Bray Wyatt (1987-2023) was an American professional wrestler who competed in many wrestling promotions including WWE, NXT, and FCW for more than a decade. He died due to a heart attack in August 2023.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Windham Lawrence Rotunda aka Bray Wyatt was born on Saturday, 23 May 1987 (age 36 years; at the time of death) in Brooksville, Florida, U.S.A. His zodiac sign was Gemini.
A childhood photo of Bray Wyatt with his brother
He passed high school at Hernando High School, Brooksville in 2005. He was inspired by his father to become a wrestler and won a state wrestling championship in 2005 when he weighed 275 pounds (125 kg). He later attended College of the Sequoias where he also played American football (rugby) for two seasons as a defensive tackle and guard and was honoured with second-team All-American as a sophomore offensive guard. He later was given a football scholarship to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Troy University, Alabama; however, he dropped out of college around two semesters (27 credit hours) before the completion of his degree to pursue a career in professional wrestling.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 6′ 3″
Weight (approx.): 130 kg
Hair Colour: Black (braids)
Eye Colour: Hazel gray
Family
He belonged to a family of wrestlers.
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name was Mike Rotunda, a former professional wrestler, and his mother’s name was Stephanie Windham Rotunda. He had a younger brother named Taylor Rotunda who is also a professional wrestler and goes by the name Bo Dallas in WWE. He had a younger sister named Mika Rotunda.
Bray Wyatt (in white coat) with his family
Wife & Children
He got married to Samantha Kreiger, a real estate agent, on 16 February 2012 and divorced each other in 2017. They had two daughters named Kendyl, born in 2011, and Cadyn, born in 2013. Bray got engaged to Joseann Offerman (former WWE ring announcer JoJo) in April 2022 and had two children with her including a boy named Knash Sixx Rotunda, born in May 2019, and a girl named Hyrie Von Rotunda, born in May 2020.
Bray Wyatt with his fiance, JoJo and his children
Relationships/Affairs
He started dating Samantha Kreiger when he was in college and married her in 2012. He later had an affair with WWE ring announcer JoJo (real name – Joseann Offerman) when he was married to Samantha and got engaged to her in 2022.
Bray Wyatt with his girlfriend, JoJo, before getting engaged
Religion
He followed Christianity.
Autograph
Career
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW)
Bray Wyatt made his debut in FCW on 5 February 2009 against Brian Jossie. He later made his FCW TV debut in April 2009 under the ring name Alex Rotundo which he later changed to Duke Rotundo. He later started competing in tag team matches with his brother, Bo. On 23 July 2009, they won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating Justin Angel and Kris Logan, which they lost to The Busters on 19 November 2009.
Bray Wyatt (left) with his brother, Bo Dallas, during his early years in FCW
In March 2011, he started fighting under the ring name Axl Mulligan; however, in the televised matches, he fought under the ring name Husky Harris. On 2 February 2012, he won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship for the second time, with his brother Bo. In April 2012, he started fighting under the ring name Bray Wyatt.
WWE NXT
On 2 June 2010, Bray joined WWE NXT under the ring name Husky Harris, where he partnered with Cody Rhodes in a tag team. He made his in-ring TV debut on 8 June 2010. On 17 August 2010, he was eliminated from NXT. In November 2012, he formed a group named The Wyatt Family with Luke Harper as his first son and Erick Rowan as his second son.
Bray Wyatt in NXT as Husky Harris
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
On 4 October 2010, he made his in-ring TV debut (in disguise) by attacking John Cena, in a Hell in a Cell match, as his identity was revealed on 5 October 2010. He later became a member of the group The Nexus. On 31 January 2011, he was attacked by Randy Orton following which he was given a break from WWE. On 8 July 2013, he debuted as the head of The Wyatt Family and assaulted Kane followed by attacks on many different wrestlers including Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal. On 18 August 2013, he fought his first main roster match, a Ring of Fire match at SummerSlam, against Kane which he won.
Bray Wyatt in WWE as the head of The Wyatt Family
As the head of The Wyatt Family, he later had remarkable feuds with Daniel Bryan and John Cena with matches against them in the 2014 Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania 30 in 2014, and the Last Man Standing match at the 2014 Payback event.
Bray Wyatt performing Sister Abigail move on John Cena
In September 2014, promos aired on TV which showed Wyatt freeing Harper and Rowan. In the 2015 Royal Rumble Match, he fought for 47 minutes before Big Show and Kane eliminated him. On 22 February 2015, he started promos declaring himself The New Face of Fear. On 29 March 2015, he lost the Wrestlemania 31 match to The Undertaker.
Bray Wyatt with The Undertaker
Return of The Wyatt Family
In July 2015, The Wyatt Family returned, and on 24 August 2015, he introduced Braun Strowman as the new member of The Wyatt Family (popularly called The New Wyatt Family). Wyatt and Rowan were drafted to Smackdown, and Strowman was drafted to Raw in the 2016 WWE Draft, ending their association. On 25 October 2016, Randy Orton joined The Wyatt Family, and Wyatt and Orton later became tag team partners. On 4 December 2016, he won his first WWE title by winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at 2016 Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC). On 12 February 2017, he won his first WWE singles title at the 2017 Elimination Chamber event.
