RIP Bray Wyatt By: Tom Albano
Why is life so unfair?
That’s the question I asked myself as I sat down in shock and reflection on Thursday night after learning that WWE superstar Bray Wyatt — real name Windham Rotunda — unexpectedly passed away.
It didn’t feel real. It still doesn’t feel real.
At just 36 years old, Rotunda was still in the prime of life. He hadn’t been on WWE programming since February, owing to COVID, which exacerbated heart issues, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.
He was making progress for a return. Then, he suffered a heart attack, which was ultimately fatal. And it’s just so unfair.
It’s unfair to his family, who now grieve the loss of a husband, father, son, brother.
It’s unfair to his fans, many of whom took to the innovative and awe-inspiring characters and moments he helped create during his professional wrestling tenure.
It’s unfair to his colleagues at the WWE, who had to deal with the departure of someone so beloved in that locker room — while also dealing with the loss of professional wrestling legend Terry Funk just one day earlier. A side note: The double tribute show they put on during Friday’s Smackdown was incredibly moving, and everyone from the performers to the road agents, to Paul “Triple H” Levesque (WWE’s Head of Content) deserves their praise for how they handled the show.
But for all that life is unfair, Rotunda made every moment count in his life. Rotunda knew life was worth living, and he got to live out his dream.
Family, Characters, & WWE tenure
Rotunda was born into a wrestling family — it’s all over his blood.
His grandfather is the late Blackjack Mulligan, one of the greatest tag team wrestlers ever. His uncles were Kendall Windham — a former 5-time NWA Florida Heavyweight champion and a former NWA Florida and WCW Tag Team champion — and Barry Windham — the NWA legend who was a former World Heavyweight, U.S. and Tag Team champion.
Barry Windham is also a former WWE World Tag Team champion, holding the gold in the mid-1980s as part of the U.S. Express. Windham’s partner was Mike Rotunda, the father of Windham. Mike Rotunda would later go on to be better known as Irwin R. Schyster, the evil former tax collector and sidekick to “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase.
And then there’s Windham’s brother, Taylor, who encouraged fans to “Bolieve” as the Bo Dallas character.
Windham Rotunda was a wrestler and football player growing up. He won a high school state wrestling championship in 2005 and earned a scholarship to Troy University. But it wasn’t what he wanted to do. In his heart, just like his relatives before him, he wanted to be in the wrestling business.
And Rotunda got that opportunity in 2009 when we signed a WWE developmental deal. He quickly gained television exposure one year later during the “game show era” of WWE’s NXT show, during which Rotunda was known as the country boy Husky Harris. While his run with the gimmick included some time with the Nexus faction, it ultimately never went anywhere.
Then, in 2013, Rotunda got another chance with the main roster through the demonic, cult-leading, truth-bearing character Bray Wyatt, who would call himself things like “The Eater of Worlds” and “The New Face of Fear.” Alongside the late Luke Harper (aka Brodie Lee) and Erick Rowan, the Wyatt Family became a prominent fixture of WWE television during this time. Over the coming years, Wyatt would have feuds with the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, Kane, Randy Orton, Finn Balor and “Woken” Matt Hardy.
In 2019, Rotunda then rebranded his character to one that had multiple layers — his own version of Jekyll and Hyde, if you will. The “good” side was one that had a Mr. Rogers-esque personality, complete with puppet character sidekicks and his own segment, the Firefly Funhouse. The “bad side” was known as The Fiend, a disfigured clown that looked like it was something out of a horror film.
As Wyatt and The Fiend, Rotunda would go on to become a three-time world champion before, in a shocking move, being released from WWE as part of the company’s cuts of April 2021. Wyatt would return to the WWE in October 2022 and entered a new multiple personality storyline, but it sadly would not play out to full fruition.
Windham Rotunda: The man behind the character
While I could list a whole retrospective into the career of Bray Wyatt, it’s more important at this point to talk about the person that he is, as evidenced by all the tributes from around the wrestling world that have come in since his passing.
Life may be unfair, but Windham Rotunda made life that much better for all those around him and those who followed him — whether it be through his engaging characters and storylines, or his actions and words to those behind the scenes.
They say you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. And while WWE fans may not have been happy with the ways Rotunda was portrayed or treated over the course of his years with the company, I just want to sit right now in appreciation of the time we did have with him — and getting to see him raise the WWE Championship once and WWE Universal Championship twice.
Look back at the tribute video that aired on SmackDown. They showed backstage shots of him sharing hugs and laughs with The Undertaker, The Rock, and Randy Orton. All three men were involved in WrestleMania moments with Rotunda, who all three times came out on the “losing” end in the match result (though specifically, it was Rowan, not Wyatt, who competed against The Rock). Yes, there was plenty of outrage at these losses. But looking back, I appreciate we got to see those three legends of this business give rub to him and we as fans got to experience these moments.
Rotunda also looked to help those around him. Several wrestlers have told stories recently of Rotunda welcoming people with open arms when they arrived in WWE. When Rotunda and Matt Hardy were brought in as headliners for a tour for WWE’s cruiserweight division, Rotunda told another wrestler not to apologize, citing a need to build each other up to help the industry continue to grow. Even look at the last rivalry he had before his passing with LA Knight; it’s been all uphill for him since.
Rotunda was also a family man. He took pride in his four children. He dearly loved his wife Joseann Offerman, better known to WWE fans as former ring announcer JoJo. And the company deserves all the credit for releasing all of Wyatt’s merchandise and matching the dollar amount of purchases made. And then there were his fellow wrestlers who he considered his second family. And my heart breaks for all of them.
Rotunda had such a creative mind. The characters he created grabbed attention and made memories. To some, he is one of their first memories of the industry. To others, he was the next generation of talent. But to all who knew him, he was something special.
Life may not be fair, let alone the wrestling business. But allow me to take Rotunda’s own words from an Instagram post in August 2022 — two months before his WWE return: “Wrestling is not a love story, it’s a fairy tale for masochists. A comedy for people who criticize punchlines. A fantasy most can’t understand, a spectacle no one can deny. Lines are blurred. Heroes are villains…It’s an escape. A reason to point the lame at anyone but yourself for 2-3 hours. An excuse to be a kid again, and nothing matters except the moment we are in. Wrestling is not a love story, it’s much more. It’s hope…”
And in his death, a social media post that Rotunda made (while promoting Barry Windham’s own health issues) hits harder now — especially as we also mourn the loss of Funk and the entertainment world lost a legend in Bob Barker. And in that message, Rotunda tells us to care for the ones we love and appreciate every moment with them.
Nothing lasts forever, so make every moment of life the best it can be.
Life may not always be fair, but Windham Rotunda’s life, through ups and downs, was one worth living as he leaves behind a legacy that will be cherished.