The world of lucha libre, wrestling or pressing catch, as we discovered it in Spain in the 1990s, has lost one of its most imaginative figures. During this past dawn, the death of Windham Rotunda, known by his stage name in WWE Bray Wyatt, at the age of 36, has been reported. The content director of the American company, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, has been in charge of announcing the news.
“I just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the tragic news that our WWE Lifetime Family member Windham Rotunda aka Bray Wyatt has passed away from unexpectedly today. Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect his privacy at this time, ”the former wrestler posted on his X profile.
Wyatt had been absent from WWE programs and events since January of this year, due to an unspecified injury or illness. The specialized journalist Sean Ross Sapp, with the permission of the family, has revealed the causes of death: “I have been given permission to reveal that earlier this year Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) contracted covid that aggravated his heart problems. There were many positive developments towards his return and recovery. Unfortunately today he suffered a heart attack and passed away ”.
Rotunda began working for WWE in 2009, but it was the following year that he became known to the general public under the name Husky Harris, within the group of villains (heels) known as The Nexus. It was between 2012 and 2013 that he developed his original version of the character Bray Wyatt: a quiet-spoken, laid-back southern cult leader, inspired by the lead character in the movie Cape Fear, Max Cady.
With his own faction, The Wyatt Family, he gained public recognition thanks to his iconic entrance, illuminated by a flashlight and by spectators' phones, which he called his "fireflies"; his signature phrase "Follow the buzzards" (follow the vultures) and his teammates: Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman and Luke Harper, who also tragically passed away in 2020.
After six years being a regular figure in the main spaces of WWE, Raw and SmackDown, Wyatt gave his image a twist. Through a fake children's show, The Firefly Funhouse, he became a kind presenter but with psychotic overtones, who hid a secret identity worthy of a horror movie: The Fiend, an almost invincible monster dressed in a mask designed by specialists. of the genre James Baker and Tom Savini.
His last appearances on television were between October 2022 and this month of January, after presenting an innovative clue game to publicize his new character, a "real version" of himself that included multiple personalities and a supposed nemesis: Uncle Howdy. , played by his brother Taylor, known on television as Bo Dallas. His last match took place at this year's Royal Rumble event, against the wrestler LA Knight.
Wyatt was a regular figure in the WWE broadcasts that Marca TV and Neox would bring to Spain during the last decade. The news of his death has hit the industry hard, being one of his most creative and imaginative figures, capable of seeking and finding the limits of what it means to tell stories or describe characters within a ring. On a personal level, Rotunda was married to "JoJo" Offerman and had four children.
