Ahead of this year's WrestleMania, Bray Wyatt vowed to face whoever walked out of Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley at Elimination Chamber as the victor. We later heard that when The Beast refused to work a program with Wyatt heading into the Show of Shows, the finish was changed, thereby leading to Lashley being chosen as the former Fiend's new rival.
That feud kicked off in earnest both on RAW and SmackDown, but Wyatt's subsequent disappearance has sent the internet into a frenzy, with seemingly endless claims of creative differences, injuries, and more.
It's now been months, and despite him once being at the forefront of WWE's creative plans, there's still no sign of Wyatt.
There's been heaps of speculation that Vince McMahon's return as WWE Chairman has played a role in Bray being taken off television (he was the one who released him), but a new report from Fightful Select suggests the former WWE Champion simply isn't cleared to wrestle.
It was back in March we first heard Wyatt might be dealing with an unknown illness, so we're assuming it's been serious enough to stop him from stepping back into the ring. Why WWE doesn't at least have him doing promos is hard to say, especially when Uncle Howdy - thought to be Bo Dallas - could pick up the slack.
This latest report claims, "Wyatt is still sidelined and not cleared for action. We’re told that he's still awaiting clearance and hopeful for a return whenever that occurs." Despite that, this hiatus means there have been no real talks about creative plans for Bray due to the uncertainty surrounding his status.
Whatever is happening, we wish Bray a speedy recovery. Since his absence, someone who was expected to be a key part of his ongoing storyline, Alexa Bliss, has announced a pregnancy, meaning whatever plans were originally in place are likely to change.
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.