History Wrestling / TheWyattFamily

The stable remains defunct and is unlikely to reform anytime soon due to three of the four primary members having other things on their plates and the fourth having passed away:
* Patriarch Bray was out of WWE for months starting towards the end of 2018 due to a battle with meningitis, before returning after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' 35 repackaged with a new gimmick as [[DepravedKidsShowHost the host]] of the [[SubvertedKidsShow Firefly Funhouse]], along with a JekyllAndHyde-style MonsterClown persona known only as "The Fiend" which is his new ''nom de guerre'' outside of segments and promos. The popularity of his new persona exploded, leading to a Universal Championship run at the end of 2019. After two years, he was released from the company before making his return in October 2022.

** They have a bizarro [[Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen Horsemen]] feel about them, from their claims of being the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse right down to [[MemeticHandGesture the upside down 4]] they flash after each match or spot. They got some good heat as heels who challenged multiple levels of WWE, but they just kinda got swallowed up in the midcards.

->''"I have no... followers. I only have brothers and sisters, all in the name of cause. People are sheep, you understand me? They can't lead themselves-- they need to be led. People buy and sell fear. They worship war, they crave war, but I'm not afraid of their wars! [[BadassBoast I CREATED WAR!]] And I think it's time for the masses to wake up, wake up, WAKE UP! WAKE UP and look at this LIE they're living in! The world is deteriorating between their toes, and they do nothing about it. They only stand there. They whisper and wonder but never do anything about it! But I've seen it all in my dreams and in my thoughts, and above everything else I understand: this is not the beginning... it's the end.''\\

* Patriarch Bray was out of WWE for months starting towards the end of 2018 due to a battle with meningitis, before returning after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' 35 repackaged with a new gimmick as [[DepravedKidsShowHost the host]] of the [[SubvertedKidsShow Firefly Funhouse]], along with a JekyllAndHyde-style MonsterClown persona known only as "The Fiend" which is his new ''nom de guerre'' outside of segments and promos. The popularity of his new persona exploded, leading to a Universal Championship run at the end of 2019. After two years, he was released from the company.

* Braun Strowman, since leaving the family, has long since been firm about going his own way and made it clear to Bray the last time they were in the ring together (at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'' 2016) that he was done with him. He has been in and out of the world title scene since, culminating in his winning the Universal Championship at ''Wrestlemania 36.'' A year later, he was released from the company.

* BeardOfEvil: All four of them. UpToEleven. Harper's is especially notable as it hangs down to his chest.

* CreepyChildrenSinging: On April 28, 2014, Bray scared the living hell out of John Cena by bringing in a crowd of children who sang "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" while wearing sheep masks. [[UpToEleven Taken even further]] at Extreme Rules 2014. And on the June 16, 2014 edition of Monday Night Raw, Jerry Lawler claimed that earlier in the week, a four-year-old girl asked him for his autograph. While he was signing it, he asked her who her favorite Raw superstar is, and she replied by staring Lawler square in his eyes and singing "He's got the whole world in his hands..."

* EvilIsBigger: Fits the trope pretty solidly. Bray himself is the shortest at 6'2" (not exactly small, but he's dwarfed by his stablemates), but weighs about 285 or so (and that's ''down'' significantly from his [[MeaningfulName Husky]] [[Wrestling/TheNexus Harris]] days). Luke Harper stands 6'5" and weighs roughly 270 pounds, and Erick Rowan comes in at about 6'8" and well over '''300 pounds.''' No flyweights in this stable. This was taken UpToEleven with the appearance of Braun Strowman, who replaced Erick Rowan in the family's second run (Rowan would since rejoin the group, however) and makes the latter look like a slim fellow; he comes in at 6'8" and about '''400 pounds.'''

** Back on NXT, Wyatt would often break out into a creepy rendition of Music/TheRollingStones's "Time Is On My Side" as a punctuation to end his promos. He doesn't do this anymore, but he did treat us to a similar rendition of "Mary Had A Little Lamb."

* {{Bookends}}: In his farewell promo (as a regular member of the NXT roster that is) to the NXT crowd in July 2013, Bray ends his speech with his creepy rendition of [[Music/TheRollingStones "Time Is On My Side"]], as he did in the early days of the gimmick on FCW/NXT.

* NiceHat: Wyatt wears a Panama hat/fedora hybrid when not wrestling.

* BlindingBangs[=/=]PeekABangs: Bray Wyatt. Not to say that he chooses one or the other-- his long, stringy hair tends to just hang in front of his face haphazardly, which can result in either of these tropes.

* Patriarch Bray was out of WWE for months starting towards the end of 2018 due to a battle with meningitis, before returning after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' 35 repackaged with a new gimmick as [[DepravedKidsShowHost the host]] of the [[SubvertedKidsShow Firefly Funhouse]], along with a JekyllAndHyde-style MonsterClown persona known only as "The Fiend" which is his new ''nom de guerre'' outside of segments and promos. The popularity of his new persona exploded, leading to a Universal Championship run at the end of 2019.

* Braun Strowman, since leaving the family, has long since been firm about going his own way and made it clear to Bray the last time they were in the ring together (at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'' 2016) that he was done with him. He has been in and out of the world title scene since, culminating in his winning the Universal Championship at ''Wrestlemania 36.''

* RealityEnsues: A strange, rare storyline example saw the Wyatts end up in a feud because their actions inadvertently pissed off a third party. They went after Wrestling/JohnCena during an important match teaming him and two other Superstars against Wrestling/TheShield, with the winning team being awarded the three spots that were left in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. Since they attacked Cena, the Shield were disqualified and lost their shot at headlining [=WrestleMania=]. The Hounds of Justice, predictably, were ''[[UnstoppableRage not happy]]'' about this, to the point where they demanded that Wrestling/TripleH give them a match against the Wyatt Family. [[Awesome/ProfessionalWrestling The result was AWESOME.]]

The stable remains defunct and is unlikely to reform anytime soon due to all four primary members having other things on their plates:

The Wyatt Family is a professional wrestling stable formerly consisting of Wrestling/BrayWyatt (real name Windham Rotunda), and his followers Wrestling/LukeHarper (real name Jon Huber), Wrestling/ErickRowan (real name Joseph Ruud), and Wrestling/BraunStrowman (real name Adam Scherr), although currently the stable are all separate from each other. Their gimmick is somewhat hard to describe, but think of the hillbillies from ''Film/{{Deliverance}}'' mixed with a creepy Charles Manson-esque cult. Wyatt himself has a bit of Max Cady from ''Film/CapeFear'' and the mannerisms of a Southern bayou preacher. They are a very dark, creepy bunch with an ominous presence enhanced by Wyatt's incredible mic skills and hypnotic charisma. They debuted on the July 8, 2013 edition of Monday Night Raw attacking Wrestling/{{Kane}} and injuring him. Since then, they have engaged in a number of feuds, including mid-late 2014 storylines with Wrestling/JohnCena, Wrestling/TheUsos and Wrestling/ChrisJericho.

* SpiritualSuccessor: The most obvious is [[{{Wrestling/Raven}} The Flock]], to take a non-WWE example.

* Luke Harper had [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse not been seen on television for some time]], only making sporadic appearances and then being granted his release from WWE in December 2019, before signing with ''Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling'' in 2020 (playing, ironically, a creepy and charismatic cult leader).

* ShoutOut: The whole family reminds some of ''Deliverance''. Bray himself is a CallBack to former WWE wrestler [[Wrestling/DanSpivey Waylon Mercy]], down to the Hawaiian shirts and soft-spoken demeanor. This is mostly due to sharing a mutual inspiration in Creator/RobertDeNiro's [[Film/CapeFear Max Cady]] portrayal. The scream of "DEA--" is similar to the way [[Music/Current93]] ends some of their songs in the ''Inmost Light'' trilogy.

* ShoutOut: The whole family reminds some of ''Deliverance''. Bray himself is a CallBack to former WWE wrestler [[Wrestling/DanSpivey Waylon Mercy]], down to the Hawaiian shirts and soft-spoken demeanor. This is mostly due to sharing a mutual inspiration in Creator/RobertDeNiro's [[Film/CapeFear Max Cady]] portrayal.

After Wyatt became the WWE Champion, Orton revealed his ruse to destroy the family, burning down Wyatt's house where Sister Abigal's ashes lay. The two collided at Wrestling/WrestleMania 33 with Randy coming out on top in a heavily-panned match. After the even more awful "House of Horrors match" at ''Payback 2017'' the feud mercifully ended and Bray moved on.

* Patriarch Bray was out of WWE for months starting towards the end of 2018 due to a battle with meningitis, before returning after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' 35 repackaged with a new gimmick as [[DepravedKidsShowHost the host]] of the [[SubvertedKidsShow Firefly Funhouse]], along with a JekyllAndHyde-style MonsterClown persona known only as "The Fiend" which is his new ''nom de guerre'' outside of segments and promos.
* Luke Harper had [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse not been seen on television for some time]], only making sporadic appearances before being granted his release from WWE in December 2019, before signing with ''Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling'' in 2020 (playing, ironically, a creepy and charismatic cult leader).
* Erick Rowan, who also had a bout with meningitis that kept him off TV, returned at the 2019 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' and joined forces with then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], helping him win his match that evening and leading to the pair joining forces as a duo of [[AnimalWrongsGroup deranged]] [[GranolaGirl environmentalists]]. After that alliance ended when he turned on Bryan, he too fell down the card and was released in March 2020.
* Braun Strowman, since leaving the family, has long since been firm about going his own way and made it clear to Bray the last time they were in the ring together (at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'' 2016) that he was done with him.

