The dramatic return made by Bray Wyatt at WWE Extreme Rules has been a hit with wrestling fans, and people inside the company feel the same way.
Fightful Select cites sources saying that “Wyatt’s return was very well received” and that internal sentiment is that decision makers are “very happy with the buzz created in the weeks leading up to WWE Extreme Rules with the QR codes and cryptic videos.”
Beginning in mid-September, WWE began seeding hints for Wyatt’s return, starting by playing the Jefferson Airplane song “White Rabbit” during house shows and commercial breaks at TV tapings. That campaign picked up in intensity in recent weeks with QR codes in the background of Raw and SmackDown or displayed briefly on-screen, each leading to mysterious clues fans were more than happy to dive into to try to decipher.
It was a different tactic for WWE, which historically has either promoted major returns more obviously with vignettes on its TV shows, or gone the opposite route and used them as outright surprises at events like the Royal Rumble. But it’s certainly seemed to pay off, with legitimate and widespread excitement when Wyatt and his new band of Firefly Funhouse friends arrived to close out Extreme Rules Saturday night in Philadelphia.
It’s also worth noting that WWE delivered exactly what the majority of fans were hoping for in the sense that the White Rabbit campaign had been suggesting that it would be Wyatt for some time. There can be value in swerves — and pro wrestling history is full of successful examples — but often it’s best to give the people what they want, which was the case here.
Fightful Select backed up that idea too, with one source saying they were “completely convinced that Wyatt was back with WWE and heading back” a month before Extreme Rules. There’s work to be done now to assure that the goodwill generated by this popular return isn’t squandered, but for now, call this both an internal and external success.