Since his return to WWE in October 2022, Bray Wyatt has been trying to distance himself from his dark past as The Fiend. However, the mysterious Uncle Howdy has appeared every time Wyatt makes the claim he has changed, telling him he’s lying to himself.
On the December 16th edition of SmackDown, Uncle Howdy made his presence felt when he appeared in person on the stage. Then, on the December 30th episode, he took it a step further and attacked Wyatt in the ring, laying him out with his own Sister Abigail finishing move.
While the Wyatt/Howdy drama has been playing out, the former Fiend has also been embroiled in a feud with LA Knight. The pair are set to meet in the ring on January 28th at the Royal Rumble in the first-ever Pitch Black Match.
On the most recent edition of SmackDown, Bray Wyatt addressed the upcoming bout and in the process seemed to confirm Howdy’s accusations that he was lying by drawing on his past personas. In an even more startling move, Wyatt even claimed that he is Uncle Howdy.
“I am the Eater of Worlds. I am Uncle Howdy. I am him. I am the nagging conscience of a world that has thrown itself away to moral monsters, I am everything! I am Bray Wyatt!
I know who I am, but who are you? At the Royal Rumble it will be my true rebirth. A baptism in the dark. As for you LA Knight, know this son, when the lights go out, you should run.”
Is Bray Wyatt Uncle Howdy?
So, could Wyatt be Uncle Howdy even though we have already seen someone else portraying the character? Interestingly, fans have already theorised that it’s a possibility.
Following Howdy’s attack on Wyatt on the last SmackDown of 2022, fans questioned whether the attacker really was the mysterious figure who had appeared on video screens over the previous weeks.
The attacker on SmackDown was wearing a mask and their facial hair was styled very differently to how Howdy had been presented previously.
While it could just be a case of altering the character’s appearance to make it easier for him to get physical in the ring, it is also possible he’s another wrestler messing with Wyatt’s fragile mind.
Fair point to the people saying this doesn't seem to be Uncle Howdy. pic.twitter.com/7SwOABmOMG
— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) December 31, 2022
One heavily rumoured wrestler who could be portraying Howdy is Wyatt’s real-life brother, Bo Dallas. The star has been linked to the character since as far back as October and was recently seen backstage at Raw, adding fuel to that fire.
To add to the mystery of Howdy, the character is also seemingly something of an enigma backstage. Fightful Select recently reported that the identity of Howdy is being played “close to the vest.”
The report added that whoever is playing the character on SmackDown doesn’t take off their outfit backstage in front of other people, ensuring their identity remains hidden.
While it seemed that Bray Wyatt and Uncle Howdy were destined to face off in the ring, Wyatt’s own words on SmackDown have cast doubt on whether he is just an aspect of The Eater of Worlds.
Meanwhile, whoever the physical incarnation of the mysterious figure is could well be someone else with a vendetta against the former Universal Champion such as his brother, Bo Dallas.
Whoever Uncle Howdy turns out to be, we will report it on Inside The Ropes when the figure is finally unmasked.