UPDATE: More Details On Bray Wyatt’s Passing

UPDATED: Details on Bray Wyatt’s passing have been reported. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful posted to Twitter to note that he got permission from the Rotunda family to reveal the details, writing:

“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.”

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

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.

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) August 25, 2023

ORIGINAL: WWE star Bray Wyatt has passed away. Triple H announced the tragic news on Twitter on Thursday, noting that he was informed of the news by Wyatt’s father Mike “IRS” Rotunga. He was 36 years old.

Triple H 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.”

Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda, spent his entire career in WWE. He signed with the company under a developmental deal and had his in-ring debut in 2009 in FCW, working a dark match before debuting on TV as Alex Rotundo and later becoming Duke Rotundo. He began teaming with his brother Bo and won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. in July of that year.

Rotunda underwent a name change to Husky Harris when he joined NXT and was part of that show’s reality competition format. He would join the group of NXT rookies as The Nexus in October of 2010 at Hell in a Cell alongside Curtis Axel (then Michael McGillicutty). Rotunda stayed with the Nexus when CM Punk took the faction over in January of 2011 before being written off of TV through an attack by Randy Orton, and returned to FCW.

Rotunda would be repackaged 2012 as Bray Wyatt in NXT, the role he would play for the rest of his career. He formed the Wyatt Family with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, and eventually brought the stable onto the main roster. Wyatt went through various iterations of his character, starting as the cult leader-style character and winning the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber 2017. He would lose the title to Randy Orton at at WrestleMania 33.

After a feud with Finn Balor, Wyatt feuded with “Woken” Matt Hardy and was “reborn” after losing an Ultimate Deletion match. Hardy and Wyatt formed a tag team and won the Raw Tag Team Championships, holding them for a couple of months. The team was disbanded after Hardy took time off to deal with injuries, and Wyatt’s character was repackaged under the Firefly Fun House gimmick with his “Fiend” persona.

As The Fiend, Wyatt had perhaps his most controversial character. The Fiend captured the WWE Universal Championship from Seth Rollins at WWE Crown Jewel in 2019, which he held until he lost to Goldberg at WWE Super ShowDown in February of 2020 just before the pandemic. Wyatt was eventually released from WWE in July of that year, but made his return to the company in October of 2022 following an attention-catching series of “White Rabbit” ARG-style segments. Wyatt returned with a new character, Uncle Howdy, on his trail, proclaiming to be Wyatt’s dark side.

Wyatt’s arc with Uncle Howdy would never get a chance to see completion, as he was taken off TV before WrestleMania due to a health issue. There’s no word as of yet whether that health issue is what led to his passing.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends, and many fans of Mr. Rotunda. He will most certainly be missed.

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