Bray Wyatt appears to have his first official feud since his return to WWE at Extreme Rules in early October.
Wyatt interrupted LA Knight and laid him out on Friday night’s SmackDown on FOX from Indianapolis. During the last few weeks, Wyatt’s Uncle Howdy character has engaged in a back-and-forth via promos.
In a backstage segment on SmackDown, Megan Morant interviewed Knight, who called his exclusion from the SmackDown World Cup Tournament a “major blunder” on WWE’s part. Morant was distracted by the constant flashing of the Wyatt logo and related graphics behind Knight, which was displayed on the screen. Knight turned to a crew member off-screen and instructed them to remove the trash from the set, as he has no need for “his” belongings in Los Angeles at this time.
Knight turned around to face Morant, but Wyatt stood in his way. Wyatt introduced himself and stated that he can relate to the anger and rage he perceives within Knight. Wyatt continued his promotion and stated that he understands what it takes to earn respect, but he wondered how far Knight is willing to go. Knight then smirked and stated that it is none of Wyatt’s damn business how far he is willing to go.
Knight subsequently instructed Wyatt to return to his “romper room,” a reference to the Firefly Fun House, play with his puppets, and then shove them where he derives pleasure. Knight continued his trash talk until Wyatt abruptly knocked him out with a headbutt. Wyatt huffed and retreated as Knight regained consciousness and wondered where Wyatt had gone.
Since losing to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37 on April 12, 2021, Wyatt has not competed. It will be interesting to see if he is actually feuding with Knight, which seems likely given that both Superstars are currently being pushed as Triple H’s favorites, or if this is just one of many interactions Wyatt will have with different Superstars in the coming weeks.
Knight parted ways with the Maximum Male Models last month and adopted his current gimmick, which was the WWE NXT fan favorite. He has not wrestled since last week’s SmackDown, when he defeated Ricochet, which was two weeks after his victory over his former Maximum Male Models stablemate mn.sôor, or Mansoor.
Although it was reported prior to the taping that Uncle Howdy would be present, he did not make an appearance this week. The Howdy character may have been brought to SmackDown to film future content.
Below is footage from the segment with Knight and Wyatt filmed backstage:
