New Details Reportedly Revealed On Bray Wyatt’s WWE Release
A new report has provided more details on the reasons behind WWE releasing Bray Wyatt, including the creative direction of his story with Randy Orton and a breakdown of his relationship with Vince McMahon.
WWE announced Wyatt’s release on July 31st, 2021 following nearly 10 years with the promotion. It was widely reported that the release came about because of budget cuts, however, a new report from Fightful Select has claimed there were numerous reasons behind the move.
According to the report, the WWE creative team were told in the summer that Wyatt had been cleared for action and would be returning to the company prior to his release. It went on to say that Randy Orton was scheduled to take time off following their match at WrestleMania 36 and not Wyatt.
Additionally, both Wyatt and Orton, among others, were said to be upset with the creative direction and outcome of the WrestleMania match, which was changed only two days prior to the event. Fightful were also told that there was “never a true creative endgame” for the six-month storyline.
The report also stated that “numerous people” told them that Vince McMahon didn’t like Wyatt by the time of his release because of how outspoken he was when felt creative was bad. Although Wyatt hasn’t confirmed it, the Creative team were told that one frustration Wyatt had surrounded the “burned Fiend” angle as the suit felt was too heavy and it difficult to move inside.
The nature of Wyatt’s release has led to concerns in the company that nobody’s job is safe.
“A consensus was that almost nobody in the company truly believed this was a budget cut… several other long-time stars said that they don’t feel like their jobs are safe any longer, despite of their positions on the card or prior pushes.”
Bray Wyatt recently teased a return to the ring by counting down the days until his WWE non-compete contract expires on social media. There is no news on where or when Wyatt will next appear at the time of writing.