It’s been more than six months since Bray Wyatt last stepped into a WWE ring in the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match against LA Knight at Royal Rumble. A new report sheds a little more light on why he’s been out so long, as well as providing a positive update for fans hoping to see him back in the fold.
Fightful Select (subscription required) cites sources saying Wyatt is “getting closer” to returning. Creative plans have even been discussed with this in mind, though the site says those are very much tentative since he needs to be medically cleared first.
Though the reason Wyatt has been out of action has never been officially disclosed by WWE, a number of outlets have reported that it was an illness, and not an injury suffered in the ring, that was the cause of his absence. Without going into detail, Fightful describes that illness as “both career and life threatening” while confirming that his health has “improved significantly.”
Wyatt was a surprise release from WWE in the spring of 2021, and spent the next 18 months out of pro wrestling altogether. He returned at Extreme Rules 2022 after a extensive “White Rabbit” tease running through WWE programming that seemed to capture the imagination of fans at the time.
Always one to explore new facets to his on-screen character, this version of Wyatt wanted to stay on the straight and narrow but struggled with controlling his darker side. He introduced fans to the mysterious Uncle Howdy (played by Wyatt’s real life brother, Bo Dallas), a masked figure who sometimes aided but often taunted Wyatt.
One thing Wyatt hasn’t done much of in this WWE run is wrestle. The Pitch Black match, which was widely panned for being overbooked, has been his only televised match in this run, though Wyatt did work some house show dates against Jinder Mahal and Knight.
Wyatt was planned for a WrestleMania 39 bout against Bobby Lashley, but it was shelved when he got sick (and Lashley notably didn’t receive a replacement opponent). There are undoubtedly many who would love to see him back in action, but even more who are glad his health is getting better after what sounds like a legitimate scare.