"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt is one of the creepiest wrestling characters ever, and horror legend Tom Savini was commissioned to create his startling mask. Wyatt is one of many professional wrestlers to have to head back to the drawing board after a poor debut. Wyatt originally competed in WWE under the name Husky Harris, but it quickly became apparent that he wasn't quite ready for the big time. Thankfully, Wyatt spent a couple years on WWE's NXT developmental brand, and returned to the main roster in 2013 with the crazed cult leader character fans came to love and fear.
One of the marks of a great WWE performer though is knowing when to change and evolve one's character with the times. Thus, last year, after returning from a long hiatus, Wyatt debuted a new persona, two in fact. The first was a seemingly reformed Bray Wyatt that now hosted a children's show called the Firefly Fun House, and expressed remorse for his past misdeeds. The second was The Fiend, a monstrous masked villain that when competing in the ring appears nearly invulnerable and unstoppable.
The Fiend's mask is one of the coolest in wrestling history, and it's no wonder, as legendary horror makeup artist and special effects creator Tom Savini was brought in to help design the hideous item. Here's how that came about.
Tom Savini's The Fiend Mask Crosses Horror With WWE
Tom Savini boasts one of the coolest resumes in horror history, primarily in the effects realm, but he's also had success as an actor and director. Savini worked a lot with zombie master George Romero, including on Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and Creepshow. He also counts among his projects the first Friday the 13th film, and its terrific 1984 sequel Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. However, Savini is also a long-time wrestling fan, and has been seen in the crowd at WWE events in the past.
Savini's company, Tom Savini Studios, first worked with WWE in 2011, and alongside protege and former student Jason Baker, he's designed masks and other props for wrestlers as varied as Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Erick Rowan, and Kalisto. With Wyatt's Firefly Fun House segments though, Savini, Baker, and crew got more involved than ever, designing the puppets, the sets, and just about everything else seen in the clips. That said, Baker gives full credit to Wyatt himself for the concept behind the mask's look, as well as those of a creepy decapitated head lantern he carries to the ring, and the specialized Fiend title belt Wyatt has worn onscreen since becoming WWE Universal Champion.