WWE SummerSlam and Beyond: Discussing The Future Of The Wyatt Family

SummerSlam is just around the corner. The second biggest show of the year has a vibrant card to offer but between all the titles on the line, all the legends clashing and the divas rising, there is one storyline in particular that will take the WWE to the extreme. It is the story of a war between two families that share a bond stronger than blood – The Wyatt Family vs. what once was The Shield.

It will be no ordinary match. The Family War means that for these men there will be nothing more important than protecting the one by their side. However, when it’s all said and done; when the victors have taken all the glory and the losers have picked up all the pieces of their shattered bodies, where will each of them go? Ambrose and Reigns will find a way up and ahead as singles competitors. They’ve always been built like that, from the very conception of the Shield – each of them is an individual that can be great on their own but if need be, they’d always have each other’s back. Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt, on the other hand, are at a pivotal point. They have to figure out how they’ll reconstruct the Wyatt Family. They have to work towards a common future and that’s an idea worth exploring.

At first, it may seem as if Harper needs Bray Wyatt, while the reciprocal does not necessarily apply. In a way, that might be true – Bray can exist on his own as he is one of the most complicated WWE characters of our time. But Bray is a preacher. He spreads his twisted ideology and he has the eloquence of a cult leader. Having his devoted followers complements his persona. The ability to brainwash someone to the extent where they would gladly die for him is terrifying. It means that Bray Wyatt has the power to erase humanity out of the human; to make him his loyal soldier, ready to do anything he’s asked to do. Facing a man with empty eyes is much scarier that the prospect of physical pain. You cannot reason with blind devotion. Once the Wyatt Family have set their sight on you, once Bray Wyatt decidies to destroy you, there is no talking out of it, there’s no going back, just a fight till the very end.  Bray Wyatt wants to be the New Face of Fear and having Luke Harper by his side makes him just that.

However, when I see Bray Wyatt with Luke Harper on his left, I have the feeling that there is something missing. That elusive piece of the puzzle is Erick Rowan. Without him the Wyatt Family is incomplete. Then again, without the Wyatt Family Erick Rowan is no one. He flopped as a singles competitor even worse than Luke Harper did. It’s nothing that Rowan did wrong. It was just that his new face gimmick completely missed the target. Rowan should have been a quiet genius but ended up being Rain Man, trying to be intimidating. Erick Rowan was left out, without a place to go. Now, the prodigal son of the Wyatt Family has the perfect chance to return where he belongs – right next to Bray Wyatt.

This Sunday at Summer Slam, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose should get the victory but the power should remain with the Wyatt Family. Erick Rowan should return to bestow that power upon Bray Wyatt. Whether Reigns and Ambrose win by disqualification, caused by Rowan, or they win and then get attacked by the reformed Wyatt Family, makes no difference. All that needs to happen is to make the Wyatts complete again. Reigns and Ambrose have nothing to lose, especially if they’ve never been beaten clean, but all three members of the Wyatt Family have a lot to gain from standing tall at the end of the second biggest show of the year.

The Wyatt Family finally have the chance to get the reign of dominance they never had. When they came on the scene two years ago their debut coincided with the boom of the Shield. Although both factions are brilliant in their own way, the Wyatts never stood a chance against the Shield. Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins represented an ideal. They were heel but they were respected, they were loved because the WWE Universe saw the justice in their actions. The Hounds of Jsutice had a moral code, defined by honor and they conquered the right to never answer to anyone. They were strong individuals but they always had their eyes set in the same direction, always above petty envy. They were warriors. They were men that kept their word and cherished their dignity. The Shield were the living, breathing image of what real men should be. They had a firm grip on theWWE Universe and the Wyatts could not break that.

The Wyatt Family is much different than the Shield. It’s a horror movie that came to life. Bray Wyatt is a storyteller. He talks as if he does not belong to this world. He plays with biblical references and teases with supernatural. The Wyatt Family is an escape from reality and they bring a parallel universe to the table. Their world is connected to ours but isn’t necessarily the same thing. Their story is detached from normality. This is why the Wyatts, despite being entertaining and extremely over, never reached the supremacy of the Shield. All the gold went to the individuals, to the role models, to the Shield. However, the Shield is no more and the Wyatt Family is back. If Erick Rowan returns to the Family, he and Luke Harper could decimate the opposition in the tag team division. At the same  time, Bray Wyatt could decorate himself with the US championship.

As a stable that holds half of the titles in the WWE, the Wyatt Family could shift drastically the power balance in the company. Suddenly, the tag team championship wouldn’t be all fun and games any more. The division would have to face evil and overcome fear to get close to the gold. As for Bray Wyatt, he could turn into a legend. Whether Cena or Rollins have the US Championship after Summer Slam, defeating them would be a huge achievement. John Cena is John Cena and Seth Rollins, if he has the title, would have had to beat Cena to get it, thus becoming the first ever WWE World Heavyweight & US Champion. Taking down either one of them would be monumental for Bray Wyatt. Anyone who challenges him for the title after that would have to face a monster with a cult following behind him. This would be the era of the Wyatts.

I believe that the time is right for the Wyatt Family to set the Age of Fear upon the WWE Universe.

What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised.