Bray Wyatt, a WWE superstar and third generation wrestler, has died unexpectedly at the age of 36.
Windham Rotunda, better known to WWE fans as Bray Wyatt since 2012, has passed away. Rotunda's employer, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, revealed the news on Twitter, claiming to have gotten it from Rotunda's father. Rotunda was 36 years old at the time.
Rotunda worked for WWE from 2009 to 2021, when he was let go. He returned to the organization a year later, to much excitement, at the Extreme Rules premium live event, where he began executing an intricate storyline involving Uncle Howdy (played by his brother, former WWE star Bo Dallas) and Alexa Bliss. The plot was presumably put on hold after Rotunda's encounter with LA Knight at the 2023 Royal Rumble. Following that, Rotunda began a feud with Bobby Lashley ahead of WrestleMania 39, but was forced to leave the ring due to a mysterious illness that was later reported to have threatened both his career and his life. Until this announcement, it appeared that the worst had gone; as late as August 10, wrestling media outlets were reporting that
Rotunda began his broadcast WWE career in 2010, when he joined the cast of the original "NXT" as Husky Harris, participating in the second season of the program's original "reality show" format. As Husky Harris, he debuted on the main roster with the "NXT"-centric villainous faction The Nexus, but was demoted to WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, in 2011.
In 2012, he was repackaged as the dark cult figure Bray Wyatt and was a significant part of the rebranded "WWE NXT" when it essentially replaced FCW, becoming one of the show's most popular performers alongside Erick Rowan and the late Luke Harper, aka The Wyatt Family. This incarnation would return him to the main roster, where his career would have many ups and downs; Rotunda seemed to be constantly reinventing himself, a process that culminated in 2019, when he debuted both his Firefly Funhouse segments and his alter ego The Fiend, who notoriously wrestled under a terrifying mask and obtrusive red lights. He won the WWE Championship, the WWE Universal Championship, and two other titles during his career.
