The creative for Bray Wyatt had long been outside the box. Helping to introduce cinematic wrestling to WWE with the House Of Horrors match in addition to the Firefly Funhouse, Wyatt carved his own path in WWE. Splitting between his Wyatt and The Fiend personalities, plus all of the unique elements of the Funhouse, were a tough sell for plenty backstage but, according to Bruce Prichard, he helped get them over the line because he believed in them.
“I don’t know if there were maybe a handful of people — and when I say a handful, one handful — that thought this is just different enough, this is going to work big time. There were a lot more that were looking at us going, ‘What in the f*** is this?’ I’m back and new and I’m just begging, ‘Just go with it, try it,'” he explained on his “Something To Wrestle” podcast. “We were given a lot of leeway.”
The Firefly Funhouse segments often left fans trying to decipher Wyatt’s messages and meanings, aiming to make sense of his riddles. And while there was a contingent that was vocal about their displeasure with all of it, Prichard knew that it was about capturing the attention of those watching.
“That was the point: you weren’t supposed to get it. You were supposed to sit back, enjoy it, and go along for a ride. And it took you on a ride,” he said. “Kudos to Bray for being able to pull that off and continue to pull that off in a way that kept people captivated for a long time.”
If you use any quotes, please credit “Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard” with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.