Windham Rotunda, the professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE under the name Bray Wyatt, passed away on Aug. 24. He was 36.
In a tweet posted by WWE CCO Triple H, Rotunda's father confirmed his son had passed.
It was later revealed via Sean Ross Sapp that Rotunda contracted COVID which exacerbated a heart issue, eventually passing away from a heart attack.
Rotunda is a third-generation wrestler, following the path laid out by his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, his father Mike Rotunda, and two uncles—Barry and Kendall Windham. Alongside his brother Taylor, who was signed to WWE under the name Bo Dallas, the two continued the Rotunda wrestling legacy.
After briefly wrestling for WWE under the name Husky Harris, Rotunda returned to the company's developmental division NXT to develop the character of cult leader Bray Wyatt. Alongside Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, the latter of which passed away in 2020, they became the first iteration of the Wyatt Family, a swamp-dwelling cult helmed by the villanous Wyatt. After a brief hiatus, Wyatt rebranded as having dissociative identity disorder, switching between a children's show host and his villanous side, known as the Fiend.
Throughout Rotunda's wresting career, he won several championships, notably holding the WWE Championship once and the Universal Championship twice. He was eventually released from the company in 2021, returning in 2022. The wrestler took a hiatus in February due to a then-undisclosed health issue. He was spotted by a fan as recently as Aug. 19. His father also was optimistic for his return, telling Wrestling Binge, "You read a lot of stuff on the internet, which I wouldn’t believe a lot of it or, in my case, any of it. So, Bray Wyatt, I’m sure he will return to WWE hopefully shortly, and we’ll go from there."
Rotunda is survived by his wife, Joseanne Offerman, and his four children.
Below, you can read tributes to Rotunda.
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