This was a night that turned out to be quite the roller coaster but the biggest moment of the night happened just as the PPV was about to go off the air. The lights went out and the fireflies came out. A few minutes later, Bray Wyatt stepped into the arena. Wyatt hasn’t been seen on WWE TV since Wrestlemania 37 where he lost to Randy Orton. He was released from WWE about two months later due to creative differences with Vince McMahon.
After several months of build and anticipation, the WWE return of Bray Wyatt just before Extreme Rules went off the air was chef’s kiss. For months cryptic messages and QR Codes would randomly pop up on RAW, Smackdown and NXT eluding to a White Rabbit. Everyone assumed Wyatt would make his return on September 23 due to heavy references to the numbers “9.23”. All we got were more cryptic messages referencing a White Rabbit.
Who was the White Rabbit? Bray Wyatt of course.
The tenizens of the Firefly Funhouse as well Wyatt’s (former?) alter ego The Fiend all appeared in person during the reveal and it was quite fantastic to say the least. We see a video package showing the now abandoned Firefly Funhouse caked with cobwebs as this new phase in Wyndam Rotunda’s evolution as a performer.
I would not be surprised at all if Braun Strowman had a hand in WWE bringing the former Universal Champion back into the fold. Their friendship is well known. Strowman himself made a surprise return to WWE a few months back himself. Could former surviving Wyatt Family stable member Rowan also return?
WWE reportedly reached out to Bray Wyatt as soon as Vince McMahon retired. As I noted above, Wyatt and Vince didn’t see eye to eye on the direction of The Fiend character for over a year. Wyatt’s uncle commented online before his release saying WWE was mismanaging him. During his absence from WWE, Wyatt didn’t close the door on a potential WWE return. He did indicate weather he signed with AEW or returned to WWE either promotion should expect to pay a lot for him. Clearly Triple H made the better deal to him.
We’ll have to wait and see if Wyatt will be solo again or has a new stable. If Alexa Bliss’ reaction to Wyatt’s return is ANY indication, they might be working together again at some point in the future. As for who Bray Wyatt could feud with first, there is no shortage of old and new faces. I do hope he’s on RAW–Smackdown is oversaturated at this point–because he would greatly benefit from the extra hour RAW provides.
The only person he has unfinished business with on Smackdown is Roman Reigns but that can wait. For those who don’t remember, Reigns pinned The Fiend in the triple threat match that also involved Braun Strowman at Summer Slam 2020 to win the Universal Championship. That can wait like I said though. Wyatt needs time to reintroduce the WWE Universe to who he is and reestablish himself.
Finn Balor was the first person he defeated as The Fiend at Summer Slam 2019. It makes the most sense for Balor–with The Judgement Day in tow–to go after him. That could be interesting and more so if The Firefly Funhouse is now a stable.
It’s worth noting Bray Wyatt’s Twitter handle has been Wyatt 6. Notably, the denizens of the FIrefly Funhouse all appeared in person during Wyatt’s return. Keen eyes pointed out the presence of a RAW Women’s Championship next to Abby the Witch. That means the person behind the mask is a former RAW Women’s Champion. Given the shape of that person, my running theory is it’s Nia Jax.
Triple H did reveal two months ago he’s been talking to people about returning to WWE “no is is talking about”. Nia Jax is one such person. So is Bo Dallas. Bryan Alvarez from The Wrestling Oberserver is reporting Bo Dallas will be back in WWE soon. It remains to be seen if he will redebut by himself or join his IRL brother Bray Wyatt’s stable. We’ll see.
Getting back to the card, it was pretty wild and unpredictable. Twitter was quick to point out the false ending after the main event was a product of NXT. Just when you think the show’s over, it’s not. Props to Michael Cole and Corey Graves for both selling it and not talking much afterward.
The MASSIVE pops Wyatt got before he even came out though…Triple H must be printing money somewhere. We haven’t seen anything like this since Cody Rhodes made his return at Wrestlemania 38.
