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WWE’s Bray Wyatt Dies at 36

Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

Bray Wyatt, one of WWE’s most unique talents in recent years, has died. He was 36.

Wyatt’s death was confirmed via

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" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X (formerly Twitter) by WWE’s Triple H. The company’s Chief Content Officer wrote, “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 privacy at this time.”


Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com later shared about

I encourage those reading to respect the family's privacy if at all possible, but his loved ones wanted some details clarified

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) August 25, 2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wyatt’s cause of death, “I was given permission to reveal that earlier this year Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) got COVID that exacerbated a heart issues. There was a lot of positive progress towards a return and his recovery. Unfortunately today he suffered a heart attack and passed away.”

He added, “I encourage those reading to respect the family’s privacy if at all possible, but his loved ones wanted some details clarified.”

Wyatt came from a wrestling family. His father, Mike Rotunda, was best known as Irwin R. Schyster in the then-WWF. His uncles, Barry and Kendall Windham, were best known for their work in WCW. Wyatt’s grandfather was legendary wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. His brother is best known for his work in NXT and WWE as Bo Dallas.

RELATED: Celebrity Deaths 2023: Musicians, Entertainers & Cultural Figures We Lost

Wyatt’s time in WWE began in 2009 in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), the promotion’s precursor to their development territory of NXT. He briefly partnered with his brother, Bo, as a tag team called The Rotundo Brothers. In 2010, he took on the new ring name of Husky Harris and notably joined the WWE stable The Nexus. His tenure in the stable was short-lived, and he returned to FCW.

Things started to turn around in 2012 with the debut of the Bray Wyatt persona. A soft-spoken man with an eerie presence, Wyatt was a backwoods cult-leader figure who was the head of the faction called The Wyatt Family. The faction lasted from 2012-2014 and 2015-2017. Its main members included Luke Harper (aka: AEW’s Mr. Brodie Lee, who died in 2020), Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman. Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan (AEW’s Bryan Danielson) were also briefly members of The Wyatt Family.

Wyatt evolved his character’s persona in 2019 when he became a bizarre children’s program host of a segment called “Firefly Fun House.” A dark side of this persona emerged at this time, known as “The Fiend.” The dark side donned a horror-inspired mask. In 2020, Bray Wyatt formed an alliance with Alexa Bliss that stretched into 2021.

Wyatt will forever be remembered for the unique theatrics, presentation and storytelling he brought to the WWE. One of the greatest examples of his creativity came during WrestleMania 36 in the cinematic match known as the “Firefly Fun House Match” against John Cena.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxgMSo4-PDE

 

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Celebrity Deaths 2023: Musicians, Entertainers & Cultural Figures We Lost

We’ve had to say goodbye to some big names this year in the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics and beyond. To be frank, it was an absolutely brutal year.

So many giants in music died in 2023. Guitar god Jeff Beck died suddenly in January at age 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis. In February, legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach died at age 94. Singer, actor and civil rights icon Harry Belafonte died in April at age 96 from congestive heart failure. In May, the world lost Tina Turner – the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll – at age 83. Iconic pop singer Tony Bennett died in July at age 96.

The worlds of television and film were not immune to significant loss in 2023. Sitcom mastermind Norman Lear died in December at age 101. Three’s Company star Suzanne Somers died in October at age 76 from an aggressive form of breast cancer. Matthew Perry also died in October. The Friends star was only 54. Bob Barker, longtime host of The Price is Right, died in August at age 99. Paul Reubens, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, died in July at age 70 following a private battle with cancer.

The sports world was rocked by the deaths of three major wrestling figures. In June, The Iron Sheik (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri) died at age 81. Then, in August, there were two back-to-back deaths. First, WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk died at age 79. Funk’s hardcore style has been influential to generations of wrestlers that followed. Then, Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) suddenly died at age 36. The young wrestler died after contracting COVID, which exacerbated a heart issue and led to a heart attack.

Scroll through the gallery below to see the musicians, celebrities and other cultural figures we’ve lost in 2023.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter
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