The Wyatt Family

Bray Wyatt debuted on the July 11, 2012 episode of *NXT*, defeating Aiden English in a singles match.

In July, Wyatt suffered a torn pectoral muscle and required surgery. Despite the injury, Wyatt continued to appear on *NXT* by founding a faction known as **the Wyatt Family** in November, with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan as his "sons". Harper and Rowan entered the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament to crown the inaugural champions, and they defeated Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu in the first round on the January 23, 2013 episode of *NXT*. Following a win over Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty in the semi-finals with Wyatt's interference, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey.

Wyatt had his first match back from injury on the February 21 episode of *NXT*, defeating Yoshi Tatsu. The Wyatt Family later assaulted Grey (who had suffered a legitimate injury) while Wyatt prevented Dallas from winning an NXT Championship number one contender match due to Dallas' refusal to join the Wyatt Family. Dallas went on to hand Wyatt his first loss on the March 13 episode of *NXT*. On the May 2 episode of *NXT*, while Wyatt was defeated by Chris Jericho, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan won a triple threat elimination tag team match by last pinning Neville to earn a shot at the championship. On the May 8 episode of *NXT* (which was taped on May 2), Harper and Rowan defeated Neville and Bo Dallas (filling in for the injured Grey) to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.

The Wyatt Family went on to feud with Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno, with Wyatt defeating Graves on the May 22 episode of *NXT*, and the next week Wyatt eliminated both Graves and Ohno during an 18-man battle royal to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship, although he was later eliminated by Adrian Neville. On the June 19 episode of *NXT*, the Wyatt Family defeated the team of Graves, Neville and Ohno. On the following episode of *NXT*, the Wyatt Family, together with Garrett Dylan and Scott Dawson, attacked Graves, Neville and Ohno; when William Regal tried to make the save, he was also overwhelmed, and this led to the Wyatt Family facing Graves, Neville and Regal in a six-man tag team match the next week on *NXT*, where Wyatt pinned Regal for the win. On the July 17 episode of *NXT* (which was taped on June 20), Harper and Rowan lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Neville and Graves.

From the May 27, 2013 episode of *Raw*, WWE aired vignettes promoting the upcoming debut of the Wyatt Family. The vignettes showed the Wyatt Family's backwoods origins and Rowan wearing a sheep mask. On the July 8 episode of *Raw*, the Wyatt Family made their debut by assaulting Kane. The Wyatt Family continued their attacks on wrestlers like R-Truth, Justin Gabriel and 3MB (Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal), while sending cryptic messages to Kane telling him to "follow the buzzards". Following another assault, Kane challenged Wyatt to a Ring of Fire match at SummerSlam, which he accepted. On August 18 at SummerSlam, Wyatt defeated Kane following interference from Harper and Rowan, after which Harper and Rowan attacked Kane again and ended the segment by carrying him away. At Battleground on October 6, Wyatt's momentum continued with a win over Kofi Kingston. Over the next few months, Rowan and Harper competed as a tag team and went on a winning streak over many teams until the October 11 episode of *SmackDown*, when Harper and Rowan suffered their first loss against Cody Rhodes and Goldust.

The Wyatt Family's next feud began when they attacked CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, in late October. The feud saw Harper lose his first singles match to Punk. At Survivor Series on November 24, Harper and Rowan lost a tag team match against Bryan and Punk. The Wyatt Family then defeated Bryan in a 3-on-1 handicap match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 15, with Wyatt attempting to recruit Bryan in the previous weeks. On the final *Raw* of 2013, Bryan defeated Harper and then Rowan in a gauntlet match that would lead to Bryan facing Wyatt, whereupon Harper and Rowan interfered to cause a disqualification and began beating Bryan down until a frustrated Bryan finally gave up and gave in to join the Wyatt Family. This caused Wyatt to punish Bryan, who attacked all the other members of the Wyatt Family on the January 13, 2014 episode of *Raw* to signal him breaking free of the group. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, Wyatt defeated Bryan in a singles match to end their feud while both Harper and Rowan entered the Royal Rumble match and managed two and zero eliminations before they were eliminated.

On the January 27 episode of *Raw*, the Wyatt Family attacked John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Sheamus during an Elimination Chamber qualifying match against The Shield, thus awarding Cena's team the win by disqualification victory over The Shield and the Elimination Chamber match slots. The Shield began seeking revenge, so a six-man tag match was set up between the Shield and the Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamber event, which the Wyatt Family won after Dean Ambrose had disappeared into the live audience during the match. On the March 3 episode of *Raw*, The Shield were given a rematch against the Wyatt Family, but lost again when The Shield's poor teamwork led to Seth Rollins leaving the ring during the match. On the April 8 episode of *Main Event*, the Wyatt Family was defeated by The Shield in another six-man tag team match to end the feud.

Between January and February, the Wyatt Family also cost John Cena his WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches against Randy Orton. At Elimination Chamber on February 23, the Wyatt Family's interference caused Cena to be eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match. After Elimination Chamber, Wyatt turned his attention fully to feud with Cena, with Wyatt wanting to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies", while also trying to turn Cena into a "monster". Wyatt went on to accept Cena's challenge for a WrestleMania match, with Cena successfully resisting the urge to become a "monster" and overcoming interference from Harper and Rowan to defeat Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX on April 6, thus marking Wyatt's first pinfall loss on WWE's main roster. The feud continued after WrestleMania XXX based on the story that Wyatt was capturing Cena's fanbase, which was exemplified by Wyatt leading a children's choir to the ring on the April 28 episode of *Raw*, with the children later putting on sheep masks. At Extreme Rules on May 4, Wyatt defeated Cena in a steel cage match after repeated interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family, as well as a child who had distracted Cena. Cena's feud with Wyatt continued with a Last Man Standing match being set up for Payback on June 1, which Cena won to end their feud.

On the June 2 episode of *Raw*, Harper and Rowan took on then-WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos in a tag team match; Wyatt did not appear during the match, but his rocking chair still sat beside the ring, and Harper and Rowan went on to win the match, which made them number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship. On the June 13 episode of *SmackDown*, due to a distraction by Seth Rollins, Wyatt went on to win his match against Dean Ambrose to qualify for the first Money in the Bank ladder match contested for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. At the 2014 Money in the Bank event on June 29, all three members of the Wyatt Family failed to win championships in their respective matches. The Wyatt Family also lost at Battleground on July 20, as The Usos successfully defended their WWE Tag Team Championship against Harper and Rowan. On the June 30 episode of *Raw*, the Wyatt Family interrupted Chris Jericho's return and began to beat him down. This led to a singles match between Wyatt and Jericho at Battleground which Wyatt lost. However, Wyatt defeated Jericho at SummerSlam on August 17, despite Harper and Rowan being banned from ringside. The feud with Jericho ended on the September 8 episode of *Raw*, when Wyatt won a steel cage match by escaping the cage.

On September 29, vignettes began to air of Wyatt announcing he was setting Harper and Rowan "free". All three members of the Wyatt Family returned to television on their own and apart from each other: Wyatt returned at Hell in a Cell on October 26, attacking Dean Ambrose; Rowan returned on the October 31 episode of *SmackDown*; and Harper returned on the November 10 episode of *Raw*, aligning himself with The Authority. On the November 17 episode of *Raw*, Rowan joined Team Cena for Survivor Series and thus opposing Harper's team.

The next few weeks saw Ambrose and Wyatt taunting and attacking each other in both backstage and in-ring segments, with Wyatt claiming that he could "fix" Ambrose, the way he "fixed" Harper and Rowan, leading to a match at Survivor Series, where Wyatt won the match by disqualification after Ambrose hit him with a chair, before burying him under a table, a ladder and steel chairs. At Survivor Series on November 23, Harper was one of the last men eliminated in Team Authority's loss against Rowan and Team Cena. As punishment for his affiliation with The Authority, Harper was forced to put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Ambrose the following night on *Raw* and successfully retained the title after getting himself disqualified, after which Wyatt ambushed Ambrose, who was looking for weapons to attack Harper with.

On the December 8 episode of *Raw*, Harper and Rowan faced each other in singles competition, with Harper ultimately getting himself disqualified. On the January 5, 2015 episode of *Raw*, The Authority punished Rowan by putting him in a singles match against Harper, with Harper picking up the win after a discus clothesline and the help of J&J Security (Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury), who were the special guest referees for the match. On the January 22 episode of *SmackDown*, Harper and Rowan once again competed against each other, this time in a 2015 Royal Rumble qualifying match, with Harper winning and thus not allowing Rowan to participate in the Royal Rumble match. Despite this, Rowan appeared during the Royal Rumble match on January 25, ambushing the number six entrant Curtis Axel, to attack Harper and subsequently sparking a brief Wyatt Family reunion, along with Bray Wyatt, before all three men began to brawl.

On the May 7 episode of *SmackDown*, Rowan would come out after Harper defeated Fandango, seemingly to confront Harper, but would instead attack Fandango and thus turning into a villain in the process. On the May 11 episode of *Raw*, Harper and Rowan would officially reunite when Harper accompanied Rowan to his match against Fandango which Rowan won after thirty seconds and the two proceeded to double team Fandango after the match. On the May 18 episode of *Raw*, Harper and Rowan teamed up to take on Fandango and Zack Ryder, which Rowan and Harper won after a superkick and full nelson slam combination. On the May 21 episode of *Main Event*, Harper and Rowan defeated Fandango and Ryder in a rematch. On the June 4 episode of *SmackDown*, Harper and Rowan cut a promo about being ostracized and stated they were a family.

