Booking the Wyatt Family in the WWE

Booking the Wyatt Family in the WWE

With the Wyatt Family having a debut vignette on Raw, they will soon be debuting on non-NXT television. They will be making the jump from the small stage to the big stage and in order for them to suceed, a plan must be in place.

Before I get into my booking plants, lets take a look at the background of the Wyatt Family.

Who is the Wyatt Family?
The Wyatt Family consists of three members:
- Bray Wyatt
- Luke Harper
- Erick Rowan

Bray Wyatt is the former Husky Harris, who debuted on NXT Season 2 and was part of the main WWE roster in Nexus. He didn't last long though and was out as quick as he got started. He debuted his new character within weeks of the debut of the new NXT but was out with an injury for some time. He returned in Februrary 2013, leading his family.

Luke Harper is the former Brodie Lee from Chikara and various independents. He is big and has a good following online. I saw him a few times in person but didn't really see what was so special about it, but I also didn't see his best stuff. He debuted on NXT on November 7, 2012 ans has been pushed since his debut, currently being one half of the NXT tag team champions with fellow family member, Erick Rowan.

Erick Rowan is the third Wyatt Family member and one-half of the NXT tag team champions. I know very little about him except that he was trained by Eddie Sharkey in 2003 and did some touring with Pro Wrestling NOAH.

What is the Wyatt Family's gimmick?
The Wyatt Family are a cult gimmick. Bray Wyatt is the leader and always talks about seeing the light and knowing the real truth about things. Harper and Rowan are his disciples and are always said to be "in a trance" due to him. They generally look like they are being brain washed and look like they are pretty much zombies for Bray Wyatt.

How should the Wyatt Family be booked in the WWE?
Booking the Wyatt Family is an interesting task. They are not typical WWE characters and should not be booked as such. They are something out of a sci-fi movie or some wacky headline from a trash magazine.

Even though they only have done one vignette, they are off to good start in my eyes. Their vignette showcased how odd they are and make the viewer want to know more, especially once Rowan was wearing the lamb mask. Right from the start they stick out, and that is a good thing.

WWE should continue to create some vignette's for them. Show their odd side, mix in some clips of them punishing people on NXT and the stir the pot some with some Bray Wyatt quotes. The announcers remarked how "weird" their video was and they should continue to add their thoughts. I would then have a wrestler make a remark about them.

The wrestler should NOT be John Cena under any circumstances. While putting them against the biggest star seems great on paper, Cena would make an absolute joke of them and would kill their gimmick in quick fashion. Sheamus would probably do similar things, so I wouldn't pick him either.

I would choose someone in the main event or near the main event. This is going to sound really weird, especially for me, but I might even choose The Miz for this. I don't think The Miz is a great character, but he usually gets mic time and I think he could portray how odd these guys are without killing their characters in the process. He could have them on MizTV. Bray could talk about his usual odd stuff, Miz could make a comment and then boom, The Family attacks to create an instant feud.

The Miz would be able to use his mic time on Main Event and other shows to get them over and would provide a decent foil for them.

I would have this feud introduce The Wyatt's into the WWE and to lead them higher up the card. Another feud that would be interesting would be The Wyatt Family vs Team Hell No. Bray could talk about Kane's crazy side and even try to recruit him. Heck, Bray could even do this with Daniel Bryan and it might even work. The matches would probably be good and this would help fill time until they go on to their next feud, which would finally put them in the main event. The good thing too is that The Family has a tag team and could lead to a feud over the tag titles.

The next feud, which would probably put us some time after Summerslam, would finally have The Wyatt's tackle John Cena and possibly even a partner. While I do think The Wyatt Family vs John Cena could be a natural feud and could be pretty good, I would be worried about Cena making a joke of them as I mentioned above. Cena would have to have something bad done to him and would have to be serious about this. Cena would conquer The Family eventually, but it would cement them at the top of the card.

Where will the Wyatt Family end in WWE?
As much as I like The Family and as much as I do think my booking would work, I do not think it will happen. I worry that they will be stuck in the midcard and I worry that Vince won't really get it. One thing that they will have going for them is that Harper and Rowan are big guys. Vince loves big guys and as they saying goes "they will have to prove that they can't play". I don't think Bray will be joining them though as anything other than a manager, even though he is the complete package. WWE has basically told him multiple times that he isn't their idea of a star, and I don't see that changing. However, if Harper can make the main event someday, being the manager of him wouldn't be that bad of a job.

Final thoughts
I am excited for The Wyatt Family in the WWE. It is a fresh gimmick and I do find them entertaining. I think they could be a big cult hit in the WWE if WWE plays their cards right and Ido hope they succeed.

Feel free to tell me some ideas of your own for The Wyatt Family, as I would love to hear them!