Ex-Writer Reveals WWE Let Bray Wyatt Go Wild With Funhouse Match

While much of Bray Wyatt’s time as The Fiend was plagued by behind-the-scenes interference and creative compromise, former WWE writer Nick Manfredini says there was one moment where everything clicked exactly as intended: the Firefly Funhouse Match at WrestleMania 36.

Speaking on the MCPN: My Cultura Podcast Network, Manfredini revealed that the mind-bending showdown between Wyatt and John Cena was a rare moment when WWE actually let the original creative team run wild — and in doing so, finally brought the true vision of the Fiend and the Funhouse to life.

“Really proud of some of the stuff we did — the Funhouse match with Cena,” Manfredini said. “Being able to pull that off… you know, and that was put together in two days, I think. Maybe three days at the most.”

Despite the uncertainty of the COVID-19 shutdown and the last-minute nature of the production, Manfredini and Wyatt managed to construct one of the most surreal and psychologically layered matches in WWE history. The bout became a warped tour through John Cena’s career, twisting reality, blurring fiction, and diving into WWE’s own mythology — all from inside Bray Wyatt’s disturbing imagination.

“That was what the Funhouse was meant to be. Just to see that come to life… it was pretty awesome to see. Especially at WrestleMania with all that going on.”

“It was a crazy time. But to be able to get that off the ground and have people like it — I was really proud of that.”

For Manfredini, the Firefly Funhouse Match stood out as a creative triumph in an otherwise turbulent run where outside forces—including Vince McMahon—repeatedly pushed the character away from its original psychological roots and into the supernatural. As previously revealed in the same conversation, the Fiend was never meant to be an uncontrollable monster, but rather a dark persona that Bray Wyatt himself controlled.

The Cena match, then, was more than just a WrestleMania moment — it was the clearest expression of what The Fiend and The Funhouse were always supposed to be before they were, as Manfredini put it, “spiraled a little out of control.”

Do you think the Firefly Funhouse Match was the peak of Bray Wyatt’s creative storytelling? Or did WWE still miss the mark with The Fiend overall? Share your thoughts in the comments below — we want to know what you think.

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