WWE WrestleMania 36: Who is ‘The Fiend’? The complex character of the man, Bray Wyatt, and his mask

He’s had many names: Rotundo, Husky Harris, Bray Wyatt.

But now, we know him as The Fiend.

Each name saw a different face, a different version of the WWE Superstar. And each of them shaped the man he is today, who will take on John Cena this weekend at WrestleMania 36, a two-night extravaganza available on FOX pay-per-view.

The third-generation talent comes from a long line of professional wrestlers, including his grandfather, Blackjack Mulligan, his father, Mike Rotunda, and two of his uncles, Barry and Kendall Windham. He and his brother, fellow WWE Superstar Bo Dallas, even teamed up in 2009, competing in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and becoming tag champions. But eventually, the Rotundo Brothers (yes, that’s how it was spelled) lost their titles and disbanded.

In 2010, Wyatt joined the first edition of NXT, back when it was more of a competition, under the name Husky Harris. But as a rookie, he didn’t find much success.

Due to his struggles, he returned to FCW, which became the NXT we know today. There, another persona was born.

Meet Bray Wyatt: The swamp-dwelling cult leader of the Wyatt Family. “The Eater of Worlds” and his followers, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, terrorized their opponents from the moment they stepped foot in WWE, destroying the demonic Kane in their July 2013 debut.

The Wyatt Family went on to wreak havoc and entangle themselves with big-name superstars, such as Daniel Bryan and John Cena. Like any family, though, they had their share of problems.

After initially being defeated by the Wyatt Family, Bryan wasn’t ready to surrender. He tricked Bray’s squad into thinking that he joined them, before turning on The Family. However, Bryan’s victory was short-lived.

The Family defeated him at the 2014 Royal Rumble, before costing Cena his WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the same night. You can watch the latter full match here; Wyatt and The Family make their presence known at the very end:

FULL MATCH: One of @WWE’s most storied rivalries writes a new chapter as @JohnCena battles @RandyOrton at #RoyalRumble 2014! https://t.co/G6JZnH4Gkc

— WWE (@WWE) January 20, 2020

And with that, a career-defining feud began.

Cena became Wyatt’s Kryptonite. At WrestleMania 30, Wyatt fell at the hands of the former Doctor of Thuganomics, marking his first pinfall loss as a star. It was a defeat from which, by his own admission, Wyatt could not recover. His cult disbanded. And although Wyatt would go on to win the WWE Championship, his reign was uneven at best.

Things were never the same. Wyatt made the most of a tag team partnership with Matt Hardy, but injury caused that pairing to fizzle out. He vanished from the scene without a trace for almost a year, only to be … reborn.

While the professor of his own brand of truth was terrifying in his own right, nothing compared to the new character he created – this time, alone.

His anticipated return was teased with a series of creepy videos, including his soul-shattering cackle, suggesting a character out of our nightmares. When he finally made his debut, though, still using his Bray Wyatt ring name, the darkness was nowhere to be found. Albeit different, there was seemingly nothing sinister about Wyatt and his “Firefly Fun House.”

But as time went on, the cracks in his facade started to appear.

Underneath loomed his unstable, unsettling and downright terrifying alter ego known as “The Fiend.”

Our collective nightmare was just beginning, and no one was immune. The Fiend terrorized many Superstars, including Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, and legends such as Kurt Angle and Mick Foley.

He even debuted his signature finisher, the Mandible Claw, on Foley, a move that Foley made famous — and one that embodies The Fiend’s sadistic self.

When it came to the modern day Superstars, there was a theme to The Fiend’s violence.

He attacked those he believed had wronged him in the past: Balor, whom Wyatt feuded with prior to his departure; Rollins, whose Shield squared off with The Family in a series of unbelievable matches — and who lost his Universal title to The Fiend as penance; and Bryan, whose transgressions we’ve covered, who was unable to overcome The Fiend in a brutal strap match:

Merciless in victory.#TheFiend @WWEBrayWyatt is STILL your #UniversalChampion after an extremely punishing #StrapMatch at #RoyalRumble. pic.twitter.com/Lh5rWx6Yji

— WWE (@WWE) January 27, 2020

The Fiend subsequently dropped the Universal Championship to Goldberg, but no matter. This sinister figure cares more for vengeance than titles, important though they are.

Now, at WrestleMania 36, The Fiend will have a chance to take on the man who was a catalyst for his transformation, in Cena. And don’t take our word for it. Wyatt explained how Mr. Hustle, Loyalty and Respect unleashed The Fiend on the world:

“Six years ago, at WrestleMania, you took something from me. … If it wasn’t for John Cena, the Firefly Fun House wouldn’t exist! You broke me, John. But The Fiend, he put me back together. He is waiting at WrestleMania. And unlike me, he is not so forgiving. Life is a circle. And no matter what beast you make of yourself, or how bright one side is, inevitably, the dark side comes again. And at WrestleMania, it’s going to be a slaughter. Let me in, John.”

This weekend, The Fiend will have the long-awaited opportunity to get his revenge … beware of letting him in.