The January 6th edition of SmackDown was full of action with Kevin Owens laying down a championship challenge to Roman Reigns while Sheamus and Drew McIntyre tried to topple The Usos from the top of the Tag Team Division. However, one star notable for his absence was Bray Wyatt.
Wyatt returned to WWE at Extreme Rules on October 8th after weeks of hints and teases involving viral videos, QR codes, and a white rabbit. Since then, he has appeared on SmackDown every week, attempting to convince the WWE Universe that he is no longer the same man he was before he was released in 2021 and has left The Fiend behind him.
However, the mysterious masked figure known only as ‘Uncle Howdy’ has also begun appearing, antagonising Bray Wyatt and trying to get him to bring out his dark side again.
On the December 30th episode of SmackDown, not only did Howdy appear in person, but he also attacked Wyatt. The former World Champion had opened the show with plans to address his own attack on a cameraman the previous week. However, he was quickly interrupted by LA Knight.
Knight laughed off attempts by Wyatt to apologise before challenging him to a match at the Royal Rumble. It was announced later in the show that clash will be a Pitch Black Match.
With Wyatt and Knight face-to-face they were interrupted by Uncle Howdy who slowly made his way to the ring. After leaving his hat on the apron, the figure climbed into the ring and stood between Wyatt and Knight. He then moved to stand next to Wyatt, seemingly signalling an alliance between the pair before laying him out with a Sister Abigail instead.
During a heated conflict with @RealLAKnight, #BrayWyatt suffers the sudden wrath of Uncle Howdy.#SmackDownpic.twitter.com/VmhIuR59z1
— WWE (@WWE) January 1, 2023
Bray Wyatt misses latest edition of SmackDown
Unfortunately, after the previous episode ended on that cliffhanger for Bray Wyatt’s story, the star was nowhere to be seen on January 6th. A report from Fightful Select has noted that he wasn’t backstage either. This marks the first time Wyatt has been absent from the show since his return in October.
The report also confirmed that former AEW star William Regal was in attendance backstage. This was the first time Regal had been to a WWE show since he left AEW and the Blackpool Combat Club at the end of December.