's original storyline hometown in NXT was actually '''Lafayette, Louisiana.'''
** The demon in Bray Wyatt has occasionally implied that he is {{Satan}} himself, which puts an interesting spin on the Wyatt Family's feud with Wrestling/{{Kane}} in their main roster debut, since Kane has been nicknamed "The Devil's favorite demon." Keep in mind that, at the time the Wyatts were preying on him, Kane was not only suffering from BadassDecay but was also becoming more human-like / {{face}} than ever, especially through his teaming up with Wrestling/DanielBryan. The Devil must have been pretty disappointed in him, huh? After they spent weeks beating him up and then whisked him off to parts unknown, Kane returned as a {{heel}} serving Wrestling/TheAuthority (which conceivably not only gave Wyatt a connection to the higher-ups but also gave his pupil the power to wreak havoc on a greater scale, while Wyatt was free to do the same on a much more fun personal level), and the Wyatts left him in peace. Guess he learned his lesson.
** Also FridgeBrilliance: As a DarkMessiah-type figure, it makes perfect sense that he would send his disciples out and separate them from his physical presence because his message could have a broader reach that way. Luke Harper continued down a darker path and went straight to a championship title (which, ironically, has yet to happen for Bray himself), but maintains an EnsembleDarkhorse status for those who like indie wrestlers with some technical chops. Erick Rowan, meanwhile, embraced the fans. So he has indirect influence over a heel ''and'' a face while also carving out his own path.
* FridgeHorror:
** [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bm3d0GiIIAAu89g.jpg Look at this picture of Bray]]. This was taken during Extreme Rules 2014, around the time that the CreepyChild started singing. What's so horrible about it? He looks ''scared.'' If one remembers that [[DemonicPossession Bray's body is actually a vessel,]] the demon may have left his body, and Bray could see [[WhatHaveIBecome how much of a monster he had become]].
** And then he gets right back into it at the end of the match as [[spoiler: WYATTWINSLOL]], proving that that spirit that possessed Husky Harris is a mean, sadistic son of a bitch.
** Where did Luke Harper and Erick Rowan come from, and why are they following Bray Wyatt? When one considers how Wyatt temporarily brainwashed Wrestling/DanielBryan into joining his Family, tried to turn Wrestling/JohnCena into a monster, and ''succeeded'' into turning Wrestling/{{Kane}} ''back'' into a monster, it does suggest a certain pattern: Wyatt tries to corrupt people, and is always recruiting for his Family. This raises the unsettling possibility that, like Bryan, Cena, or Kane, Harper and Rowan were just two wrestlers who caught Wyatt's eye for whatever reason, [[TraumaCongaLine and]] [[{{Brainwashed}} then]]... [[FaceHeelTurn well]]...
** As far as being two wrestlers, the obvious is true, but let's get specific here. Before entering WWE, Luke Harper was a tough, no-nonsense {{jerkass}} [[WrestlingDoesntPay wrestling truck driver]] under the name Wrestling/BrodieLee, whereas Erick Rowan was a less successful but equally no-nonsense proud Scandinavian going by Thoruf Marius. Furthermore, we can presume they'd never met each other during those stints. For the demon that possessed Husky Harris to be able to take those two men, break them down and rebuild them into near-catatonic worshippers of his cause as well as a fearsome tag team despite having been complete strangers before this…the things he must've done to them had to have been ''[[NightmareFuel truly horrendous]]''.
*** Never mind that — what the ''hell'' did he do to Wrestling/BraunStrowman? We're talking about a 6'8", near-400-pound powerlifter that could probably crush Bray if he were so inclined (and Bray himself is no small fellow). And add to that the fact that he didn't show up until much later - was Wyatt already in the process of breaking Strowman while he and the other two prominent Family members were making their first public appearances? What if Strowman was in one of the other rooms of Bray's swamp hideout?? And for that matter, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse where's the guy that was in the zombie-like trance in that one room?]] Is he still there? Is he even still alive?
*** In light of Braun Strowman's absolute rampage through ''Monday Night Raw'' since being split off from the rest of the Family in the 2016 draft, it is becoming painfully obvious that Bray Wyatt ''tamed and corralled'' this monster. This brings to mind two ''very'' horrifying questions: how under God's hot sun did Wyatt '''''ever''''' pull something like that off in the first place, and ''what was he intending to save the full extent of Strowman's destructive power for???''
*** '''What in God's name''' did he manage to do to Wrestling/RandyOrton? First off, this is Randy freaking Orton we're talking about. Second, Randy's had a notoriously ''awful'' history as far as joining stables, and usually prefers to work alone. ''Third'', the two had been bitter enemies up to the point where he joined them, but has recently referred to Bray as a 'god'. [[MoreThanMindControl This all suggests that Wyatt had a little more than a creative sales pitch up his sleeve…]][[ReverseMole or, as the story would reveal, that Orton himself did…]]
** Bray Wyatt's character has come up with several different origin stories that seem to conflict with each other. Keep in mind that Husky Harris's last appearance in WWE was getting his skull punted in by Randy Orton. What if Bray Wyatt ''is'' Husky Harris - or, more specifically, a ''brain-damaged'' Husky Harris that can't remember what happened to him, and "Sister Abigail" was a vision he had while comatose?

* CounterpartComparison: Hmmm... a CreepyAwesome, [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] and [[StrawNihilist nihilistic]] DarkMessiah. [[Wrestling/{{Raven}} Where have we seen that before]]? WWE even recognized this by [[https://youtu.be/h4V-0gPDdh8 pitting him against Raven in a "Fantasy Warfare".]]

** Wyatt and his gimmick were likely not meant to be anything significant, but his captivating promos and unsettling character caught the attention of [[SmartMark older male fans]] in a manner not unlike Wrestling/{{The Shield}}, resulting in a surge of popularity and a continued push. He has been called up to the main roster much earlier than most expected.
*** If you can get cheered while feuding with [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson DANIEL BRYAN]], that's a really good sign.

* FridgeBrilliance[=/=]MythologyGag: Bray's confidence going into [=WrestleMania=] XXX and the New Orleans crowd's ''overwhelming'' support of him makes a lot of sense given that Bray's original storyline hometown in NXT was actually '''Lafayette, Louisiana.'''

* FridgeHorror: [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bm3d0GiIIAAu89g.jpg Look at this picture of Bray]]. This was taken during Extreme Rules 2014, around the time that the CreepyChild started singing. What's so horrible about it? He looks ''scared.'' If one remembers that [[DemonicPossession Bray's body is actually a vessel,]] the demon may have left his body, and Bray could see [[WhatHaveIBecome how much of a monster he had become]].