Let’s get to the card results in no particular order:
- Extreme Rules Match: Ronda Rousey def. Liv Morgan to become the new Smackdown Women’s Champion
- Good Old Donnybrook Match: The Brawlin’ Brutes def. Imperium
- Ladder Match: RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Bel Air def. Bayley
- I Quit Match: Finn Balor def. Edge
- Fight Pit Match: Riddle def. Seth Rollins
- Strap Match: Karrion Cross def. Drew McIntyre
Of the Women’s titles contested, I don’t think anyone was surprised by the outcome of the Extreme Rules Match. This is definitely one of those cases in which Liv Morgan won even though she lost. She proved she can hang with main event talent to say the least. If she stays on Smackdown, I see no reason for her feud with Ronda Rousey to end just yet. As a reminder, she didn’t submit. She passed out. So, Liv could make the case for one more match at Crown Jewel. We’ll see.
Sheamus became the first person since Ilia Dragonov last year to pin Gunther. That automatically gives him another shot at the Intercontinental Championship. At least one would assume. It was quite the match and everyone was spent by the end. Imperium will for sure bounce back from the loss but everyone involved looked fantastic. We have been seeing more and more of NXT Pete Dunne which tells me the official name change will likely happen sooner than later.
Bianca Belair beat Baley in a Ladder Match to retain the RAW Women’s Championship and had to go through the Women’s Tag Team Champions along the way. Bianca Belair can also now say she has beaten three of the Four Horsewomen of NXT: Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley. The only one left is due to return anytime now: Charlotte Flair. The two did have a match two years ago in NXT but a title wasn’t on the line. Times have changed since then.
Everyone will be talking about Rhea Ripley knocking out Beth Phoenix with brass knuckles and then hitting her with a conchairto but you can’t overlook the other big emotional moment of the match that Michael Cole sold: Dominik Mysterio merciliessly attacking his father. Ever since Dominik joined The Judgement Day, Rey swore he would never put his hands on his son. After what happened at Extreme Rules, we’ll have to see if he will still keep that vow or not.
Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins pushed each other to the limit in their Fight Pit match to say the least. Safety was obviously the top priority for everyone involved–I don’t blame MMA legend and guest referee Daniel Cormier for not being willing to climb to the upper level of the cage. Rollins clearly did not feel comfortable free falling from the upper level and that’s why he grabbed the ledge on the way down to soften the landing. Riddle didn’t seem to care and may have legit hurt himself during the finish.
Everyone is aware of what’s going on in Iran right now. Between that and OPEC’s decision to cut oil production by 2 Million barrels, most of the world hates Saudi Arabia right now. WWE has been heavily criticized ever since its 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia was announced five years ago. Daniel Bryan imfamously refused to compete at Crown Jewel in protest of the death of a New York Times reporter. Sami Zayn, who is of Iranian heritage also skips going to Saudi Arabia for personal safety reasons.
Unlike other PPVs, WWE does give most talent the option of not going to Saudi Arabia as long as talent give enough notice. This is also why they typically don’t announce matches until the weeks leading up to it. They want to allow time for necessary adjustments. All things considered, I do think we will see a number of high-profile superstars choose not to go this year due to current events.
Crown Jewel is four weeks away on November 5 and we already know the main even will be Reigns vs. Logan Paul. We’ve got four weeks to see the rest of the card filled out and at this point, it’s probably still safe to say at least two of them will be Women’s Matches. Belair or Rousey will likely be on the card. This would also be a good time for the Usos to compete as well. Bobby Lashley and Gunther will likely defend their titles at Crown Jewel as well so there’s that.
It’s now been confirmed Brock Lesnar will compete at Crown Jewel. Daniel Cormier is also not going anywhere anytime soon. If they are not booked ro face each other, I would be very surprised. Tyson Fury will also likely compete at Crown Jewel. It’s just a question of weather or not he’ll be competing with Drew McIntyre or against him. It goes without saying WWE shouldn’t have too much trouble filling the card for Crown Jewel.
At the same time, I still have the strong suspicion WWE might hold another PPV event in the U.S. the same weekend. Crown Jewel will be Saturday but nothing has been announced for Sunday. At least, not yet. We know War Games is not going to happen this year because it will be a part of Survivor Series. Or maybe WWE will bring back Evolution.
Breaking News!
Pro Wrestling Insider is reporting Luke/Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson are believed to be on their way back to WWE as soon as this month. They are expected to redebut on RAW and reunite with old friend AJ Styles…which they did on the October 10 Season Premeire of Monday Night RAW. The OC is back together!
On the Smackdown side, Sarah Logan is expected to return very soon and will be attached to the Viking Raiders. For those who don’t know, she is the wife of Viking Raider Erik. She was among those released in 2020 due to Pandemic-induced budget cuts. Shortly after her release she became pregnant with their son and so she just took a hiatus from wrestling overall. She made a surprise return at the 2022 Royal Rumble and though her face is not shown, she is the third person in the Viking Funeral the Viking Raiders recently did (her back is to the camera).
Disappointing news for those of us holding out hope we might see on Moxley back in WWE soon. AEW just announced they have signed the former WWE Superstar to a 5-year contract extension. Moxley revealed he signed the extension as soon as possible to head off any speculation he might threaten to sign with WWE as leverage. He has repeatedly made it clear he has zero interest in returning to WWE since he left in 2018. Now we know for sure Vince McMahon’s departure didn’t change that for him.
AEW also announced they have just signed Moxley’s wife Renee Paquette (Renee Young in WWE). With her signing, AEW now has all four former hosts of WWE Backstage under contract: Moxley, Paquette, Saraya (Paige in WWE), CM Punk and Samoa Joe.
Moxley’s departure from WWE will forever be a waste of main event talent as far as I’m concerned. AEW invested in Moxley and earned his loyalty. At the end of the day, AEW didn’t give him a reason to leave. That and he’s well aware WWE has been on a hot streak ever since Triple H took over. In announcing the contract extension now, he’s making it known where his loyalties will lie moving forward. You can’t help but respect that. It’s easy to forget he’s still friends with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins despite now working for another promotion. That won’t change either.
AEW shocked the wrestling world when they announced they have cleared Saraya to compete a few weeks after her AEW debut.
For those who need a reminder, Saraya’s wrestling career was cut short due to nagging injuries. Before she came to WWE, she’d been wrestling in the UK for quite some time. Due to her injuries, she missed out on the Women’s Revolution in WWE. She suffered what she came to terms with as a career-ending injury at a live show involving Sasha Banks.
This can’t be overstated: Saraya didn’t just accept the diagnosis. She sought doctors all over the world in an effort to find someone who could help get her cleared to wrestle. She stayed under contract with WWE and did other things from being General Manager to commentator to co-host of WWE Backstage. She parted ways with WWE last year after having a falling out with WWE’s then new Social Media policy.
Fast forward to last week. AEW physician Dr. Michael Sampson cleared Saraya to return to in-ring action. Dr. Sampson is the same doctor who saved Jerry Lawler’s life after he suffered a heart attack during RAW in 2012. It was a pretty controversial announcement to all of her fans but one thing that has been consistent about Saraya is she’s not the kind of person to let people dictate how she lives her life.
There’s also the fact Edge came back in 2020 after suffering what was for all intents and purposes a career-ending neck injury. Edge underwent triple fusion neck surgery and was cleared to return to in-ring action. Right after he made he return, attention shifted to Saraya. She shot it down, revealing although she suffered a similar injury, hers was deemed far more complicated in comparison.
Clearly things have changed for her since then.
I know the overwhelming majority of folks are worried for her personal safety but again, I’m sure she would not have gone this route without being aware of potential risks including paralysis from the neck down. WWE was not willing to take that risk but clearly AEW is more than willing to. All we can really do is hope for the best.
I know she’s at peace with herself if she gets hurt in the ring again so I can’t help but feel happy for her personally at this point. I mean legit happy with her. This was not a rash decision on her part and she gave it a lot of thought. That’s something people need to be mindful of.
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