Hi folks! After talking things over with John Scafide (AKA The Mouthpiece), it was decided he would enjoy my take on the uniquely bizarre encounter which left many scratching their heads in confusion. The Firefly Fun House between Bray Wyatt & John Cena at WrestleMania 36 was critically acclaimed by other wrestlers & superstars, but it left many fans divided. While some appreciated the deeper message and references within the story, others would’ve preferred more action in the squared circle.
With that said, there is ‘no chance in hell’ that I can put this as eloquently as John, who wrote his own piece the other day at the link below. I did ask if he wanted to do a follow-up with my notes, but he figured I should go ahead as everyone interprets it differently. His piece is highly recommended ‘good shit’ explaining the Firefly Fun House’s demonic nature in graphic detail:
Also Read: Firefly Fun House: Cena & Wyatt At WrestleMania 36 Wasn’t A Match, It Was Art.
The biggest difference between John’s piece and mine is I’ll be detailing Bray Wyatt’s madness step-by-step as it progresses, just so we don’t miss anything. I’m not going to call it art, although I do strongly believe it will grow on people and speak for itself; much like how Broken Matt Hardy and the Broken Universe took time to permeate with the wrestling world (and still isn’t appreciated by everyone).
Sometimes it’s a matter of understanding, so this is me trying to explain all the obvious things, as well as the subtle nuances others may not have commented on. Without further ado, let’s enter at your own peril pass the bolted door where impossible things may happen that the world has never seen before.
Welcome To Wrestle!
– John Cena looks amused as he welcomes a non-existent crowd. He’s almost corpsing, likely because he recorded this last with the knowledge of what’s in store. As he echoes the company’s past, Bray Wyatt takes control by distorting footage of Vince McMahon (WrestleMania II) and Gene Okerlund (WrestleMania IV). Essentially, he steals Cena’s spotlight by denying him a grand entrance. He’s already taken control as the director and producer of this journey.
– The writing on the door in the Firefly Fun House saying ‘Abandon All Ye Who Exit Here’, is a reference to ‘Lasciate Ogni Speranza, Voi Ch’entrate’ (translated as ‘Abandon All Ye Who Enter Here’). This sign is shown above the gate of hell in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno from the 14th-century poem titled Divine Comedy. Near the beginning of this story, the main character Dante (John Cena) is taken through the gate by his guide Virgil (Ramblin’ Rabbit?).
– Bray Wyatt ecstatically introduces us to the Firefly Fun House. He talks about a plane of existence where gods, monsters, angels and demons live together in harmony. This is likely to mean the after life where good vs. evil, life & death, black & white, and heaven vs. hell form, depending on what we believe as individuals. He represents this in a cartoony way to mock us for our immaturity.
– When Wyatt tells Cena he will be facing himself, he means he’ll be facing his demons in a period of self-reflection. He will atone for his sins in the way of confession. Not just to help Wyatt to put something right, but because it will help to heal Cena’s soul for all the monstrous things he did in the past. He wants to help Cena to become a better person.
“You Are About to Enter Another Dimension, a Dimension Not Only of Sight and Sound, but of Mind. a Journey Into a Wondrous Land of Imagination”
– Back to the Firefly Fun House, Cena entering through a mystical door is reminiscent of the TV show ‘The Twilight Zone’. I’ve also seen this compared to the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks. Next, John finds himself stranded in what can be described as a dark abyss, the void, or even hell. Or if you want to get deep? It could be the darkest recesses of Bray Wyatt’s mind beyond the surface of the Firefly Fun House; which explains why his imagination holds all the power. Wherever he is, Cena is welcomed by the gatekeeper ‘McBossman’ (Cerberus?). It makes sense for Vince to be a puppet, seeing as he pulls the strings of everyone in WWE.
– We know McMahon loves ‘This Is Your Life!’, so we could be seeing the formation of a more twisted version. He pokes Cena repeatedly in a fashion reminiscent of him screaming ‘Ruthless Aggression!’ at the roster in 2002 (when he had them standing on the ring apron). The threat of being fired is added motivation, much like how he told his superstars “Who among you is the next legend! Who among you wants it! Because if you don’t want it, I damn sure hell don’t want any of you!”
– The true extent of Wyatt’s power is seen when he baby morphs Cena in to his earliest form. In a repeat of Kurt Angle’s open challenge, Cena enters in front of the old ‘Smackdown fist’ in attire similar to his original. After making his way to the ring to confront Wyatt, he is robotic like ‘The Prototype’ character from his OVW days. Cena has no control and predictably yells ‘Ruthless Aggression!’. Amusingly, Wyatt is playing with him like a toy, and can see his strikes coming a mile away.
I Am Literally Living Your Biggest Failure Right Now
– The above quote is directed at John Cena’s admission (in a recent documentary) that his original character was his biggest failure. ‘Ruthless Aggression’ Cena didn’t land and almost cost him his job. The only difference they ever made to his presentation was the colour of his trunks. He would work well with others, but the crowd quickly turned on him. The potential was there, but no one cared because his character was uninteresting. Cena blamed himself for being complacent.
– “You Can Look But You Can’t Touch” are lyrics from The Bella Twins’ entrance theme. Wyatt mocks Cena for his failed relationship with Nikki Bella.
– “Is This Really What You Want To Do With Your Life?”. Combined with images of Cena’s childhood self holding up homemade paper championships, this line holds a lot of weight. Has he fallen out of love with wrestling? Why is he doing movies when he told the WWE Universe he’d never leave them? During his feud with The Rock, he mocked The People’s Champ for going off to Hollywood.. but then ironically proceeded to go down the same path. Greed? Fame? Ego? Is this what Cena really wants? Was WWE merely a stepping stone to greater success?
– Mercy The Buzzard comes out with the classic ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage line, “Too Hot To Handle, Too Cold To Hold!”
Saturday Night Main Event
– We time warp back to the 80’s where Bray Wyatt can be seen behind the original WWF steel cage structure (locked behind the structure of kayfabe?). Channeling Hulk Hogan and other superstars of the era, Wyatt proceeds to insult everything that was wrong about wrestling. Mocking the obsession with steroid taking meatheads with little talent, sends a clear message of how little he cares for how the business was.
– Hulk Hogan embodies the 80’s with his admitted ego and unrelenting patriotism, so it makes sense for Johnny Large Meat (Cena) to channel him. After all, he is a cheaper and less-liked version of a ‘Real American’ manufactured for a modern audience. “Cream Rising To The Top” is another Randy Savage reference. The desire in Cena’s promo to sell WrestleMania matches the intensity of his weight lifting.
– The lesson Wyatt wants to teach, is how an obsession to maintain the perfect body image to become a superstar sends an unhealthy message. He & Abby watch in awe as Large Meat trains beyond the limits and loses all feeling in his arms. This is dark, because many athletes died young due to training too hard (combined with steroids, drug cocktails & partying) to keep up with the rest of the pack. McBossman tells Cena to “keep your hands up!”, which is like a manager demanding his boxer keep on fighting when he’s clearly in danger of severe injury or worse. “Egomania running wild” is the first time Wyatt gives us an idea of what he’s trying to do.
Word Life (Untouchable)
– ‘Doctor of Thuganomics’ John Cena is here, and it’s the first time he becomes self-aware. Whether this is because Wyatt lets him, or because the gimmick gives him some kind of power? Is unknown. Either way, it sure helps Wyatt to prove a point to us. Of course, the crowd going “six-to-midnight” means they are sexually aroused by him reverting to this gimmick; because Cena knows they loved this time of his career the most. As a joke by Wyatt (showing he still has some control), John can only speak in rap form.
– Cena fights back and targets Wyatt’s original character ‘Husky Harris’ for being overweight. Wyatt’s crowd reactions and body language tells us he’s not happy, although it could be a ruse to teach him a lesson. After another vintage dick joke, Cena ends his freestyle by saying Wyatt is a slut for opportunity, but only in the way he sucks and fails each time. This is partly true, as Wyatt has sometimes struggled to make the best out of his opportunities.
– Cena’s insults feed Wyatt in to making a (babyface?) comeback, passionately touting that he had to earn all his opportunities while Cena was handed everything as the Golden Goose (AKA Chosen One, Vince’s Golden Boy). “You’re Not A Hero” means John is not universally loved and has never done anything unselfishly without an ulterior motive. There’s always been a large amount of disdain directed his way. In saying that, Make-A-Wish would adamantly disagree with this line.
Lonely Up There
– “You’re A Bully” is another line with substantial weight. To some, it could mean how he politicked to keep himself on top of the mountain (like when he used his influence to persuade Vince to bury The Nexus). But the most likely meaning, is that he’s the antithesis of what he preaches. Starting in the Attitude Era, Rock’s (& others) promos often comprised of him taking opponents weaknesses and verbally trashing them for entertainment. He’d embarrass them to get ahead, but doing so in a way the fans would eat it up as quality television.
Cena’s different though. While preaching admirable values of ‘Hustle, Loyalty, Respect’, he spent much of his career doing the opposite. Remember when he popped the crowd by saying Roman Reigns couldn’t cut a promo? It’s just one example of many, showing his desire to get ahead and stay there at other’s expense. His no-selling after some matches could also be seen as a selfish need to place himself above everyone else. Even Hulk Hogan had the class to put over Andre The Giant on their way to WrestleMania III, by admitting (in a press conference) his palms were sweaty because he worried about stepping in the ring with him. Can we say Cena has ever been as generous?
– “Poor, Lonely John Cena” could be a personal dig at the way he chooses career goals over family life. Or it’s more like saying the phrase “it must be lonely up there on your pedestal”. Never being able to admit to his own ego because he’s wired to be displayed like a piece of art in a museum. Of course, Cena typically no-sells these points and frustrates Bray. To move things along, Wyatt uses his own chain against him to take us to the next level.
I Was the Color Red in a World of Black & White
– Bray Wyatt transforms in to his original incarnation from FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling). We can tell this is earlier than his main roster form because his shirt is brighter. What he means by the above quote is that he was a unique presence in a business filled with corporately made characters who are scripted to be shades of one another. He got over with the fans by daring to be different, and doing so by not relying on someone else’s creative process. Effectively, he had the “Whole World In His Hands” in more ways than one.
– “Abigail Spoke Of This Day My Entire Life”, Wyatt says this while looking back at their WrestleMania XXX match. What’s significant here, is that his sister promised he would win and it was a prophecy to be fulfilled by John Cena. Despite claiming to be a man of the people, Cena chose not to listen and refused to give them what they wanted. Instead, he defeated Wyatt and the prophecy went unfulfilled. This in turn, manifested itself in Bray’s thoughts for the past six years; and could be the biggest factor behind The Fiend’s existence. Without John Cena’s ego, the Firefly Fun House may never have been created in Wyatt’s mind.
– Bray wants to rewrite history to give the world what it wants and fulfill the prophecy. He calls Cena “Superman” (like how fans mock by calling him Super Cena), before dancing around with his lifeless body. This is likely a callback to when Thuganomics Cena said he’d been nothing but a “disappoint since coming to the dance”.
Six Years Ago, You Made the Wrong Choice Cowboy
– This line hints at the decision to not make a double turn (similar to Bret Hart & Steve Austin at WM13) to be a mistake. Cena should have hit Wyatt with the chair so the established star could turn heel, while the new star could prosper as the face fans could get behind. In Wyatt’s mind, he believes Cena didn’t do enough and he was screwed over. He should have done what many have said for years; do a Hogan and turn heel like he did in WCW. After Cena tries hitting Wyatt with the steel chair (like he didn’t do at WMXXX), Wyatt disappears and we are quickly moved on to the next level.
– WCW Nitro circa 1997, the early days of the nWo. Wyatt mimics Eric Bischoff’s introducing their mega star Hollywood Hogan. But instead, it’s Hollywood Cena sporting nWo attire with a spray painted big gold belt. This signifies that Cena’s finally done what the fans wanted by turning heel (did he jump to AEW too?), and is again taken seriously as ‘The Man’ despite being past his prime.
It’s interesting to note that Wyatt is wearing a red nWo shirt, while Cena is in black & white. Not only does this go with Bray’s earlier quote, but it also represents the nWo Wolfpac. For anyone unaware, the Wolfpac was a popular babyface faction (without Hogan) separate of Black & White. They were refreshing, cool, and a tighter unit. Black & White however, was getting old and filled with jobbers no one cared about except the select few at the top. In other words, Wyatt is the present who everyone is clamoring to see, while Cena is the old guard who should be phased out.
Embrace The Hate
– McBossman says “This Is Such Good Shit!”. A reference to Vince saying this line during creative meetings. Jon Moxley and others have mentioned it in interviews. Usually in a sarcastic way to insult him for enjoying ridiculous, and sometimes harmful ideas. According to Kevin Kelly, he’s apparently said some variation of it for over twenty years: Vince McMahon has apparently been saying some variation
– Much like how Kane provoked him in their 2012 feud, Cena snaps and finally embraces the hate. We see flashbacks as he pounds on Wyatt. What is interesting about these, is they all call back to times when he failed. In chronological order, it begins with the “If Cena Wins We Riot” sign from his loss to Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand 2006; a significant time in his career when his polarizing reception took shape. From there, we see clips of his losses to Edge, Shawn Michaels, Batista, The Miz, CM Punk, The Rock, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns & The Undertaker. Is this foreshadowing the loss he is about to take?
– “This WrestleMania match is going to accomplish what should have happened six years ago, ending the existence of the most over-hyped, overvalued, over-privileged, WWE Superstar in existence”. The Fiend holds up a mirror to John and turns his own words against him. After a Sister Abigail, there’s new meaning to the phrase “You Can’t See me”, as John Cena disappears entirely. Bray Wyatt is left to celebrate the fact that Abigail’s prophecy has finally been fulfilled after devouring Cena’s ego. With the above quote, was John reflecting thoughts about his own career on to Wyatt?
The Plan All Along?
What is interesting to me, is how strong The Fiend was against other Superstars pre-Goldberg. For example, he took countless curb stomps against Seth Rollins (the move which defeated Brock Lesnar at last year’s WrestleMania), yet he couldn’t withstand Goldberg’s spears? In the story, knowing that Cena was likely to return at WrestleMania, could it not be possible that The Fiend decided to lose on purpose? Just so he could lure Cena in to his trap? Notice how he didn’t have the same intensity toward Goldberg than his previous opponents; and there was no red light during their encounter. Also, he was super quick to leave Goldberg alone and never hinted at a rematch.
Because after all, devouring the career of John Cena at WrestleMania was a far more exciting prospect. And of course, he didn’t want a championship involved because this was about getting redemption. It’s a story in which Wyatt is the angel and Cena is the demon. He is the hero who slayed a monster, and losing the title was a means to reaching that goal. In the news, it was stated Wyatt was originally scheduled to beat Goldberg, but the decision changed late and he accepted it; probably because he knew he would get Cena at WrestleMania. Shortly after Super Showdown, he made the following post on Twitter.
Life is a circle. No matter what beast you make of yourself or how bright one side is, inevitably the dark side comes again. But the beauty of the circle is, round we go.
— Bray Wyatt (@WWEBrayWyatt) February 28, 2020
Conclusion
This was always about laying a foundation for a story, and wrestling has always prospered when the storytelling is rich. Many claim to want the old days back, when characters were larger-than-life and they would shock us, make us feel things. Firefly Fun House is a throwback to those days, when the development of characters took precedence over the in-ring action. We never got a star rated ‘classic’, but what we got instead was infinitely more substantial and memorable.
And no, it remains unlikely Cena will turn heel and join the nWo. Wyatt and his Firefly Fun House may still not get over to the degree he and his fireflies would like. From where I’m sitting though, I’ve got to admire their courage to dare to try something different. It’s difficult to hit the mark with these things; as evidenced by some of Wyatt’s earlier attempts (remember his match with Orton?). However, what’s important is they could be on to something here. And if so? It could be the beginning of something special. Is the best yet to come? Or is this as good as it gets? For the next decade, we could all be locked in to a rollercoaster ride with Bray Wyatt’s madness as our conductor. Thanks for reading.