The stable remains defunct and is unlikely to reform anytime soon due to all four primary members having other things on their plates. Patriarch Bray was out of WWE for months starting towards the end of 2018 due to a battle with meningitis, before returning after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' 35 repackaged with a new gimmick as [[DepravedKidsShowHost the host]] of the [[SubvertedKidsShow Firefly Funhouse]], along with a JekyllAndHyde-style MonsterClown persona known only as "The Fiend" which is his new ''nom de guerre'' outside of segments and promos. Luke Harper had [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse not been seen on television for some time]], only making sporadic appearances before being granted his release from WWE in December 2019, before signing with ''Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling'' in 2020 (playing, ironically, a creepy and charismatic cult leader). Erick Rowan, who also had a bout with meningitis that kept him off TV, returned at the 2019 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' and joined forces with then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], helping him win his match that evening and leading to the pair joining forces as a duo of [[AnimalWrongsGroup deranged]] [[GranolaGirl environmentalists]]. Braun Strowman, since leaving the family, has long since been firm about going his own way and made it clear to Bray the last time they were in the ring together (at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'' 2016) that he was done with him.

The stable remains defunct and is unlikely to reform anytime soon due to all four primary members having other things on their plates. Patriarch Bray was out of WWE for months starting towards the end of 2018 due to a battle with meningitis, before returning after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' 35 repackaged with a new gimmick as [[DepravedKidsShowHost the host]] of the [[SubvertedKidsShow Firefly Funhouse]], along with a JekyllAndHyde-style MonsterClown persona known only as "The Fiend" which is his new ''nom de guerre'' outside of segments and promos. Luke Harper had [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse not been seen on television for some time]], only making sporadic appearances before being granted his release from WWE in December 2019. Erick Rowan, who also had a bout with meningitis that kept him off TV, returned at the 2019 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' and joined forces with then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], helping him win his match that evening and leading to the pair joining forces as a duo of [[AnimalWrongsGroup deranged]] [[GranolaGirl environmentalists]]. Braun Strowman, since leaving the family, has long since been firm about going his own way and made it clear to Bray the last time they were in the ring together (at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'' 2016) that he was done with him.

The stable remains defunct and is unlikely to reform anytime soon due to all four primary members having other things on their plates. Patriarch Bray was out of WWE for months starting towards the end of 2018 due to a battle with meningitis, before returning after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' 35 repackaged with a new gimmick as [[DepravedKidsShowHost the host]] of the [[SubvertedKidsShow Firefly Funhouse]], along with a JekyllAndHyde-style MonsterClown persona known only as "The Fiend" which is his new ''nom de guerre'' outside of segments and promos. Luke Harper has [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse not been seen on television for some time]]. Erick Rowan, who also had a bout with meningitis that kept him off TV, returned at the 2019 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' and joined forces with then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], helping him win his match that evening and leading to the pair joining forces as a duo of [[AnimalWrongsGroup deranged]] [[GranolaGirl environmentalists]]. Braun Strowman, since leaving the family, has long since been firm about going his own way and made it clear to Bray the last time they were in the ring together (at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'' 2016) that he was done with him.

The stable remains defunct and is unlikely to reform anytime soon due to all four primary members having other things on their plates. Patriarch Bray was out of WWE for months starting towards the end of 2018 due to a battle with meningitis, before returning after ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' 35 repackaged with a new gimmick as [[DepravedKidsShowHost the host]] of the [[SubvertedKidsShow Firefly Funhouse]], along with a JekyllAndHyde-style MonsterClown persona known only as "The Fiend" which is his new ''nom de guerre'' outside of segments and promos. Luke Harper has [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse not been seen on television for some time]]. Erick Rowan, who also had a bout with meningitis that kept him off TV, returned at the 2019 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' and joined forces with then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion [[Wrestling/ByranDanielson Daniel Bryan]], helping him win his match that evening and leading to the pair joining forces as a duo of [[AnimalWrongsGroup deranged]] [[GranolaGirl environmentalists]]. Braun Strowman, since leaving the family, has long since been firm about going his own way and made it clear to Bray the last time they were in the ring together (at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'' 2016) that he was done with him.

* LimitedWardrobe: Harper stands out. Wrestlers wearing the same ring gear for several months at a time is pretty common, but Harper takes it a step further. That suspicious-looking stain on his shirt never goes away, suggesting that not only does he wrestle in the same outfits, he wrestles in ''the same one shirt'', which, by the way, doesn't appear to have been washed since he debuted in WWE - if not since his indy days when he switched from his New Kids on the Block gimmick to his trucker gimmick. In his CHIKARA days, Sugar Dunkerton once got the fans to chant "Wash your shirt!" at him.

%%* PowerStable

* RealSongThemeTune:
** WWE bought the rights to [[Music/TheJesusAndMaryChain Mark Crozer's]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhki7cG55Lk "Broken Out In Love"]] so they could use it as Bray's theme song.
** "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", a public domain spiritual which Bray appropriated for his own purposes.

** Wrestling/{{Undertaker}} and Wrestling/{{Kane}} in Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 2015.