By now, it's clear the Bray Wyatt character isn't working on SmackDown.

Most pro wrestling fans wouldn't have predicted that as even remotely possible around last October when he pulled off one of the best returns in modern history.

But Wyatt hasn't had a televised match since his return. Arguably that's one of the biggest problems with the Wyatt situation right now.

Make no mistake, we're in the era of the smart, tuned-in fan who has at the very least one ear to the ground online for behind-the-scenes gossip and plans. They can handle long-term storytelling with epic payoffs. Look at the Roman Reigns saga, or the long tale of "Hangman" Adam Page over in All Elite Wrestling.

Problem is, the Wyatt saga has been spiraling without notable developments. Even at pay-per-views, there have been long entrances with wordy promos but no action.

By not doing what is at least 50 percent of the pro-wrestling deal, patience of even the most understanding fan is wearing thin. It almost feels like a dramatic overcorrection in response to Wyatt's last run in WWE as The Fiend, where the supernatural character oddly got shoved into title scenes to disastrous results merely because the company wanted to capitalize on how hot the act was with fans.

There's undoubtedly a delicate balance WWE needs to establish, as just throwing Wyatt in feuds for the sake of having matches doesn't help anyone.

But WWE and Wyatt appear to be flopping on this front, too.

Wyatt's first big feud since his epic return is with...L.A. Knight? Not exactly what anyone would have predicted either. And making it all the worse is this match won't happen until Royal Rumble, where the two will fight in what's called a Pitch Black match...sponsored by Mountain Dew.

No, seriously—Wyatt's first big match since his return after all this waiting is the pop (or soda) most commonly associated with a bag of Doritos and video gamers. And onlookers just have to know this sort of special sponsorship match at one of the company's biggest events will result in a specially branded soda (or pop) and droves of advertisements for it, online or otherwise.

A recent sponsored match like this was that super-strange Zombie lumberjack match at WrestleMania Backlash 2021, in which Damian Priest and The Miz...fought off zombies. A match that unfolded during the audience-less pandemic era, otherwise it would've been booed out of the building.

So no matter what happens with Wyatt, Uncle Howdy, Sister Abigail and whatever else interjected into the storylines and matches, it's going to be hard for fans to take seriously with a Mountain Dew sponsorship and likely specialized drink hanging over the whole thing.

In fact, the whole thing sort of feels like a relic of the previous Vince McMahon era, as the company's last and best supernatural character battles it out in a Mountain Dew match.

Things have been so derailed that if a lapsed fan had last seen Wyatt at the end of his last run in WWE and only just started watching again, they might not even be able to tell he had left in the first place.

And look, maybe the so-called Pitch Black match ends up amazing (though it's hard not to think about the ill-fated red lighting from certain Fiend matches). There's an opportunity for Wyatt and Knight to surprise and revive the former's momentum while propping up the latter in a big way.

But nothing should need revived or newfound momentum in the wake of one of the best returns ever, especially with Wyatt still viewed as one of the best storytellers of his generation.

The character isn't working because it took far too long for things to reasonably develop and there hasn't been any wrestling.

Wyatt's in-ring re-debut at Royal Rumble might correct things, but it's a little baffling these problems haven't been addressed. That the potential resolution will unfold in a match that feels more fitting for The Miz, though, casts a cloud of doubt around Wyatt's momentum that has nothing to do with his mysterious character.