http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/article2529425.html
From his Hawaiian shirts and Fedoras to the way he carries himself, Bray Wyatt is the most unique and original WWE superstar to come along in some time.
This enigma is also at the top of the list of popular characters fans want to play in the upcoming “WWE 2K15” video game.
Every bit of “The Eater of Worlds” is captured. This includes his iconic entrance, complete with catchy music and firefly-like glows emanating from thousands of cell phones in the crowd. Wyatt’s walk to the ring is truly an experience and often elicits goose bumps.
“It is right on. It is on point,” Wyatt said. “That’s what it was the first time. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the lights was in London. I remember we were walking out and [Luke] Harper says to me, ‘You seeing this man?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it’s pretty incredible.’ I remember just being engulfed in the feeling. It’s so cool how they captured it. It just doesn’t look like a bunch of lights going off everywhere. They somewhere found a way to encompass the feeling, the way [the camera] spins around panoramic. It’s just immaculate.”
Wyatt’s ability to communicate in front of an audience also makes him standout. The dialogue and his verbal delivery are often poetic and a recipe for creating captivating television. The orator’s cadence and style comes from an assortment of inspirations.
“When I speak, I like to speak powerfully,” Wyatt said. “I like feeling behind my words. I just don’t say things. Everything I say has a piece. Martin Luther King Jr., I’ve studied a lot of his work. Just the way he was able to speak, and the power he gives us is really incredible. In my opinion he is the greatest speaker of all-time. There are so many that I’ve studied and idolized. It’s deep for me…”
The MyCareer mode in “WWE 2K15” will give gamers a chance to see what it’s like to start in the company’s Performance Center and NXT. The WWE developmental program in Florida is a path Wyatt took twice. His initial go-round on TV was as Husky Harris, a background member of the Nexus, son of Mike Rotunda (I.R.S.) and grandson of Blackjack Mulligan. The second stint allowed Wyatt to show more of himself creatively and emerge from the shadows of his family lineage. The performer became the patriarch of the Wyatt Family, flanked by Erick Rowan and Harper.
“Mine has always been a different case,” he said. “I’m very uncoachable at times. I kind of have this mystique about myself where I don’t like people telling me what to do. I can tell you Hunter [Triple H] was very instrumental in the upbringing of the Wyatts. He saw something in us that we saw. We were so attached to it that we were dying to make it work and to get it out there.
“Hunter saw the same thing. From the first glance, people are just comparing us to hillbillies. I’ve heard ‘Deliverance’ and all kinds of things, but they were missing that underlying factor. Hunter was able to see that because we are more complex in the way we speak if you listen to the message behind it. You’re not looking at three Neanderthals. You’re looking at three very smart, capable athletes. Hunter was able to see it.”
There is a definitive edge to Wyatt’s character in spite of WWE’s dedication to producing “PG” programming.
“I don’t think I toe the line,” he said. “The things I say sometimes can be offensive to some, but for the ones that can figure it out and solve the puzzle or the labyrinths I put out there, they deserve it. Here is your cake. Here is the prize because there are so many complexities. I like to throw curveballs.
“Did you pick that? Did you catch this? Did you catch that? Most of the time it goes over the peoples’ heads, and that’s the way I would have done it in the ‘Attitude Era’ too. I don’t think there are many setbacks for me because I’m my own.”
It has been a banner year so far for the emerging superstar. Within a matter of months Wyatt was embroiled in big feuds with Daniel Bryan, John Cena and Chris Jericho. He sees each as tests.
“I got pretty lucky with what I’ve been able to accomplish against who I’ve been able to accomplish it with in this short span I’ve been here,” Wyatt said. “I look at them as badges. I take a badge here and a badge here. Before long, when a new up-and-comer comes along, and he crosses paths with me, it becomes, ‘Oh my God. He gets to work with Bray Wyatt.’ That’s what you really strive to become. I’ll take on any legend I can while I climb that ladder and dispense of them as I will or may.”
When you think of pillars of the industry, there are none respected more than The Undertaker. Wyatt refers to the Phenom as “the holy grail.”
“Bray Wyatt versus The Undertaker would be the greatest I could accomplish,” he said. “Just being there side-by-side with him. I get the comparisons, but we are also very different. He is ‘The Deadman.’ He will always be ‘The Deadman,’ and I’m Bray Wyatt. When or if, or when we shall meet, it will be every bit of everything I thought it would be.”
Q&A with Bray:
The rocking chairs…How many do you own? Where do they come from? Are they from Cracker Barrel?
BW: “I don’t know where I get those from.”
Where is the Wyatt Family compound located?
BW: “Why would I tell you? Why on Earth would I tell you? It’s somewhere in Louisiana. Find it.”
The lantern is part of your entrance. Where did that come from?
BW: “It was kind of an idea that was thrown around with all of us. It was a very experimental thing. We weren’t sure if it would work or not. Thank God it did because look at it now. A lot of these gambles we’ve taken over the years, some have paid off and some failed miserably. That’s what completes you as an entertainer is your fails and hits. You build yourself and thicken your skin.”
Looking at the future, do you see yourself staying with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan? Do you feel they’ve become big enough to branch out on their own or do you want to be on your own?
BW: “We will always be brothers. You will just have to wait and see.”
From his Hawaiian shirts and Fedoras to the way he carries himself, Bray Wyatt is the most unique and original WWE superstar to come along in some time.
This enigma is also at the top of the list of popular characters fans want to play in the upcoming “WWE 2K15” video game.
Every bit of “The Eater of Worlds” is captured. This includes his iconic entrance, complete with catchy music and firefly-like glows emanating from thousands of cell phones in the crowd. Wyatt’s walk to the ring is truly an experience and often elicits goose bumps.
“It is right on. It is on point,” Wyatt said. “That’s what it was the first time. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the lights was in London. I remember we were walking out and [Luke] Harper says to me, ‘You seeing this man?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it’s pretty incredible.’ I remember just being engulfed in the feeling. It’s so cool how they captured it. It just doesn’t look like a bunch of lights going off everywhere. They somewhere found a way to encompass the feeling, the way [the camera] spins around panoramic. It’s just immaculate.”
Wyatt’s ability to communicate in front of an audience also makes him standout. The dialogue and his verbal delivery are often poetic and a recipe for creating captivating television. The orator’s cadence and style comes from an assortment of inspirations.
“When I speak, I like to speak powerfully,” Wyatt said. “I like feeling behind my words. I just don’t say things. Everything I say has a piece. Martin Luther King Jr., I’ve studied a lot of his work. Just the way he was able to speak, and the power he gives us is really incredible. In my opinion he is the greatest speaker of all-time. There are so many that I’ve studied and idolized. It’s deep for me…”
The MyCareer mode in “WWE 2K15” will give gamers a chance to see what it’s like to start in the company’s Performance Center and NXT. The WWE developmental program in Florida is a path Wyatt took twice. His initial go-round on TV was as Husky Harris, a background member of the Nexus, son of Mike Rotunda (I.R.S.) and grandson of Blackjack Mulligan. The second stint allowed Wyatt to show more of himself creatively and emerge from the shadows of his family lineage. The performer became the patriarch of the Wyatt Family, flanked by Erick Rowan and Harper.
“Mine has always been a different case,” he said. “I’m very uncoachable at times. I kind of have this mystique about myself where I don’t like people telling me what to do. I can tell you Hunter [Triple H] was very instrumental in the upbringing of the Wyatts. He saw something in us that we saw. We were so attached to it that we were dying to make it work and to get it out there.
“Hunter saw the same thing. From the first glance, people are just comparing us to hillbillies. I’ve heard ‘Deliverance’ and all kinds of things, but they were missing that underlying factor. Hunter was able to see that because we are more complex in the way we speak if you listen to the message behind it. You’re not looking at three Neanderthals. You’re looking at three very smart, capable athletes. Hunter was able to see it.”
There is a definitive edge to Wyatt’s character in spite of WWE’s dedication to producing “PG” programming.
“I don’t think I toe the line,” he said. “The things I say sometimes can be offensive to some, but for the ones that can figure it out and solve the puzzle or the labyrinths I put out there, they deserve it. Here is your cake. Here is the prize because there are so many complexities. I like to throw curveballs.
“Did you pick that? Did you catch this? Did you catch that? Most of the time it goes over the peoples’ heads, and that’s the way I would have done it in the ‘Attitude Era’ too. I don’t think there are many setbacks for me because I’m my own.”
It has been a banner year so far for the emerging superstar. Within a matter of months Wyatt was embroiled in big feuds with Daniel Bryan, John Cena and Chris Jericho. He sees each as tests.
“I got pretty lucky with what I’ve been able to accomplish against who I’ve been able to accomplish it with in this short span I’ve been here,” Wyatt said. “I look at them as badges. I take a badge here and a badge here. Before long, when a new up-and-comer comes along, and he crosses paths with me, it becomes, ‘Oh my God. He gets to work with Bray Wyatt.’ That’s what you really strive to become. I’ll take on any legend I can while I climb that ladder and dispense of them as I will or may.”
When you think of pillars of the industry, there are none respected more than The Undertaker. Wyatt refers to the Phenom as “the holy grail.”
“Bray Wyatt versus The Undertaker would be the greatest I could accomplish,” he said. “Just being there side-by-side with him. I get the comparisons, but we are also very different. He is ‘The Deadman.’ He will always be ‘The Deadman,’ and I’m Bray Wyatt. When or if, or when we shall meet, it will be every bit of everything I thought it would be.”
Q&A with Bray:
The rocking chairs…How many do you own? Where do they come from? Are they from Cracker Barrel?
BW: “I don’t know where I get those from.”
Where is the Wyatt Family compound located?
BW: “Why would I tell you? Why on Earth would I tell you? It’s somewhere in Louisiana. Find it.”
The lantern is part of your entrance. Where did that come from?
BW: “It was kind of an idea that was thrown around with all of us. It was a very experimental thing. We weren’t sure if it would work or not. Thank God it did because look at it now. A lot of these gambles we’ve taken over the years, some have paid off and some failed miserably. That’s what completes you as an entertainer is your fails and hits. You build yourself and thicken your skin.”
Looking at the future, do you see yourself staying with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan? Do you feel they’ve become big enough to branch out on their own or do you want to be on your own?
BW: “We will always be brothers. You will just have to wait and see.”
