Wrestleview is sad to report that Windham Rotunda, better known as Bray Wyatt in WWE, has passed away at the age of 36.
WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque announced the sad news on social media after being told by Wyatt’s father, Mike Rotunda.
It had been widely reported Wyatt had been recovering from an illness that was described as “career and life-threatening.” In recent weeks, Wyatt had reportedly improved significantly and was closer to being medically cleared by WWE to make a return. Both sides were said to be extra cautious regarding his long-term health due to the illness, which was, at the time, undisclosed.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful would later disclose, with permission, that Wyatt had passed away from a heart attack on August 24. The illness he had been battling for the better part of the year was heart issues that were made worse by a bout of COVID.
Wyatt signed with WWE in 2009 and performed under the in-ring name Husky Harris on the NXT brand. He then became a member of the Nexus faction, which invaded Raw. WWE would eventually send him back to FCW, where he was repackaged as Bray Wyatt. After some time, WWE sent him back up to the main roster in 2012 where he continued as the leader of the Wyatt Family, which included Erick Rowan and the late Luke Harper (Brodie Lee).
In 2019, Wyatt introduced a darker side of his character called “The Fiend”, which would eventually include a storyline with Alexa Bliss. The popular and creative Firefly Fun House segments came from this character.
WWE would ultimately release Wyatt in July 2021 due to budget cuts. However, under Triple H, he was brought back and made his return at the Extreme Rules PLE in October 2022, after a month of different vignettes involving clues called “White Rabbit,” based on the Jefferson Airplane song.
Wyatt’s last televised match took place at the 2023 WWE Royal Rumble event, where he defeated LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match. He did compete in four more matches at WWE Live Events and a dark match, all victories against LA Knight, with his final match taking place on February 26 in Rockford, Illinois.
Wyatt was engaged to former WWE backstage interviewer and Raw ring announcer JoJo Offerman. Together they had two children. Wyatt was also the father of two other children from a previous marriage. His brother was former NXT Champion Bo Dallas (Taylor Rotunda), who was rumored to be Uncle Howdy in Wyatt’s last run with the company.
Wyatt was a former two-time WWE Universal Champion, a former WWE Champion, and a former WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion.
Wrestleview sends its condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Windham Rotunda during this very sad and difficult time.