Windham Rotunda, As Bray Wyatt, Former WWE Champion Died At The Age Of 36

Wyatt, actual name Windham Rotunda, has been absent for several months owing to what is thought to be a life-threatening disease.

Former WWE champion Bray Wyatt died at the age of 36, according to Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, who revealed his death on social media. Wyatt, whose real name was Windham Rotunda, was removed from WWE TV in February and has been MIA since then due to what is considered to be a life-threatening illness. Prior to his terrible death, recent rumors stated he was on his way back into the ring.

“Just got a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who told us of the tragic news that our WWE family member through life Windham Rotunda — also known as Bray Wyatt – unexpectedly passed early today,” Levesque posted on X, previously Twitter. “Our thoughts are with his family, and we ask that everybody respect their privacy during this difficult time.”

Rotunda began on with the promotion in 2009 under its developing talent and made it to the main roster in 2010 as part of the stable known as ‘The Nexus’ under the ring name ‘Husky Harris’. However, Wyatt’s career did not take off until 2014, when he introduced The Wyatt Family alongside Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. He would push the ‘Bray Wyatt’ identity further by introducing a dark alter-ego known as ‘The Fiend’ before leaving the firm in 2021. During this period, Rotunda won two WWE championships and competed in memorable WrestleMania fights against Randy Orton, John Cena, and The Undertaker.

Rotunda’s debut as The Wyatt family instantly won him over with the fans. As his dark and twisted character was a breath of new air, the gimmick was thought to be the “next Undertaker.” The lights would go out, and he’d enter the arena with a lantern accompanied by eerie music. He came up with the catchphrases ‘Follow the Buzzards’ and ‘He’s got the whole world in his grasp,’ which demonstrated his ability to manage audience reaction, something few wrestlers have achieved. Rotunda launched ‘The Fiend,’ a spooky creature dressed in a horror mask, in 2019. Even when a mellowed ‘Bray Wyatt’ presented the kid-friendly spoof The Firefly Funhouse, The Fiend became one of WWE TV’s most divisive personas. 

After a year away from the industry, Rotunda was resurrected in 2022 to considerable acclaim from the people, and in his second performance on return, he addressed the WWE arena emotionally. He had a handful of bouts as the angle had him being tormented by the enigmatic ‘Uncle Howdy’. The plot, however, ended suddenly when Rotunda vanished, resulting in the cancellation of a bout between himself and Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 39. Around the same time, reports of his being diagnosed with a terrible disease began to circulate. He had been idle for the previous six months when the awful news broke.

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Rotunda, a third-generation athlete from a wrestling family, was known as one of the most inventive and imaginative brains in professional wrestling. His grandpa, Robert Windham, wrestled as ‘Blackjack Mulligan’ in the 1980s, and his Hall of Fame father, Mike, was a significant character as Irwin R Schyster in the 1990s. His uncles, Barry and Kendall Windham, were all wrestlers as well. Taylor Michael Rotunda, nicknamed Bo Dallas, was also a WWE wrestler from 2008 until 2021. Rotunda is survived by his wife, former WWE ring announcer Jojo Offerman, with whom he has two children. He also has two children from his former marriage, which lasted from 2012 to 2017.