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Why did WWE let go of Bray Wyatt? 'The Fiend' fans say Vince McMahon 'killed him in two months'

Bray Wyatt was preparing to return to the WWE in August and was booked on some shows but budget cuts may have stopped him in his tracks

In a surprising turn of events, WWE talent relations executive John Laurinaitis reportedly informed Bray Wyatt that he was being let go because of budget cuts, news outlets revealed on Sunday, August 1, 2021. The 34-year-old was planning to return to WWE television in August after a nearly four-month hiatus. He'd even been scheduled to appear on some WWE broadcasts.

In recent months, several WWE stars, like Aleister Black and Braun Strowman, have been released owing to financial issues. Lars Sullivan was taken off the show so that Universal Champion Roman Reigns could be pushed as the sole top heel on the brand. Wyatt on August 1 became the latest high-profile name to be released for that reason, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.

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But as many WWE stars are let go, some are coming back to the ring, much to the delight of fans. 'Drama King' Aiden English, for example, is set to be joining IMPACT wrestling. Fans agreed that the wrestler had been 'overlooked for too long'.

Why was Bray Wyatt released?

Bray Wyatt, the former three-time world champion was released by WWE after 12 years with promotion. The WWE announced that the wrestler, who was known for his work as the leader of the Wyatt Family and more recently as 'The Fiend,' had been let go.

WWE pinned the release on Twitter at first but subsequently removed the tweet, the Wrestling Observer reported. They tweeted the news again a short time later. Laurinaitis informed Wyatt that his release was due to financial cuts. 

In WWE, Wyatt is a three-time world champion, having won the Universal Championship twice and the WWE Championship once. He debuted in NXT as Husky Harris in 2010 — when the show was more of a reality competition than a wrestling brand — and temporarily joined the Nexus faction before returning to WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling to retool his persona, CBS Sports reported.

Wyatt, the son of former WCW and WWE star Mike Rotunda and the nephew of Barry Windham, assumed the role of Bray Wyatt, the head of a southern swamp cult that included Luke Harper, Erik Rowan, and eventually Braun Strowman. Following their debut to the main roster in 2013, the group quickly established themselves as a top act in NXT (now a developmental territory rebrand of FCW) and WWE.

He last competed in April at WrestleMania 37, where he lost a confusingly short match to Randy Orton. After the event, Wyatt made one appearance in a 'Firefly Fun House' segment, but he had virtually completely vanished from WWE programming in the months leading up to his release, CBS reported. No member of the original Wyatt Family is still under WWE contract as of Wyatt's release.

'It felt like WWE had found their new Undertaker'

Fans took to Twitter to share their views. "But let’s keeping bringing this guy back a million times," said one. "WWE doesn't know how to make money off talent like Aleister Black or Bray Wyatt. Better to cut their losses and stick to the cookie cutter nonsense," another opined. "He clearly was very affected by Brodie’s passing and is going though some issues instead of blaming WWE like the marks do maybe it’s Bray who wanted this," said another referring to the death of Brodie Lee, aka Luke Harper who was a good friend of the wrestler. "I’m one more release away from not watching no more," said a fourth. 

There were others, who blamed Vince McMahon for this release. One fan of the sport tweeted: "Sad. I was at SummerSlam in Toronto when The Fiend debuted. It felt like WWE had found their new Undertaker: Just treat him like a special attraction, carefully navigate him away from the title, & The Fiend could be a draw for the next 15+ years. Vince killed him in 2 months."

One claimed: "WWE and Vince McMahon took Bray Wyatt’s entire gimmick, gave it to Alexa Bliss, and then they fired him. The audacity…" Another shared, "WWE screwed up by releasing Bray Wyatt. I was really looking forward to the fiend vs The Demon Finn Balor and Willow. Vince McMahon needs to retire and handover the reigns to HHH. NXT is the only show that makes sense in WWE." While another mused, "I’am starting to think WWE want to go out of business kept sending AEW talent @WWEBrayWyatt
was a incredible talent Vince McMahon has lost his mind."

However, Vince has not made a statement as yet, regarding this release and nor is there any confirmation of Vince's role in this move by the WWE.