John Cena looks back very fondly on his work with Bray Wyatt.
Cena and Wyatt first crossed paths in 2014 in the leadup to WrestleMania 30, with The Wyatt Family costing Cena his championship match at the Royal Rumble. Although Cena would defeat Wyatt at Mania, the feud was far from over. The rivalry escalated to a Steel Cage match at Extreme Rules, where a child at the door prevented Cena from escaping.
While appearing on the Break It Down show on WWE’s YouTube channel, Cena discussed the final match of their rivalry, a Last Man Standing match at Payback 2014. Cena elaborated on the creative mind of Wyatt and how it was a pleasure to compete alongside the former World Champion:
I really enjoyed performing with Bray. We were cut from the same cloth in that regard. Both storytellers and both wanting to do bizarre things. And I think we’ve all, we, him and I have always tried to do different things, and we’ve embraced each other’s creativity. Using the child at the door of the cage, the Firefly Funhouse match those those are the ideas that come from a unique individual. He never stricly leaned on the physicality of anything, it was always about the art and the story.
John Cena And Bray Wyatt Enter The Funhouse
The rivalry would be renewed in 2020 when The Fiend targeted Cena for a rematch at WrestleMania 36. With the pandemic causing everything to change, Wyatt’s brilliant creative mind birthed The Firefly Funhouse match, one of the greatest cinematic matches created and gave the world some much-needed entertainment when they needed it most. The match was praised for the dissection of Cena’s career and saw multiple layers and character criticisms addressed throughout.
Bray Wyatt tragically passed away in August 2023 at just 36 years old.
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