Husky Harris was a fat, unimpressive, no talent loser when he first debuted on NXT and in the WWE, and nothing about him was impressive. He debuted by attacking John Cena (so much coincidence to be explained later) so that Wade Barrett could win the match, and have Cena join the Nexus. He had a minor tag team run with Michael McGuillicutty now known as Curtis Axel, but mostly did nothing except be whipped by CM Punk when he took over Nexus (and named it New Nexus) and jump on people back first (a running senton, his finisher).
Husky disappeared for a while and no one really cared. Most people assumed he only got on the roster because he was 3rd generation, some just didn’t think about him at all, some were glad that he was gone, but no one predicted what would happen after his absence.
What happened? Husky lost some weight (though he’s gained some of it back) and came back as a completely new character: a spooky Swampland Cult Leader by the name of Bray Wyatt. Bray was a charismatic leader with compelling promos and led two other men (Luke Harper and Erik Rowan) in a stable called the Wyatt family.
Bray wowed people in NXT and got fairly over, even though I myself didn’t quite see the hoopla. Bray was brought up to the main roster and feuded with Kane. I still didn’t see much, but he had certainly improved from his atrocious Husky Harris persona, while he continued to garner even more praise. Perhaps my belief that Kane (a monster in his own right) shouldn’t immediately lose to a new comer affected my thoughts of Bray, but so far he was decent at best, a bit overrated actually.
Then Bray feuded on and off with other faces such as CM Punk and Daniel Bryan (mostly Daniel Bryan), all the time cutting promos, establishing a bit of supernatural mystique about himself, and consequently improving his standing in my mind.
His big break out moment for everybody (even though most people already enjoyed his promos) was his match with Daniel Bryan at the Royal Rumble. Not only was it a surprisingly good match (some say great), but it separated Bray from most other temporarily pushed heels that existed only for a face comeuppance. Bray won, clean, against one of the top guys in Daniel Bryan who not even John Cena or Randy Orton could beat 1 on 1.
So now Bray was nearly a total package: he had mic skills, had a certain presence and charisma, the supernatural mystique, and he could go in the ring against the right opponent. He furthered these talks with his (in my opinion) 5 star match at Elimination Chamber (Wyatt Family vs. The Shield) and has continued great mic work in his feud with Cena going into Wrestlemania and Extreme Rules.
Now he lost to Cena at Wrestlemania, slowing down his momentum and his path to being a star. Hopefully he defeats Cena and doesn’t get buried hopelessly as many others have. But even if that doesn’t happen, it’s clear and mystifying to see the complete evolution that someone like the hopeless Husky Harris has made into the charismatic Bray Wyatt needs to be rewarded, praised, and analyzed.
It almost begs the question of “What other hopeless, talentless goons could’ve been this good if only they got a change in gimmick?”
That question is one that literally can’t be answered but, for now, it is imperative to give Bray the praise he deserves for turning that train wreck of a career around, as well as praise for improving so much in every area of wrestling.
Time will tell if he is ultimately successful, but until then, Follow the Buzzards.
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