Vince McMahon Accused Of Insulting & Punishing Bray Wyatt In WWE

Matt Hardy recently spoke at length about the odd and reportedly harsh relationship that Vince McMahon and Bray Wyatt had while in WWE.

Vince McMahon Accused Of Insulting & Punishing Bray Wyatt In WWE

Bray Wyatt, a.k.a The Fiend, hasn’t wrestled since WWE released him in July 0f 2021, and details have emerged about the performer’s strange relationship with Vince McMahon. Wyatt always seemed to bring out-of-the-box ideas to the table. From his work as The Fiend to his eerie promos as the Bray Wyatt character, there was always some mysticism that shrouded his performances, both in and outside the ring.

During a few different runs, Wyatt was one of the most over acts in WWE. The Wyatt Family stable was involved in numerous high-profile feuds and allowed him to work with the likes of Randy Orton and Bryan Danielson (known as Daniel Bryan to strict WWE fans). Bray Wyatt then evolved into The Fiend, and the Firefly Fun House segments were some of the most captivating on television at the time. It also seems like a part of Fiend’s presence remains in Alexa Bliss’ character, and where that goes is still an active part of WWE programming.

It sounds like that creativity came at a cost, however. In the most recent episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Matt spoke about Wyatt’s odd relationship with Vince McMahon. “When [Wyatt] would do things that [McMahon] liked, he would love him and he would really give him everything that he could possibly give him… But then when he did something he didn’t like, he hated, like he was going to lock him away for good.” Those are tough working conditions, and Hardy went on to mention that the COO of WWE would “punish him and insult” Wyatt when the creative he brought to the table didn’t quite hit the mark. (h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)

Characters like The Fiend can be challenging to book, but McMahon never seemed to have similar issues with The Undertaker. When Wyatt first emerged as a main-event level talent, fans wondered if he would be the one to take up Undertaker’s mantle as WWE’s resident spooky character. The Fiend dialed that aspect of Wyatt up to 11, and when it was working, it was one of the most over elements of the company’s shows.

A terrible string of matches doomed The Fiend’s run, though. It was decided that a returning Bill Goldberg would go over on Wyatt at WWE Super ShowDown, winning the Universal Championship for the second time in his career. And Wyatt’s match with Seth Rollins at Hell In A Cell in 2019 is still a black mark on The Visionary’s resume, one that he’ll try to erase in a likely barn burner with Cody Rhodes next month. Wyatt hasn’t wrestled for any other company since WWE released him, and reports indicate that he’s doing just fine outside of the sport of kings. It’d take a solid chunk of change to lure him back into action, and it remains to be seen whether or not AEW or IMPACT wants to make that kind of investment in the 34-year-old veteran.