Bray Wyatt, a popular WWE Superstar who won the world title three times, died on Thursday. He was 36 years old. The cause of death was not announced, but WWE’s chief content officer and head of creative Triple H confirmed the 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,” Triple H wrote. “Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time.”
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Several pro wrestling stars reacted to the news. “Absolutely shattered to learn that my friend, Windham Rotunda, has passed away,” Matt Hardy wrote on social media. “It’s devastating to think he left us at only 36 years young. My condolences go out to his family, wife & children. I’m so sorry, my compeer. Miss you already.”
“Man…the first dude that took me under his wing when I got signed in 2009,” Big E wrote. “We spent so much of our adult lives together. Praying for Jojo. Praying for his kids. I will miss your laugh & your boyish charm, my friend. Goodbye, Windham.
Wyatt joined WWE in 2009, competing in the developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He then made the move to NXT in 2010 under the name Husky Harris. Later that year, Wyatt was called up to the main roster as part of Nexus. In 2012, Wyatt would return to FCW where he would be repackaged as the Wyatt Family character and would return to the main roster later that year and would be joined by Erick Rowan and the late Luke Harper (also known as Brodie Lee).
Wyatt would continue his character for a few years before being repackaged as “The Fiend” in 2019. He would dominate opponents as “The Fiend” for a couple of years before being released by the company on July 31, 2021. Wyatt would return to WWE in October 2022 and would feud with LA Knight. He was set to take on Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 39 in April of this year, but the storyline with Lashley was dropped, and Wyatt disappeared from television as he was reportedly dealing with a real-life injury.
In Wyatt’s WWE career, he won the WWE Championship once, the Universal Championship twice, the Raw Tag Team Championship with Hardy and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with Harper and Randy Orton. Wyatt comes from a professional wrestling family. His father, Mike Rotunda, competed as I.R.S. in WWE, and his uncles are Barry and Kendall Windam. Wyatt’s brother is firmer WWE Superstar Bo Dallas, and his grandfather is the late Blackjack Mulligan. Wyatt was engaged to former WWE announcer JoJo and they have two children together.
