Bray Wyatt discusses his mindset following his WWE release and details how he has felt since his return.
WWE released Wyatt on July 31, 2021, and he was largely absent from the wrestling world until he returned to the company at Extreme Rules 2022. He has regularly appeared on WWE programming ever since, and he will face LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match at WWE Royal Rumble.
Speaking on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Wyatt discussed his looming return to the ring at WWE Royal Rumble. While he has competed at house shows, the match will be his first televised bout since he lost to Randy Orton at WWE WrestleMania 37 in 2021. Wyatt noted that, given his lengthy absence, he felt some doubt. However, he described how he has started to come into his own, as he has remembered how much performing means to him.
“I think that there’s a certain reluctancy to me, where there hasn’t been in the past,’ Wyatt said. “It’s part of any athlete, when you’re away from something for so long, there’s something in the back of your head that’s like, ‘Am I still it? Am I still what I am, what I should be?’ I think that, for the majority since I’ve been back, I was kind of there in a sense.
“As the weeks have progressed, I’ve really started to come into my own again and start to remember why I do this and how much it means to me to be out there and performing at things like the Royal Rumble. So it’s like the closer I’ve gotten, I’ve started to really start to sink my teeth into being what I should be.
Satin brought up Wyatt’s heartfelt promo following his return at WWE Extreme Rules and the way the former Universal Champion showed his true self to the fans. Wyatt then detailed how he felt broken following his WWE release, and fans helped bring him back by telling him that they missed him.
“Genuinely, that moment, it was not for me,” Wyatt said. “During my time away, I had opportunities to do really cool things, movies and TV shows and stuff, and I wouldn’t because I felt broken. It was like there was something that was just shut off, and I didn’t understand why.
“So it was literally people telling me and just keeping me alive and dragging me back, telling me that, ‘You should still do this. We miss you.’ Because I didn’t feel that way at first. I felt damaged, and it was that that kind of gave me the strength to build back out and explode. It was geared for them.”
Wyatt went on to explain that his passion drives him to the point of obsession, and it’s what makes him connect in such a meaningful way. He also stated that his fans brought him back to where he is today.
“I despise the way my mind works, and that’s the truth of it all. I’m the first person to ever tell you all my flaws,” Wyatt said. “I refuse to watch myself back. I’ve never seen pretty much anything that I’ve ever done, I can’t watch. I’m just that kind of head case, man. It’s also kind of my superpower. What makes me me is the obsession, and when I’m geared on something, I’m so deep into it that there is no separating life from anything else. It just is.
“When I dive deep like that, it’s what makes me connect, and it’s the reason that I have fans that are so into what I do, it feels like it’s part of their life too. If I didn’t have such passionate fans, I wouldn’t be here. I really wouldn’t. It’s them that led me back here.”
Satin also noted that, in the same promo, Wyatt acknowledged that he dealt with the loss of some friends during his time away from WWE. Wyatt discussed how he struggled after Brodie Lee passed away, and he lost two of his other friends as well. He stated that he has been on a challenging journey to get to this point, but he feels better than ever now.
“There was so much going on,” Wyatt said. “With all of that, it was out of nowhere. I wasn’t prepared for any of that. I lost my childhood best friend, I lost Brodie, I lost my best friend for college Mark Olive. It was something that I think I didn’t deal with very well . I think Brodie’s wife Amanda dealt with it and the kids have dealt with it better than me and Rowan did. There’s something there that reminds me of him every single day.
“I think that time period was just a conundrum for me. I wasn’t myself, and it took me a while to remember what makes me, me, and it was a long journey, but it’s led me here and to this moment. This is the best I’ve ever felt.”
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