Bray Wyatt (sitting) with The New Wyatt Family
Randy Orton later had a feud with The Wyatt Family and broke down The Wyatt Family compound into pieces, including Sister Abigail’s grave. On 2 April 2017, Wyatt lost his title to Orton in a match at WrestleMania 33 event. In November 2017, he started a feud with Matt Hardy under the gimmick Deleters of Worlds, to which Hardy fought under the gimmick Broken. In April 2018, Wyatt and Hardy became tag team partners, and on 27 April 2018, they won the Raw Tag Team Championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble event.
Bray Wyatt (right) with Matt Hardy
The Fiend
In April 2019, many promos aired during WWE shows showing Wyatt as the host of an evil-looking show called Firefly Fun House which showed him cutting his cardboard with a chainsaw. He then appeared in a gimmick called The Fiend with a demonic face mask. On 31 October 2019, he defeated Seth Rollins and won the Universal Championship. He later introduced two belts with separate belts for the Firefly Fun House character and The Fiend gimmick.
Bray Wyatt in Firefly Fun House (left) and as The Fiend (right)
On 27 February 2020, he lost the title to Goldberg. In the Wrestlemania 36 event, he defeated John Cena, which was his first and only Wrestlemania win. He later had feuds with Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, and Randy Orton. He later had a short partnership with Alexa Bliss. His last match, shown on TV, was against LA Knight in the 2023 Royal Rumble event on 28 January 2023.
Bray Wyatt (right) with LA Knight, with whom he had his last match
Signature Moves & Persona
Bray Wyatt’s signature move was Sister Abigail (also known as swinging reverse STO, facebuster, or faceplant). One of his favourite finishing moves was the Mandible Claw. His persona was often shown as evil with extreme endurance and strength.
Awards, Honours, & Achievements
- 2010: Feud of the Year – The Nexus vs. WWE and Most Hated Wrestler of the Year – as part of The Nexus (Pro Wrestling Illustrated)
- 2013: Best Gimmick – as part of The Wyatt Family (Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
- 2014: Worst Worked Match of the Year – vs. John Cena at Extreme Rules (Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
- 2014: Match of the Year – vs. John Cena in a Last Man Standing match at Payback (Pro Wrestling Illustrated)
- 2017: Worst Gimmick – Sister Abigail, Worst Worked Match of the Year – vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33, and Worst Feud of the Year – vs. Randy Orton (Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
- 2019: Gooker Award – vs. Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell (WrestleCrap)
- 2019: Worst Feud of the Year – vs. Seth Rollins, Best Gimmick – The Fiend, and Worst Match of the Year – vs. Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell(Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
- 2019: Comeback Wrestler of the Year (CBS Sports)
- 2019: WWE Year-End Award for Male Wrestler of the Year (WWE)
- 2020: Most Overrated, Worst Feud of the Year – vs. Braun Strowman, Worst Match of the Year – vs. Braun Strowman at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, and Worst Gimmick – The Fiend (Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
- 2021: Worst Feud of the Year – with Alexa Bliss vs. Randy Orton (Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
- 2022: Best Return – at Extreme Rules (New York Post)
WWE Championships and Achievements
- WWE Championship in 2016 from 12 February 2017 to 2 April 2017
- WWE Universal Championship (2 times) from 31 October 2019 to 27 February 2020 and from 23 August 2020 to 30 August 2020
- WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Matt Hardy from 27 April 2018 to 15 July 2018
Bray Wyatt with WWE Championship Belt
- WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Randy Orton and Luke Harper
- Tag Team Eliminator in 2018 – with Matt Hardy
Tattoo
Bray Wyatt had many tattoos on his body, including
- A skull on his left hand
Bray Wyatt’s skull tattoo
- A combination of animals on his left thigh
Combination of Animals on his left thigh
- An aggressive wolf design on his chest and sternum
- A pattern on his right arm
- Two skulls on the inner portion of his left arm
- A tribal pattern on his shoulder
- A depiction of the Crucifixion of Jesus on his left arm
Crucifixion of Jesus tattoo on his left arm
- An angel with burnt wings on his back
- Samoan tribal art on his back
- The words ‘Evil Authority’ on his left forearm
- A pattern on his left forearm
- An unidentified letter on his left triceps
- Samoan tribal patterns on his right leg
Bray Wyatt’s tattoos
Death
Bray Wyatt died on 24 August 2023 due to a heart attack at the age of 36 years. It was later revealed that he tested positive for Covid-19 which later worsened his poor heart condition. Chief Content Officer of WWE, Triple H, confirmed his death in a tweet following which several other wrestlers including The Rock and Mick Foley mourned his demise.
Im heartbroken over the news of Bray Wyatt’s passing. Always had tremendous respect and love for him and the Rotunda family. Loved his presence, promos, in ring work and connection with @wwe universe.Very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy… pic.twitter.com/i9zlbJIOL3
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 24, 2023
Facts/Trivia
- His son, Knash Sixx Rotunda’s godfather is wrestler Braun Strowman.
Bray Wyatt (left) with his children and Braun Strowman
- His WWE character over the years is present in the WWE video games from WWE ’12 to WWE 2K23.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn