March 08, 2016
WWE will bring Monday Night Raw back to Philly on March 21st, just two weeks before WrestleMania.
With WWE Roadblock this coming Saturday night, Bray Wyatt spoke with PhillyVoice to promote his match with Brock Lesnar at the event along with WrestleMania, which is now under a month away. Wyatt also talked about his favorite moments in Philly as a performer.
PhillyVoice: First and foremost, how is the health of your grandfather, Robert Windham [aka Blackjack Mulligan]?
Bray Wyatt: You know, he’s a very, very tough man. He’s not gonna go until he’s ready to go. All we can do is pray and hope. Like I said, he’s a very, very tough man. So, who knows? I appreciate you asking.
As we get closer to WrestleMania, is there more pressure on the weekly television shows to put on great performances?
Of course it is. But first, I wanna touch on Philadelphia and what it means. Philadelphia’s one of the most ravenous crowds - as I sit here in Chicago right now and talk to you – and another one of my favorites. Philadelphia, man, I’ve had some real good experiences. I did Royal Rumble last year. I lasted almost an hour. That’s something that I hold very near and dear.
Most recently, we went there [in December 2015] and we got to wrestle the ECW originals. You know, fighting against them in their homeland – their native land – man, what an experience. The crowd was so electric. What a feeling, man.
These shows that lead up to WrestleMania – you know, WrestleMania is our Super Bowl. So, I like to look at these [shows] as kind of like the playoffs. Who’s gonna make the cut where to get to the biggest stage of them all? That’s exactly what it is because WrestleMania is our Mecca. You know, we all want to get our slot in there and have our WrestleMania moment. These are intense days, man. It’s kind of wildfire days, where you don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s the beautiful part of our company and our business.
Before WrestleMania, you have a match against Brock Lesnar coming up at WWE Roadblock this Saturday night. What are your thoughts heading into this particular match?
I’ve never faced Brock Lesnar before. One of the few I haven’t danced with yet, and I’m looking very much forward to it.
Each individual you go into battle with, you have to handle them in a precise manner. And I’ve faced The Undertaker, John Cena and Chris Jericho, and Brock Lesnar is different than them all. Brock Lesnar is the Beast. Even though I haven’t competed against him in just one-on-one circumstances, I’ve been in there with him, so I know exactly what he’s capable of. We’re talking about a very dangerous individual. But, on the flip side of that, I like to believe I’m a dangerous individual, too. I’m someone that he wouldn’t see on a daily basis because I’ve got some things that come out of my brain that no one else does. So I think that me and Brock is a very big matchup and if I do get this win, if I do go in there and beat Brock Lesnar right before WrestleMania, I think that would do wonders for my career. So, it’s a big moment for me and I’m ready.
Are you disappointed that your match with Lesnar isn’t a WrestleMania match this year?
Of course I’d rather do it at WrestleMania. Then again, you don’t know what I’m gonna do at WrestleMania. It’s still an open-ended game for me. Like I said, to beat Brock Lesnar right before WrestleMania, you should be owed some kind of spot, some kind of high place – you know, I view myself as a high place player – I’m a serious player in this game and I intend to keep that.
About a year and a half ago, the Wyatt Family disbanded before eventually getting back together. Was that always the plan, or was it just a matter of things not working as you all went your separate ways?
We were at a place in time where we needed to see what we all could be. I felt like Harper needed to shine on his own and he did. I thought that Rowan needed to shine and he did. But, at the end of the day, it’s just a better situation when we’re together. It just feels better. It makes us stronger. It’s an all-around better feeling when we’re all involved. Not to mention we have Braun Strowman, who’s one of the most amazing physical presences we have here in WWE. We feel like it’s our time. It’s our era. And I look forward to big things this coming year, not just at WrestleMania.
The Wyatt Family has been using an upside down 4 Horsemen symbol in recent months. Is that indicative of something bigger coming down the road in regards to the Wyatts?
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. We wanted to see ourselves – you know, if you saw the four of us walking anywhere, if you opened your window and saw the four of us in your front lawn – you would have some feelings about that, I have no doubt. We view ourselves as power. The four horsemen of the apocalypse, it kind of paints a picture as to who we are and certainly who we want to be. We feel that we should be decimating everyone we come in contact with. And that’s always been the plan. We just need to keep our heads forward and just keep kind of plowing and making headway and we’re the four horsemen of the apocalypse of this realm, this universe, which is the WWE.
You kind of answered this already, but what’s your favorite moment as a performer or fan in Philly when it comes to professional wrestling?
Definitely that Raw we did last time we were there with the ECW Originals, man. The place just became unglued. I remember just on a whim standing up and looking at the people of Philadelphia and kind of declaring this is my city now. I felt very proud in that moment and everyone involved I’m sure did, you know all four of us, for sure. If you saw yourself doing that as a child, you’d be very excited about your future as an adult. If I could look back when I was young and I was told I would be doing something like that in Philadelphia, you know it’d be a very proud time for me and it was.
Follow Nick on Twitter: @nickpiccone
