What's Luke Harper's Role in the Bray Wyatt-Randy Orton Feud?

Where does Luke Harper fit into The Wyatt Family now that Randy Orton has taken up his spot as Bray Wyatt’s primary henchman?

Back in October, when Randy Orton betrayed Kane and officially cemented his affiliation to The Wyatt Family, the majority of fans were unconvinced. Orton has made a Hall of Fame-worthy career out of his treacherous acts, earning the now iconic moniker of “The Viper” as a direct result of his cunning and vindictive psychology both inside the ring, and outside of it through the use of mind games.

History would suggest that this new allegiance to the dark and dastardly ways of Bray Wyatt would be Randy Orton’s ingenious nature at work again – allowing Wyatt to get comfortable before the third generation athlete could strike once again.

Fast forward almost two months, and it’s a lot harder to doubt Orton’s loyalty to his newfound brethren. After all, he’s sacrificed himself on numerous occasions for the betterment of the team, most notably at Survivor Series when “The Apex Predator” willingly received a spear from Roman Reigns in place of Bray Wyatt so that “The Eater of Worlds” could capitalize and seize the pinfall victory for the blue brand.

Not only that, but the good that Randy Orton has done for the faction thus far is undeniable, given that up until TLC on December 4, Bray Wyatt had never carried a championship title within WWE. That all changed when he and Orton captured the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Titles from Heath Slater and Rhyno to solidify themselves as the biggest threat to the tag-team division on Tuesday nights.

One question that remains, however, is: what role does Luke Harper play in The Wyatt Family, now that his primary position at Wyatt’s side has been taken?

At a glance, Harper’s role has been nothing to write home about. He stands on the sidelines and watches while the heavy-hitters go out and get the job done. That being said, Luke Harper’s significance to the group – with specific reference to the dynamic between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt – is actually quite interesting.

While Bray Wyatt quickly took to Orton and welcomed him on board, Luke Harper’s response to Randy Orton as a member of The Wyatt Family has perfectly mimicked that of the fans watching it unfold each and every week.

At first, he rejected the notion that the man he had just been going to war with was now in the trenches alongside him. He didn’t act upon his hesitation – perhaps out of sheer curiosity, but he kept the idea at arm’s length just to be safe.

As time went on, however, and he saw his new “partner” take a bullet for Wyatt in the battle of the brands at Survivor Series, he was slowly becoming more and more comfortable in the reality that Randy Orton was a member of The Wyatt Family.

Finally, when Orton and Wyatt emerged victorious at TLC and both men placed their respective tag titles over the shoulders of Luke Harper, he finally accepted this shift in character and has seemingly embraced it ever since.