Ahead of the Elimination Chamber, Bray Wyatt issued a challenge to face the winner of the bout between Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 39.
When Lesnar was caught in the Hurt Lock during the match, he delivered a low blow to Lashley, getting himself disqualified as Lashley was named the winner. In recent weeks, the feud between Wyatt and Lashley ahead of their scheduled WrestleMania bout has advanced, though Wyatt himself has only appeared via pre-taped video packages and vignettes.
Wyatt was scheduled to face his Royal Rumble opponent LA Knight over the weekend as WWE returned to Madison Square Garden, but he was pulled from the match, and Knight faced Braun Strowman instead. His unexplained absence has created speculation about his status within the company and whether or not he’ll be facing Lashley at WrestleMania after all.
Bray Wyatt Dealing With A “Physical Issue”
According to a new report from Fightful Select, Wyatt has been absent from WWE in recent weeks as he’s currently dealing with a “physical issue,” and those familiar with the situation aren’t sure of a return timeframe.
The report states that Wyatt had been scheduled for other live events and episodes of SmackDown recently, but was pulled from those appearances due to the physical issues noted by WWE sources. A later update clarified that Wyatt was dealing with an illness, and that the illness wasn’t expected to be long-term when WWE creative learned the news.
According to Fightful, materials for both Wyatt and Uncle Howdy have been sent to SmackDown in recent weeks, but they have not been used. Wyatt hasn’t been factored into creative plans for those shows, and is not scheduled to be at Raw tonight. Bobby Lashley has continued the feud in Wyatt’s absence, but as of this weekend, he was also not scheduled to appear on the March 13th episode of Raw.
Rumors emerged online today surrounding potential creative disputes between Bray Wyatt and WWE, stating that Wyatt’s WrestleMania status was in doubt due to these disputes, but Fightful has not been made aware of any disputes.
Inside the Ropes will continue to report on Wyatt’s WrestleMania status as more information becomes available.