After the shock death of Bray Wyatt, his last match in wresting is not the one fans will want to remember him by.
Bray Wyatt’s last match in WWE was somewhat of a disappointment and may have ruined the mystique and aura of his character forever,
His WWE career could be over for the second time in as many years, after one of the most hyped returns turned into a disappointing return.
He sadly passed away on August 24th, 2023, aged just 36.
Bray Wyatt lured the fans into predicting his return, with the White Rabbit cryptic clues leading to his comeback in the WWE.
However, despite appearing for The first time in two years in October 2022, he only wrestled once (in televised appearances), when he defeated LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match at the 2023 Royal Rumble.
This match was a huge disappointment, and after a cancelled bout with Bobby Lashely at WrestleMania 39, followed by an unnamed illness, that terrible bout was Bray Wyatt’s last match in WWE.
Bray Wyatt’s Last Match In His First Run
Bray Wyatt’s last match in WWE before his release was against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37.
The match came at the climax of a long and bloody feud between the former partners, attempting to make good on their disastrous WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 33.
Their rivalry lasted months and saw some of the most ridiculous supernatural moments WWE has ever seen.
Teleportation, hypnosis, projectile black gunk vomit, fireballs, and various other magical elements were used to build up their bout, with WWE making use of the lack of crowds for some interesting ideas that would have never worked in front of a sold-out audience.
The most memorable part of that feud was when Randy Orton lit Bray Wyatt, as his menacing alter ego The Fiend, on fire in the middle of the ring.
This was horrifying and something not seen since Kane set Jim Ross alight backstage 20 years prior. However, when Orton lit up Bray Wyatt it was much was terrifying and brutal looking, adding stakes to the match that we’ve never seen before.
The rivalry also saw Alexa Bliss turn into The Fiend’s own demonic princess who made Orton’s life a living hell, as Wyatt recovered from his burns.
She even wrestled Randy Orton at Fastlane 2021 and defeated the 14 time world champion, thanks to interference form a returning, heavily charred Fiend.
This would all lead to Bray Wyatt’s final WWE match at Wrestlemania 37. Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton opened the show, with The Fiend taking centre stage.
He was revealed to be healed from his almighty burns, entering from what Michael Cole called a “Box-like Structure” – in actual fact, it was a giant Jack-in-the-Box that Alexa Bliss opened for him, just outside the ring.
However, as nobody at all expected, Wyatt would be defeated in his last outing by a single RKO from Randy Orton. He was distracted by Alexa Bliss, who rose from the box on stage to reveal a new all-black ensemble, couples with black goo dripping from her face.
This caused The Fiend to lose all the invincibility powers he had built up and succumbed to an RKO (outta nowhere) from Orton, who pinned him for the victory in a short match that should have been so much more.
Considering at Hell in a Cell the year prior, The Fiend had kicked out of 11 of Seth Rollins’ Curb Stomps with ease, it seemed a little silly he would be defeated in this fashion.
Bray Wyatt would not be seen in WWE after this match. He took some time off at WrestleMania 37 for reasons not revealed to the public.
Some claim it was due to his sadness at the death of former Wyatt Family member Brodie Lee. Others have speculated injury or mental health issue could be to blame for his absence.
They were never revealed, but his contract would soon be terminated by WWE in one of the most shocking WWE releases in the past decade. Wyatt was released by WWE on July 31, 2021 as part of a larger group of releases, allegedly due to “budget cuts” in a record year for profits for WWE.
Wyatt was one of the highest merch sellers in WWE, so it was a huge shock when he was let go by the company.
He was also one of the highest earners in the company, sitting just below Roman Reigns in the amount of wages he was earning yearly.
While salaries in WWE are not released, it can be assumed he was earning upwards of $1 million per year to wrestle in WWE, if not multiple millions.
Bray Wyatt’s Last Match
Bray Wyatt’s last match in wresting was the Mountain Dew Pitch black match at the 2023 Royal Rumble.
It was a brand new stipulation for the first match back in WWE for Bray Wyatt in two years and the anticipation was enormous.
Wyatt was known for his fun and terrifying horror-style matches, although they always received mixed reactions from fans.
Unfortunately the match was much worse than expected. The Pitch Black Match was not what anyone expected with very little supernatural elements to it.
The lights were turned off but a black light illuminated the arena. Various parts of the match were “glow in the dark” such as ring ropes, popcorn on the floor and LA Knight’s ring gear.
The rules of Bray Wyatt’s Pitch Black Match were just a regular No-Disqualification match.
This would have been fine had WWE not tried to convince everyone this was a brand-new match type. Bray Wyatt won the first ever Pitch Black Match by hitting LA Knight with a Sister Abigail and pinning him for the victory.
After the match, Bray Wyatt took LA Knight to a stage area and laid him on a table. Uncle Howdy, the spooky creature who has been accompanying Wyatt in recent months, leapt from some scaffolding and crashed the through the table. This ended in a big explosion to mark the culmination of the Pitch Black Match at the 2023 Royal Rumble.
What did you think of Bray Wyatt’s Last Match? Let us know in the comments or click below to read about Bray Wyatt’s First Match in his WWE career
Hamish is a writer and podcaster and wrestling fan who is a key part of the Atletifo team.
After playing countless hours of WrestleMania X8 on the Gamecube, he discovered Rey Mysterio getting his head crushed by The Great Khali, and thus a love for professional wrestling was born.
He is also a Media Graduate, as well as writing for multiple sites about Premier League football and the culture of Wales – his home country.
