On Saturday, July 31, WWE released Bray Wyatt from his contract reportedly due to budget cuts despite the company having plans for him to make his return sometime this month, but it is believed that Bray Wyatt’s WWE release had nothing to do with the budget cuts brought about by COVID-19 nor does it have anything to do with Bray Wyatt’s mental health as that was one of the other reasons cited. The reason for Bray’s WWE release is believed to be Wyatt and the WWE having creative differences as he was kept on the shelf for months and even though Wyatt was advertised for a number of live events prior to his release, WWE really had nothing for Wyatt moving forward and they could not agree on his WWE future.
Bray Wyatt is reportedly still under a 90-day non-compete clause with the WWE, which is set to expire on Friday, October 29, which is just a few days prior to AEW’s Full Gear PPV on Saturday, November 6, so it was initially believed that if Wyatt does end up in All Elite Wrestling, then he will be making his debut with the company only after this date, but Dave Meltzer reported on a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that if Wyatt does sign with AEW, the talk is that he will make his AEW debut on the Wednesday, September 29 episode of AEW Dynamite, which will take place in Rochester, New York, the hometown of the late Brodie Lee.
The possible debut date of Bray Wyatt with All Elite Wrestling is interesting to say the least as his 90-day non-compete clause with the WWE is set to only expire one month after the AEW Dynamite episode in Rochester, so it’s possible that Bray was under some other non-compete clause and not the standard 90-day clause.
Dave Meltzer also reported on a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that if Bray does not end up making his AEW debut on the September 29th episode of Dynamite, then he could end up going to IMPACT Wrestling and making his debut at their Bound For Glory PPV in Las Vegas on October 23rd as officials in IMPACT Wrestling are reportedly really interested in signing Wyatt to a contract, but it was also mentioned that AEW seems to be the likely destination for Wyatt and AEW officials believe he will sign with the company as soon as he is legally able to.
Bray Wyatt last competed for the WWE at last April’s WrestleMania 37, when he lost a Singles Match to Randy Orton. There is no word yet on creative plans for Wyatt if or when he signs with AEW, but it is believed that perhaps All Elite Wrestling is considering him to work with The Dark Order.
