Watch: Bray Wyatt returns with new mask, suitably spooky vibes at Extreme Rules

Now Bray Wyatt really does have the whole (wrestling) world in his hands.

The chase for the White Rabbit appears to be over, and it’s led to the person many WWE fans were hoping it would all along: Bray Wyatt.

Weeks of QR codes and various other hints and riddles paid off at Extreme Rules from Philadelphia on Saturday night — but not until the very end of the show.

After the Fight Pit match finished up, a confused Michael Cole questioned whether the event was still on the air. The lights went out and the fans lit up their phones like fireflies from Wyatt’s previous run in WWE.

As “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” played (another Wyatt staple), spotlights illuminated human versions of Bray’s various Firefly Characters in different places around the arena. Cole and Corey Graves freaked out as a severed head was on the announce table, then the Fiend appeared nearby.

But that wasn’t Wyatt. His return came shortly after, via a mysterious glowing door.

The broadcast showed a look at the Firefly Funhouse, but in a state of disuse and disrepair. A new masked figure appeared on a TV there.

“Who killed the world? You did,” said the masked visage, echoing a phrase found in the White Rabbit clues.

The door was flung open, then the light behind it went out. Replacing it was a lantern, held by the masked figure from the TV. As you may have guessed, it was Wyatt under the mask, who said “I’m here” and extinguished the lantern. The last thing on the broadcast was the symbol pictured above.

Here’s what Wyatt’s return looked like to fans in attendance at Wells Fargo Center in Philly:

Wyatt’s return comes 15 months after his surprising release from WWE. Unlike many other released performers, he never surfaced elsewhere, leading many fans to hope he would pop back up in WWE eventually.

WWE began stoking the flames for his comeback in mid-September, playing the Jefferson Airplane song “White Rabbit” at house shows and during commercial breaks at TV tapings. What followed were weeks of scavenger hunt-style clues, usually found by following QR codes flashed during Raw or SmackDown.

Though Wyatt was the most obvious candidate to be at the center of it all and recent hints pointed toward Extreme Rules as the night he might appear, WWE did an excellent job creating just enough doubt that no one could be 100% sure either would be the case. It’s hard to imagine Wyatt won’t be one of the hottest personalities in pro wrestling for the rest of 2022 now, as people will be tuning in to see what he does next.