On the June 5 episode of *Superstars*, Harper and Rowan defeated Los Matadores in a tag team match. On the June 8 episode of *Raw*, Harper and Rowan defeated Los Matadores in a rematch. On the June 19 episode of *Superstars*, Harper and Rowan defeated Los Matadores and The Ascension in a triple threat tag team match. During a match at a live event, Rowan was injured, with reports saying he would be out of action for four to six months. On the June 23 episode of *Main Event*, Harper returned to singles competition when he defeated Cesaro, but not before cutting a promo where he said losing his tag team partner has only made him more dangerous.

At Battleground on July 19, Harper interfered during Wyatt's match against Roman Reigns, helping him defeat Reigns and signaling the return of the stable. This led to a tag team match between Wyatt and Harper against Reigns and Ambrose at SummerSlam on August 23, which the Wyatt Family lost after Reigns pinned Wyatt. The following night on *Raw*, Wyatt and Harper fought Reigns and Ambrose in a SummerSlam rematch during which Braun Strowman made his WWE debut, joining the Wyatt Family and helping Harper and Wyatt attack Reigns and Ambrose. This led to a six-man tag team match at Night of Champions on September 20 between the Wyatts and Reigns, Ambrose and a partner of their choosing, revealed to be Chris Jericho, which the Wyatt Family won. Rowan made his return to the ring on the October 19 episode of *Raw*, when he filled in for Harper, against Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins which his team won after Rollins faked an injury and walked out on the match. Wyatt's feud with Reigns culminated in a Hell in a Cell match, which Wyatt lost.

Also at Hell in a Cell on October 25, the Wyatt Family would later attack The Undertaker and carry him backstage, reigniting their feud. The next night on *Raw*, Wyatt was confronted by former rival Kane, who was attacked by the Wyatts and also carried backstage. On the November 9 episode of *Raw*, after Bray Wyatt claimed to "have taken their souls", The Brothers of Destruction returned and attacked the Wyatt Family. At Survivor Series on November 22, Wyatt and Harper lost to The Brothers of Destruction in a tag team match after Undertaker pinned Harper. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, the Wyatt Family defeated Team ECW in an eight-man tag team elimination tables match.

All four members of the Wyatt Family entered the 2016 Royal Rumble match on January 24, which had the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line, and the group cumulatively eliminated seven wrestlers, including Brock Lesnar. Wyatt was scheduled to face Lesnar at Roadblock on March 12, but Wyatt revealed that he would be facing Lesnar alongside Harper in a two-on-one handicap match, which they lost with Wyatt never returning to the ring. On March 21, Harper suffered a knee injury during a *Raw* dark match and it was reported that the injury would sideline him for five to six months. The Wyatt Family appeared at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, where they confronted The Rock, who defeated Rowan in an impromptu match in six seconds and the Wyatts were then fended off by the returning John Cena and The Rock.

On the April 4 episode of *Raw*, the Wyatt Family started a brief feud with The League of Nations by attacking the villainous faction. On the April 11 episode of *Raw*, the Wyatt Family confronted and scared off the League of Nations when they were about to attack Roman Reigns, with whom Wyatt tagged with to defeat League of Nations members Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. On April 13, during a singles match against Reigns at a live event in Italy, Wyatt suffered an injury to his right calf and was thus pulled off WWE's European tour. His injury resulted in the abrupt suspension of the feud and the breakup of The League of Nations. Although all four members appeared on the Payback poster, none of the members had a match at the event.

On the June 20 episode of *Raw*, the Wyatt Family (without Harper) returned for the first time since April and were confronted by then WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, thus starting a feud between the two teams. On the July 11 episode of *Raw*, The New Day went to the Wyatt Family's compound where the two factions brawled. This would lead to a non-title six-man tag team match at Battleground on July 24, which the Wyatt Family would win.

On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Wyatt and Rowan were drafted to *SmackDown* while Strowman was drafted to *Raw*, separating him from the group. On the August 16 episode of *SmackDown Live*, Wyatt walked away from Rowan after the latter lost his match against Dean Ambrose, leaving Rowan's sheep mask on Wyatt's rocking chair. Despite this, Rowan attacked Randy Orton on behalf of Wyatt on the September 13 episode of *SmackDown Live*, continuing their alliance. On October 9, Harper returned at the close of the *SmackDown* brand's event No Mercy on October 9 in a match between Wyatt and Orton, whom Harper distracted to help Wyatt win the match, thus realigning himself with Wyatt. Prior to Harper's return, Rowan underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and would be out of action for four to six months. This marked the beginning of a new incarnation of the Wyatt Family.