WWE SummerSlam played host to several memorable moments, but few were as weird as the new entrance and wrestling style of Bray Wyatt as The Fiend. Not only was this the newly slimmed down Wyatt's first match in his new character, it was also his first televised match in almost an entire year. Wyatt's last TV match before SummerSlam was on an August 13, 2018 episode of Raw in which he teamed with Matt Hardy to take on The B-Team (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas) for the Raw Tag Team Championship.
Of course, much of the spring and summer was spent reintroducing fans to Wyatt via his viral Firefly Funhouse segments, which featured the former cult leader transformed into a Mr. Rogers-esque children's show host. That was until the points in each episode in which Wyatt's real evil nature would come to the surface. Each Firefly Funhouse segment was weirder than the last, at least until they suddenly stopped. Puppet characters from Firefly Funhouse would make cameo appearances on Raw and SmackDown, but Wyatt himself didn't appear live on TV again until attacking Finn Balor a few weeks ago.
The final installment in the original Firefly Funhouse series saw Wyatt reveal his "secret," a new persona dubbed "The Fiend" that was somehow way more demented and dangerous than Wyatt used to be. Wyatt's showdown with Balor at SummerSlam had many wondering what exactly fans would see out of The Fiend, and the answer was lots and lots of creepiness. Wyatt entered to a new revamp of his old theme music with the words Hurt and Heal chanted along in the background, and most disturbingly, carried a realistic head of his old self instead of his usual lantern. Wyatt would go on to defeat Balor with the Mandible Claw hold. Check out an image, some gifs and a clip of the match and entrance below. WWE has yet to release The Fiend's full entrance online.
It's certainly no surprise that Wyatt's Fiend persona all but squashed Balor, as it's normal to heavily put over a new character, especially one as menacing as The Fiend. Balor has also been rumored to be taking some time off soon too, setting up a likely rekindled feud with Wyatt upon his return to the ring. One wonders though who will be The Fiend's next target, as no real reason was ever given for him targeting Balor, none that made any sense at least. Wyatt is a great talker, but The Fiend isn't exactly rational.
The live SummerSlam crowd in Toronto was majorly into Wyatt's new gimmick too, and now it's up to WWE's creative team to continue The Fiend's momentum. In the past, the writers have had a habit of suddenly kneecapping Wyatt whenever he's really started to gain traction. For example, his first - and to date only - WWE Championship reign lasted less than 60 days before he dropped the belt to Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXXIII. If Wyatt is truly to finally rise up and be the WWE's next dominant monster heel, he needs to get some big wins over some big players. Beating Balor was a good start.