Windham Rotunda, better known to wrestling fans as Bray Wyatt, has passed away at the age of 36.
Triple H, via Bray's father Mike Rotunda, announced the news on social media.
Wyatt had been actively recovering from an illness that was described as "career and life-threatening." WWE and Wyatt had been taking extra precautions before he returned to TV to make sure that his long-term health was accounted for.
Wyatt signed with WWE in 2009 and performed under the name Husky Harris in NXT. He was a member of the Nexus after the NXT season before going back to FCW, where he was eventually repackaged as Bray Wyatt, leader of the Wyatt Family in April 2012.
Wyatt, Luke Harper (Brodie Lee), and Erick Rowan debuted on the main roster in 2013.
Wyatt would go on to feud with the likes of John Cena, Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose), Randy Orton, and more during his time.
In 2019, Wyatt was repackaged as the host of the Firefly Fun House with a dark side character in the form of "The Fiend." Wyatt would win the WWE Universal Championship on multiple occasions as "The Fiend" and during the pandemic, become known for his cinematic matches against John Cena and Braun Strowman and segments with Orton and Alexa Bliss.
Wyatt was released by WWE in July 2021, but returned to the company at WWE Extreme Rules 2022 after months of clues entitled the "White Rabbit" project.
Wyatt's last televised match took place at WWE Royal Rumble when he defeated LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match.
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. Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their…
— Triple H (@TripleH) August 24, 2023
Wyatt was engaged to former WWE interviewer JoJo Offerman, and the two had two children together. He had two other children from a previous relationship. He was also the brother of Bo Dallas, who reportedly portrayed Uncle Howdy during Wyatt's most recent run.
Wyatt is a former two-time WWE Universal Champion, a former WWE Champion, and a former WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion.
On behalf of Fightful, we would like to extend our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Wyatt.
