Bray Wyatt reportedly passed away due to a heart attack after a long struggle with cariac issues, which were made worse by a bout with COVID-19. The news was reported by Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful, sharing that Wyatt’s family and other loved ones wanted to get some details clarified for the public.
“I was given permission to reveal that earlier this year Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) got COVID that exacerbated a heart issue,” Sapp wrote on X. “There was a lot of positive progress towards a return and his recovery. Unfortunately today he suffered a heart attack and passed away.”
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Sapp also included an insistence that people respect the family’s privacy, though they wanted to get this information out for people. Wyatt had been on the mend and had been expected to return to WWE soon, with his father echoing these reports in recent weeks.
“You read a lot of stuff on the internet which I wouldn’t believe a lot of or, in my case, any of it. Bray Wyatt…I’m sure he will return to WWE, hopefully shortly, and we’ll go from there,” Rotunda said during an appearance at Wrestlecon earlier in the month.
The WWE superstar’s death was first announced by Triple H, the former wrestler and current head of creative for the company. “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 โ also known as Bray Wyatt โ unexpectedly passed earlier today,” Triple H wrote. “Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time.”
Numerous major names from across professional wrestling, including several former WWE stars, have spoken out about Wyatt’s passing. Alexa Bliss shared a nice behind-the-scenes photo with Wyatt in his Fiend costume, while also writing some heartfelt words. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson did similar on social media, saying he was heartbroken by the passing.
“Always had tremendous respect and love for him and the Rotunda family. Loved his presence, promos, in ring work and connection with [the WWE Universe],” Johnson wrote. “Very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy world of pro wrestling. Still processing losing the goat, Terry Funk yesterday and now Bray today.”