* FromNobodyToNightmare: In 2011, Husky Harris was essentially roster filler for a stable specifically designed to push Wrestling/CMPunk. He was actually the first one to get kicked (as in a [[Wrestling/RandyOrton "''punt'' kick"]]) off programming. Then he was repackaged as Bray Wyatt and literally ''did'' become the stuff of nightmares.
* GrowingTheBeard: [[{{Pun}} So to speak....]] Wyatt has definitely come a long way from being "that fat dude from the Nexus."
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: From his work as Husky Harris or Axel Mulligan, you would NEVER be able to guess that Wyatt had that amount of mic skills and character performing ability in him.
** This cannot '''possibly''' be stated enough. Go back and watch Husky Harris, and then watch Bray Wyatt. [[UpToEleven They're not even the same goddamn person]] (apparently, the demon that possessed Husky Harris' body took some damn good acting classes).
* HypeBacklash: It was inevitable after 6 weeks of hype promos, one of which closed Raw, and an underwhelming debut match for Bray Wyatt (it got 0 stars from [[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Dave Meltzer]]). Largely averted since then, though - due in no small part to Wyatt's next solo match, an '''[[Awesome/TheWyattFamily awesome]]''' PPV tilt against [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan.]]
* MagnificentBastard: Bray Wyatt from his feud with the shield, all the way up to his Extreme Rules feud with John Cena was portrayed as the undisputed ''king'' of psychological warfare, as well as one of the only {{Heel}} wrestlers that could be a successful ManipulativeBastard ''without'' becoming a DirtyCoward. After losing his feud to John Cena at Payback however, Bray Wyatt [[BadassDecay would go on to suffer loss after loss]], diminishing his credibility until by late 2015, he had been reduced to a BigBadWannabe at best, and an outright SmugSnake at worst.
** His Survivor Series 2015 feud with The Undertaker was the best example of both his Magnificence, AND his decay. All throughout the feud, he would use tactics that in theory were incredibly effective and intelligent (Attacking a weakened Undertaker to steal his powers, brainwashing the Druids. ect.). But it would all be rendered moot as The Undertaker would simply curbstomp Bray Wyatt no matter what he did, making Bray look completely ineffectual.
* MoralEventHorizon: Trying to beat down Wrestler/JerryLawler ''solely'' because he's a supporter of Wrestling/JohnCena. Lawler had done nothing wrong, and Bray attacked him ''purely'' to hurt Cena. ''Then'' having Harper and Rowan ''hold Cena's eyes open'' so he's ForcedToWatch. Cena even more or less calls it this InUniverse.
* {{Narm}}: Frightening as Bray and his domination of Undertaker and Kane could be, the promo in which he claimed to have sucked their souls and demonstrated it by summoning their lightning and fire all over the ring can be seen as too over-the-top. It switches Wyatt from a subtle [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Maybe Magic, Maybe Mad]] cult leader to something straight out from Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain[=/=]ForWantOfANail: Their decision to go after John Cena at an inopportune time set off a chain of events that ended up wrecking Wrestling/TheAuthority's power base. The Family interrupted a match involving the Shield, Cena, and a couple of other guys, with the three winners earning spots in the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Title. They attached Cena mid-match, thus causing the Shield to be disqualified through no fault of their own. This severely pissed off Wrestling/TheShield, leading to a direct, public clash with Wrestling/TripleH, as the Shield demanded a match with the Family for revenge and Trips wanted them to stay on task doing the Authority's dirty work. The Shield started to tire of being used as pawns, which earned Kane's ire and made it next to impossible for The Authority to control him any longer either. Case and point, Kane accidentally outing Triple H as having tried to pull a YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness on the Shield at one point. Predictably, this severed the relationship between the Shield and the Authority, leading the Shield to turn face, pound the New Age Outlaws back into retirement at Wrestling/WrestleMania, and directly cost Triple H the championship the next night. Triple H's only remaining in-ring hands were himself, Wrestling/RandyOrton, and a bunch of lower-card {{Mooks}} that weren't really invested in Trips's personal vendettas. Triple H had to [[Wrestling/{{Evolution}} take]] [[Wrestling/{{Batista}} drastic]][[PuttingTheBandBackTogether measures]] to keep any semblance of in-ring presence, and even ''that'' didn't work quite as planned. And maybe if The Wyatt Family had waited until Cena got backstage to beat the hell out of him that night, the first half of 2014 would have gone ''very'' differently.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Toward the end of his NXT run, Bray Wyatt was triggering '''deafening''' pops just by showing up. This has mostly carried over to his time on the main roster as well. To put this in perspective, the sheer awesomeness of the gimmick earned cheers even when the Family was going up against '''[[Wrestling/BryanDanielson DANIEL BRYAN.]]'''
** Only increased further by his feud with John Cena. Cena's antics, and the general perception of their feud by many being that Wyatt's performance is the only thing standing in the way of Cena burying yet another shining young career, has now resulted in the fans eerily singing, clapping, and chanting in favor of Bray Wyatt and ''using the beat of Cena's own theme song for a "John Cena Sucks" song ala Wrestling/KurtAngle's original "You Suck" theme meme''.
** Crowds now will usually do some or all of the following: A) clapping along in the dark to the beat of "Broken Out Of Love" while B) holding up their cell phones as beacons of light while swaying them concert-style (Wyatt now refers to this as "his fireflies" and the previously darkened [=TitanTron=] now has a starry-sky motif to match the fans) C) sway spontaneously during a match while probably D) singing "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands", much to Bray's delight.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The fact that the crowd all lights their phones up and Wrestling/MichaelCole literally says ''lol he calls these his "fireflies"'' guarantees that they will never be the creepy, off kilter faction that they should. They are mass market as it gets, which is only the tip of the "Wyatts are being wasted" iceberg (''Losing constantly, not being scary, no meaningful feuds, stealing peoples' powers only to have them [[CliffhangerCopout revert back within 2 days]], and more! Next time, on Raw!'')
* VillainDecay: The Wyatt family are booked pretty much exactly how Skeletor and his goons are in ''Masters of the Universe'', with the role of He-Man being played by literally anyone on the roster. Word is that Vince thinks they're so over it barely matters how they're booked, and so they're the go-to guys to [[TheWorfEffect Worf]] for whichever face du juor is about to get a push.
** Suffered this after several underwhelming ends to feuds with [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], Wrestling/JohnCena, and Wrestling/ChrisJericho. While Bray is still considered one of the better in-ring talkers, his promos have started to lose credibility due to him having little impact on his opponents (particularly John Cena) and having no clear goal or focus despite what it looked since his beginning. It's gotten to the point where WWE attempted a retool on the entire Wyatt family, having Luke and Rowan "break free," from Bray to enter into singles competition and putting Bray into a feud with Wrestling/DeanAmbrose.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Contrary to what his full beard and preternatural mic skills would have you believe, Wyatt is actually the youngest male talent on the main roster at only 26.
** Second-youngest, now that his little brother, [[Wrestling/BoDallas Bo Dallas]] has made his debut on the main roster.

* FridgeBrilliance[=/=]MythologyGag: Bray's confidence going into WrestleMania XXX and the New Orleans crowd's ''overwhelming'' support of him makes a lot of sense given that Bray's original storyline hometown in NXT was actually '''Lafayette, Louisiana.'''

** Wrestlemania 2016 is conversely the highest and the lowest the Family has ever been. Interrupting a (rather pointless at that) segment with Wrestling/TheRock, The Rock proceeded to laud Bray's charisma and presence in what seemed to be a push for the Family, before proceeding to make them look like absolute fools by a) defeating Rowan in a record ''6 second match'' that likely no one will remember and pissed off more people than it made happy and b) proceeded to sweep the whole family with ease with the returning John Cena. To say the Family is gonna have a hard time recovering from this embarrassment is an understatement.

* JustForFun/XMeetsY: Braun Strowman is basically Bray Wyatt-meets-Wrestling/MarkHenry. A scary thought...

** Finally seems to be coming to an end during the build up to the Royal Rumble in 2016, as they spent the last week before the Rumble showing up at the end of RAW and SmackDown and demolishing Roman Reigns and BROCK LESNAR.

** Now with Braun Strowman as the new member, some think that he is a great reinforcement to the team and a terrifying character, while others opine that he is too green for the spot and that he is not credible enough as the invincible monster he is been pushed as. However, most of them think that, in one way or another, he was simply needed for the Family as it was becoming weak and stale, and that he can be an asset if they won't feed him to John Cena as everybody is fearing.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain[=/=]ForWantOfANail: Their decision to go after John Cena at an inopportune time set off a chain of events that ended up wrecking Wrestling/TheAuthority's power base. It severely pissed off Wrestling/TheShield (The Family interrupted a match involving the Shield, Cena, and a couple of other guys, with the three winners earning spots in the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Title. They attached Cena mid-match, thus causing the Shield to be disqualified through no fault of their own.) This led to a direct, public clash with Wrestling/TripleH (as the Shield demanded a match with the Family for revenge and Trips wanted them to stay on task doing the Authority's dirty work.) The Shield started to tire of being used as pawns, which earned Kane's ire and made it next to impossible for The Authority to control him any longer - which led to Kane accidentally outing Triple H as having tried to pull a YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness on the Shield at one point. Predictably, this severed the relationship between the Shield and the Authority, leading the Shield to turn face (and directly cost Triple H the championship during one episode) and pound the New Age Outlaws back into retirement. Triple H's only remaining in-ring hands other than himself were Wrestling/RandyOrton and a bunch of lower-card {{Mooks}} that weren't really invested in Trips's personal vendettas. Triple H had to [[Wrestling/{{Evolution}} take]] [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether drastic measures]] to keep any semblance of in-ring presence, and even ''that'' didn't work quite as planned. And maybe if The Wyatt Family had waited until Cena got backstage to beat the hell out of him that night, the first half of 2014 would have gone ''very'' differently.

*** Never mind that - what the ''hell'' did he do to Wrestling/BraunStrowman? We're talking about a 6'8", near-400-pound powerlifter that could probably crush Bray if he were so inclined (and Bray himself is no small fellow). And add to that the fact that he didn't show up until much later - was Wyatt already in the process of breaking Strowman while he and the other two prominent Family members were making their first public appearances? What if Strowman was in one of the other rooms of Bray's swamp hideout?? And for that matter, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse where's the guy that was in the zombie-like trance in that one room?]] Is he still there? Is he even still alive?
*** '''What in God's name''' did he manage to do to Wrestling/RandyOrton? First off, this is Randy freaking Orton we're talking about. Second, Randy's had a notoriously ''awful'' history as far as joining stables, and usually prefers to work alone. ''Third'', the two had been bitter enemies up to the point where he joined them, but has recently referred to Bray as a 'god'. [[MoreThanMindControl This all suggests that Wyatt had a little more than a creative sales pitch up his sleeve...]]

* NiceJobFixingItVillain[=/=]ForWantOfANail: Their decision to go after John Cena at an inopportune time set off a chain of events that ended up wrecking Wrestling/TheAuthority's power base. It severely pissed off Wrestling/TheShield (The Family interrupted a match involving the Shield, Cena, and a couple of other guys, with the three winners earning spots in the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Title. They attached Cena mid-match, thus causing the Shield to be disqualified through no fault of their own.) This led to a direct, public clash with Wrestling/TripleH (as the Shield demanded a match with the Family for revenge and Trips wanted them to stay on task doing the Authority's dirty work.) The Shield started to tire of being used as pawns, which earned Kane's ire and made it next to impossible for The Authority to control him any longer - which led to Kane accidentally outing Triple H as having tried to pull a YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness on the Shield at one point. Predictably, this severed the relationship between the Shield and the Authority, leading the Shield to turn face (and directly cost Triple H the championship during one episode) and pound the New Age Outlaws back into retirement. Triple H's only remaining in-ring hands other than himself were RandyOrton and a bunch of lower-card {{Mooks}} that weren't really invested in Trips's personal vendettas. Triple H had to [[Wrestling/{{Evolution}} take]] [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether drastic measures]] to keep any semblance of in-ring presence, and even ''that'' didn't work quite as planned. And maybe if The Wyatt Family had waited until Cena got backstage to beat the hell out of him that night, the first half of 2014 would have gone ''very'' differently.

** Now with Bran Strowman as the new member, some think that he is a great reinforcement to the team and a terrifying character, while others opine that he is too green for the spot and that he is not credible enough as the invincible monster he is been pushed as. However, most of them think that, in one way or another, he was simply needed for the Family as it was becoming weak and stale, and that he can be an asset if they won't feed him to John Cena as everybody is fearing.

*** Never mind that - what the ''hell'' did he do to Braun Strowman? We're talking about a 6'8", near-400-pound powerlifter that could probably crush Bray if he were so inclined (and Bray himsel is no small fellow). And add to that the fact that he didn't show up until much later - was Wyatt already in the process of breaking Strowman while he and the other two prominent Family members were making their first public appearances? What if Strowman was in one of the other rooms of Bray's swamp hideout?? And for that matter, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse where's the guy that was in the zombie-like trance in that one room?]] Is he still there? Is he even still alive?

* RescuedfromtheScrappyHeap: Braun Strowman BIG TIME! After the Brand Split in 2016, Braun got spent most of 2016 squashing jobbers and gradually improving. Shedding some pounds, expanding his moveset and in-ring psychology, Braun Strowman went from Scrappy to fan-favorite over the course of 2016. Braun can now move surprisingly quickly for a big-man and has gotten the opportunity to show off his strength more than he did in 2015 with fans wanting him to enter the main event scene.