- The news of Windham Rotunda’s passing has completely devastated the pro wrestling industry, starting the day on an unexpectedly devastating note. The WWE superstar, also known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was out of commission for several months due to an unexplained ailment, and now, sadly, it appears the same disease is what has stolen him from us.
- For the uninitiated, Wyatt made his WWE comeback at Extreme Rules last year, and the reaction from the crowd was positive. Recently, a match that had been eagerly anticipated was to result from his feud with Bobby Lashley, but the plot was unexpectedly abandoned. Even Wyatt was not there, and there was no explanation as to why his tale had been abandoned. The professional wrestler had a life-threatening ailment, it was later discovered.
- With a hidden health issue, Wyatt, whose actual name was Windham Rotunda, had been absent from the WWE for a number of months. He had been a member of WWE since 2009, with the exception of the brief period in 2021 and 2022 when he was unexpectedly let off. With tremendous fanfare and a suspenseful plot that included cryptic vignettes, Rotunda returned to WWE in September, which helped increase television viewership.
- Levesque posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the devastating news that our WWE family member for life Windham Rotunda — better known as Bray Wyatt — unexpectedly died away earlier today. We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy at this time because our thoughts are with them.
- Rotunda was descended from a wrestling lineage. His father Mike became well-known in the WWE as Irwin R. Schyster and in other promotions using either his real name or the ring name Michael Wallstreet. One of the most well-known wrestlers of the 1980s and the early 1990s, Barry Windham was also a former member of the illustrious Four Horsemen stable. He is Rotunda’s uncle. Taylor, Rotunda’s brother, has previously gone by the ring name Bo Dallas when competing for WWE.
- JoJo Offerman, a former WWE ring announcer, and Windham Rotunda were wed. They had two children together, and Rotunda also had two children from a prior union. He had previously held the titles of both WWE and WWE Universal two times each.
- In 2019, Rotunda reimagined himself as the otherworldly figure The Fiend while donning a horrific clown mask from a horror film. In kid-friendly skits called Firefly Funhouse, Bray Wyatt continued to appear, but a sinister alter ego known as The Fiend wrestled in his stead. Most of these were detailed, original concepts that Rotunda came up with on his own. Due to its almost indestructible status in the ring, The Fiend was a divisive figure, but it was also a creative leap and one of the most captivating things to appear on WWE television at the time.
- The old Bray Wyatt, a good-guy figure who was reportedly haunted by former demons like The Fiend and Uncle Howdy, was played by Rotunda when he returned to WWE in 2018. He had previously been dismissed from WWE in 2021. In February, when Rotunda stopped appearing on television because to health problems, the plot was still being developed.
- Always have a lot of respect and love for him and the Rotunda family, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson posted on Thursday on X. Loved his presence, his in-ring work, his promos, and his connection to the WWE community. Character that is extremely unusual, cool, and difficult to produce in the pro wrestling industry.
At age 36, Bray Wyatt passes away: Triple H, the chief content officer for WWE, confirmed
