Go2Sleep Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 1 hour ago, Curt McGirt said: This may be retrospect but we could be pretty harsh towards him on here. There was a lot of "...and then the bell rang" talk but I thought dude could work, he just got saddled with bad creative at times, and you can point that in many directions instead of just his. No matter how you feel about him he was part of the hottest runs in wrestling in the last 20 years. Anyway, this is way too young and way too sad. RIP. He doesn't have to be your favorite wrestler to recognize that anyone who puts their body through the WWE meat grinder as part of a grand goal to entertain us for a couple hours a week and dies at 36 with a young family behind is a tragedy. The quality of his work is immaterial. I don't think I liked much he did on screen from like 2016 on, but this is a top five hardest hitting wrestling death for me, and it's pretty sad that's actually a category. As for his on-screen legacy, I think his career will be remembered more fondly than it was received in real time due to his tragic death, but no doubt first-run Wyatt Family was an all-time stable. He also maintained a "shit's about to get real" aura well into his career. The lights going out in the 10s is up there with Taker's gong and Brock's guitar screech. In a promotion with more creative leeway, it's easy to imagine he would've accomplished a lot more. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) People cared deeply about him, people who likely needed something to care about, and he did nothing to wrong them. You can argue that the intrigue around his last return is what started to turn things around for the company, all the little Easter eggs. I thought the endgame of the Authority angle should have been Bray taking over the company. He was babyface Dusty Rhodes waiting to happen and now he never will. You have to feel for his family and his fans. Edited August 25, 2023 by Matt D 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Dave Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 There are a few reasons why I finally stopped watching WWE programming a couple years back. One of the biggest, if not the biggest, was the gross mishandling of Wyatt's onscreen character. I thought the failure to truly see what they had with an athlete as unorthodox and as gifted as Windham was as clear an indictment of their creative process as any. I wanted so badly for Wyatt the character to ascend to the heights occupied by guys like the Undertaker and Steve Austin. He was that prodigious a promo. He will be missed. In addition to his family, who I have already prayed for, I'll whisper a quick one for Erick Rowan, too. This can't be easy, and I hope he's among friends tonight. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 6 minutes ago, Matt D said: People cared deeply about him, people who likely needed something to care about, and he did nothing to wrong them. You can argue that the intrigue around his last return is what started to turn things around for the company, all the little Easter eggs. I thought the endgame of the Authority angle should have been Bray taking over the company. He was babyface Dusty Rhodes waiting to happen and now he never will. You have to feel for his familiar and his fans. His goodbye to NXT promo is straight babyface Dusty. A face version of the original Bray character would have been epic, 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 2013 was a real bad year for WWE, I don’t know if anyone remembers that time. It was just bland as all hell. Wyatt Family coming along definitely injected some intrigue into the shows. Me, personally, I was obsessed with those debut vignettes. I still watch a playlist of them to this day. The one where a WWE.com “reporter” goes to the Wyatt Family Compound doesn’t even feel like a WWE made segment, honestly. All of those videos are exactly the best kind of creepy and intriguing, but that one was the peak of it (and I think the last one before they debuted? That night, maybe?) 2014 felt like a watershed year for that group and Bray himself. I still question the decision of Cena over Bray at WrestleMania. A lot of positives coming out of that ‘Mania were later undone pretty quickly, but if felt like a fresh start at the time. I could never get into anything he did post-swamp preacher gimmick, but I love love love the Firefly Funhouse match with Cena at the pandemic WrestleMania. Lots of cinematic matches during that time, but that one was VERY different and felt special. A match that is basically a deep dive into a wrestler’s psyche? What??? I have heart problems too, and stuff like this scares the fuck out of me. Last year, I had gotten COVID the weekend I was in the hospital because of heart issues. This hits way too close to home for me. I’m a little shook, to be honest. Rest easy, Windham. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 I was pretty critical of a lot of the Bray Wyatt supernatural angles, but a part of me always thought that he was always just inches away from closing the gap from goofy and hokey to fun and interesting. I'm really sad that we'll never see him close that gap, because his talent was so fucking evident that I took for granted that it was going to happen. I wish I spent more time appreciating him for what he was and what he brought to the table than complaining that his home-cooked meal wasn't always Michelin star level. When someone is trying to push the limits like he did, there are going to be some hits and misses. I often get caught up in overanalyzing the things that I love to the point that I don't realize I'm making myself miserable until it's too late. That is how I felt when I heard Bray Wyatt died. When he debuted, even as Husky Harris, I was really intrigued about where he was going to go. He just had something that made you want to pay attention to him. Then The Wyatt Family debuted and I just knew he was going to be a top star going forward. He never reached the heights that I expected, but he had one hell of a run. I just wish he had a little longer. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamBroken Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 1 hour ago, Corwo said: The brief run tagging with Orton was fun as well. They had a really good match with American Alpha on the 11/29/2016 episode of SmackDown Might have been my favorite run of his. Thought he and Orton made an excellent team while it lasted, loved their work in the Survivor Series tag also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) Fucking hell. Bray Wyatt was a favourite of mine as the head of the Wyatt Family then as the kids TV presenter with the alter ego as The Fiend. Two of my best live experiences at a wrestling show was his entrances in April 2015 waiving my phone as part of his Fireflies and in November 2019 as The Fiend chanting Hurt/Heal. I'll be watching The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield at Elimination Chamber 2014 today, one of the best matches ever. *****. What a horrible week in wrestling. Love to Bray's family and friends at this sad time. Edited August 25, 2023 by The Natural 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dq8BxYJgwXo&pp=ygUaYnJheSB3eWF0dCB2cyBkYW5pZWwgYnJ5YW4%3D Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan, Royal Rumble 2014. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4wwhl5 The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield, Elimination Chamber 2014. *****. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JXEXKP5VtpI&t=359s&pp=ygUaYnJheSB3eWF0dCBzdW1tZXJzbGFtIDIwMTk%3D The Fiend's first match and his best entrance by far, SummerSlam 2019. Edited August 25, 2023 by The Natural 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
username Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 One thing I believe in strongly is that while wrestling is the matches that take place in the ring it is not only that, and I think without hyperbole Bray realized that more than anyone else of his generation. He was never a top worker (also not a bad one and as noted I am a harsh grader of matches and the Wyatts/Shield 6 man may be a legit 5 star affair) but I can close my eyes and picture several entrances, promos or even moments (the finger gun pinfall!) that remain vibrant and important. We have a star rating system for matches but no way to try and divine the importance of say the Undertaker's entrance, yet the latter is worth no less because of it. If wrestling is more than just what happens in the ring then Bray was a maestro of those aspects, ambitious and not without failings but singular in a way few ever are. And hell I feel truly awful for those that were close to both him and Brodie, to go through that pain a couple years ago only to have it come back around so soon and similarly is just cruel. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 What an abysmal 48 hours in the wrestling community. My condolances to all his friends and family. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 Bray Wyatt's passing on BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66613784 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 9 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said: The way that's worded: So he caught COVID and it made an underlying heart issue worse? Man.... It is truly sad but at least it was natural causes. I feared that his substance abuse issue had returned to haunt him and I am thankful that's not the case. Those demons will not tarnish his legacy. He and his work can be properly celebrated. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 Just terrible. I could deal with Terry Funk because I'd heard it was coming for a while. But this is so sad. Windham was special because he tried to do something truly creative every week. Sometimes it missed and sometimes it hit, but I always respected that he went big and put himself out there for it. I think that's why he was kind of bullet proof when it came to creative. People respected that he was at least trying his damndest to make magic happen in a business where magic can easily fade away behind commodity. I'm thankful I got to see such a performer who cared that much about their craft. And I'm sad because I know they had so much more to show the world. Terrible news. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Dave Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 Someone earlier posted that they thought that the Authority story should’ve ended with Bray taking control of wwe. My friends and I had a Google doc where we booked that out during the pandemic. No audience. Just us, for shits & giggles. Maybe in a few days I’ll post some of it. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 One of these days, we need to bring back the Hidden Gems section so that someone can create a Best of Dusty's promo days show. Always some great stuff. Here is one that Naylor posted that really shows off all of these parties talents. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyJ Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 For me part of the mystique of wrestling is even accepting it's a work I do not understand how the performers put themselves through what they do. I'm in my early 40s and have a largely sedentary lifestyle. Over time I've accumulated a handful of chronic injuries which will affect me for the rest of my life. I can not imagine what it must be like for someones body to take such a pounding on a nightly basis. More details will come out but some bodies are not made for this kind of trauma. As far as Bray, I look at him as a really toolsy performer who was his own worst enemy. Undeniably compelling and magnetic persona who could not be controlled and given too much creative freedom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 Booker T found out while on the air. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 55 minutes ago, hammerva said: One of these days, we need to bring back the Hidden Gems section so that someone can create a Best of Dusty's promo days show. Always some great stuff. Here is one that Naylor posted that really shows off all of these parties talents. I don't know Naylor, but I'm sure I've interacted with him at some point over the years. I just want to say that of all the people I've encountered in the internet, I envy his relationship with wrestling the most. He seems to have seen it at every level, met the heroes worth meeting, and just loves what he loves and disregards the rest. I hope he's doing OK. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 35 minutes ago, The Natural said: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzQ7XfjRVnU Booker T found out while on the air. In medias res on an apparent celebration of the life of Terry Funk, really sums up this awful week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zendragon Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 That Wyatt v Sheild match might be the best US six man ever. I've been watching some of his promo's on youtube and wow. He was something! Way too young 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 2 hours ago, hammerva said: One of these days, we need to bring back the Hidden Gems section so that someone can create a Best of Dusty's promo days show. Always some great stuff. Here is one that Naylor posted that really shows off all of these parties talents. Okay turns out that a guy with a family history of using the Claw might have been a good pick to use the Claw in a televised wrestling setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 17 minutes ago, zendragon said: That Wyatt v Sheild match might be the best US six man ever. I've been watching some of his promo's on youtube and wow. He was something! Way too young I love The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield match at Elimination Chamber 2014, *****. Me and @Greggulator talk about it a lot on the board. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 Bray Wyatt's passing reminds me of Eddie Guerrero, Mr. Brodie Lee and Jay Briscoe, a total shock outta nowhere. All way too young. Fuck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 I'm trying to think of matches that had more "irresistible force vs. immovable object" energy this century than the first Shield/Wyatts match. Cena/Lesnar at Extreme Rules 12 is the only one in the neighborhood from WWE I think. The first Omega/Okada match maybe? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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