He once again has the whole wrestling world in his hands. Bray Wyatt made his highly-anticipated return to World Wrestling Entertainment in the final moments of WWE Extreme Rules, bringing human versions of his Firefly Funhouse puppets with him. This culminated weeks of “white rabbit” teases on WWE programming, which involved QR codes scattered around broadcasts of Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown that corresponded to cryptic videos and pictures. These innovative teases were a collaborative effort between Wyatt himself and new Long-Term Creative Director Rob Fee.
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Speaking to The Wrap, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque gave insight into the slow burn process of bringing Wyatt back into the fold.
“We asked ourselves how we could bring back Bray Wyatt in the most engaging way possible,” Levesque said. “So we created the white rabbit project, intended to lead our audience down this literal rabbit hole of content to help build anticipation for Wyatt’s return at Extreme Rules.
“It started with flickering lights in arenas and continued with the release of other easter eggs, like hidden QR codes within episodes of SmackDown and Raw that led viewers to more clues that kept them guessing, and tuning in, each week. It culminated in what we believe was a massive pay-off for our fans – and for WWE. This is a great example of how WWE is uniquely positioned as a sports and entertainment property to harness the power of our shows and our social following to develop multimedia, long-term storytelling that can help produce meaningful aggregated audiences.”
Wyatt’s return was unlike anything WWE has ever done before, as typical impending superstar arrivals are teased with vignettes or hype packages. While it’s unclear if the QR codes will specifically be repurposed, WWE fans should expect more long-term builds to debuts or feuds with Fee’s hiring.
It’s also worth noting that even though Wyatt has already returned, his story is far from fully revealed. Wyatt appeared this past Friday on WWE SmackDown to cut a very human promo, showing fans more of Windham Rotunda than the Eater of Worlds. This emotional oratory exposition was cut off by a masked man on the tron, warning both Wyatt and the fans that they had “no idea who [they’re] dealing with.” Further reports have noted that there is a “long-term plan” for Wyatt and his rumored stable that leads up to WrestleMania next April.
