Bray Wyatt, WWE superstar, dead at 36

Windham Rotunda, better known as former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt, has died at age 36.

WWE CCO and head of creative Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque confirmed the shocking news on social media.

“Just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the tragic news that our WWE family member for life Windham Rotunda – also known as Bray Wyatt – unexpectedly passed earlier today. Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time,” he wrote.

Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp provided details on Wyatt’s passing in the hours after the news broke.

“I was given permission to reveal that earlier this year Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) got COVID that exacerbated a heart issue,” Sapp wrote. “There was a lot of positive progress towards a return and his recovery. Unfortunately today he suffered a heart attack and passed away.”

The impact he had on the wrestling business is one of a kind. A jack of all trades, Wyatt proved his versatility on the microphone and between the ropes. From his nonsensical, disturbing cult-like promos cut deep in the bayou he was billed from, to the Firefly Fun House, Rotunda covered all the bases when it came to performing.

Starting his career in Florida Championship Wrestling, he quickly transitioned to the ‘Husky Harris’ moniker. He made his debut on national television as a blue-collared big boy who closely resembles how they portray Otis on today’s show. He made his name as a member of the ‘Nexus’ over the next few years before returning to developmental. There, he emerged with a new outlook on his career.

Bray Wyatt was born.

That character went on to become one of the most entertaining superstars in WWE history.

He began his run as the leader of ‘The Wyatt Family,’ the group comprised of Wyatt, Luke Harper and Eric Rowan. Together, they were one of the most mesmerizing groups in recent memory.

His role as leader of that group will go down as one of his most fondly remembered runs. Though, he wouldn’t taste real success until after the group’s demise. He went on to win the WWE Championship at 2017’s Elimination Chamber.

Wyat fizzled out of weekly programming after a short run with Matt Hardy, who was lightly portraying his infamous ‘Broken’ gimmick at the time. It wasn’t until 2019 that the vignettes for the Firefly Funhouse enthralled the entire WWE Universe.

Tons of metaphors, easter eggs and innuendos flooded WWE programming. He brought a ton of his friends to the Funhouse as well. Mercy the Buzzard — a callback to Waylon Mercy, the inspiration for his character — Ramblin’ Rabbit, who represented Wyatt’s old nonsensical promos, and then Huskus the Pig Boy, a fat stuffed pig that represented how WWE Chairman Vince McMahon visualized the ‘Husky Harris’ gimmick.

But that was just Bray Wyatt. Everything had a deeper meaning. Everything he said meant something, even if it didn’t seem like so at the time. He was one of wrestling’s best storytellers.

Believe it or not, the best was yet to come.

The Firefly Fun House was a children’s show essentially. Fun-loving, but behind the surface, there was something dark going on. And fans couldn’t get enough of it. The Fiend was about to be born, and Wyatt was about to go on the most impressive run of his career.

What came next were some of the most unique, horrifying and creative matches ever produced under the WWE banner. Wyatt’s cinematic-style match with John Cena at Wrestlemania 36 is something you can never forget once you see it, and that’s only one example.

The wrestling world has now lost Luke Harper (Brodie Lee) and Bray Wyatt in a three-year span. Two incredible talents whose lives were cut way too short.

Having lost one of the greatest ever in Terry Funk less than 24 hours before Wyatt’s passing, tons of performers from every generation is hurting.