Bray Wyatt

Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 - August 24, 2023) was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Bray Wyatt. In World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) he is a two-time WWE Universal Champion, a one-time WWE Champion, a one-time SmackDown Tag Team Champion as the leader of the Wyatt Family and one-time Raw Tag Team Champion with Matt Hardy.
He previously wrestled for WWE as Husky Harris, most notably as a member of The Nexus. His younger brother Taylor Rotunda also performs in WWE, under the ring name Bo Dallas. Alongside his brother, he has held the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice.
He was a third generation professional wrestler, following in the footsteps of his grandfather (the late Blackjack Mulligan), his father (Mike Rotunda), and two of his uncles (Barry Windham and Kendall Windham).
==Career==
===World Wrestling Entertainment===
He debuted in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in April 2009 with a victory, using the name "Alex Rotundo". He later changed his name to "Duke Rotundo".
On June 23, 2009, Rotunda teamed up with his younger brother Bo, and they defeated Justin Angel and Kris Logan to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. At the November 19 FCW television tapings they lost the championship to the Dudebusters (Curt Hawkins and Caylen Croft).
====NXT and The Nexus (2010-2011)====
On June 1, 2010, Rotunda was announced as a competitor in the second season of WWE NXT under the name "Husky Harris", with Cody Rhodes as his mentor. Harris made his debut on the June 8 episode of NXT, competing in a tag team match with Rhodes against Montel Vontavious Porter and Percy Watson, which they lost. After a rocky start with his pro Cody Rhodes, Harris turned heel on the June 22 edition of NXT by attacking announcer Matt Striker, just as his pro did the previous week. The following week, Harris lost to Porter in a singles match, and was ranked seventh out of the eight rookies in the first poll. In the second poll, Harris moved up to sixth place, narrowly avoiding elimination. On August 9 the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match on Raw, which Harris' team won when he pinned Kaval, but his team lost a rematch the following night on NXT. In the poll later that night, Harris climbed to fourth place out of the six rookies. Harris was one of two rookies eliminated from NXT on August 17. Following his elimination, Harris and Rhodes attacked Kaval, resulting in a brawl also involving Porter and Kofi Kingston. Harris reappeared in the season finale of NXT with the other eliminated rookies and joined in on the attack on the NXT winner, Kaval.
At the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in October, a disguised Harris and Michael McGillicutty interfered in a match between John Cena and Wade Barrett, and helped Barrett win, forcing Cena to join Barrett's faction the Nexus per the pre-match stipulation. Harris' and McGillicutty's identities were revealed on the following day's episode of Raw, though Barrett claimed he had not asked for their help and refused to make them full-time members of The Nexus. The following week, Harris and McGillicutty cost Cena a match against The Miz, prompting Barrett to give them the opportunity to win membership in the Nexus. On the October 18 episode of Raw, Harris and McGillicutty failed to earn a place in the Nexus when they lost to Cena and Randy Orton in a tag team match. Despite of their loss, Harris and McGillicutty were inducted into the Nexus on Raw the following week. In January 2011, CM Punk took over the Nexus and had each of its members put through an initiation. Harris passed his initiation, a lashing from the rest of the group, and was allowed to remain a member of the New Nexus, alongside Punk, McGillicutty and David Otunga. Three weeks later, on the January 31 episode of Raw, Harris and McGillicutty unsuccessfully challenged Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov for the WWE Tag Team Championship. After the match, Orton attacked them as revenge for costing him the WWE Championship, and punted Harris in the head, which was used to write Harris off television "indefinitely".
====Return to FCW (2011–2012)====
Following the punt by Orton on Raw, Rotunda returned to FCW and debuted a new character in March 2011, that of the hockey mask-wearing Axel Mulligan, but the character never made it to FCW TV, and Rotunda continued to play the Husky Harris character on FCW TV. In August 2011, Harris became embroiled in his brother Bo's (the FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion) feud with Lucky Cannon and Damien Sandow; the brothers later teamed up to defeat Cannon and Sandow in a tag match. Later, Harris voiced his displeasure of Bo's relationship with Aksana, and when Bo suffered an injury, his title was vacated and a tournament set up to determine the new champion; Harris defeated Big E Langston to make it to the final, a fatal four-way match against Dean Ambrose, Leo Kruger and Damien Sandow. During the match, won by Kruger, Harris was superkicked by Richie Steamboat at ringside who was aiming for Ambrose. The next week, a scheming Aksana managed to get Steamboat to attack Harris again; Harris also won a triple threat match against Ambrose and Sandow to earn a match for the championship against Kruger, which Harris lost when he was distracted with Steamboat's interference. As a result, Harris and Steamboat began feuding, with their first match ending in a no contest. Kruger later defeated the pair in a triple threat match to retain his heavyweight title, and the following week, Harris defeated Steamboat in a No Holds Barred match. After the pair continued to frequently attack each other, they were suspended for 30 days. Upon their return, Harris defeated Steamboat in a Bullrope match to end their feud. On February 2, 2012, Harris and Bo defeated Brad Maddox and Eli Cottonwood to win the (vacant) Florida Tag Team Championship for the second time. The brothers successfully defended their titles against Antonio Cesaro and Alexander Rusev, but lost their titles to Corey Graves and Jake Carter on March 15.
====The Wyatt Family (2012–2014)====
In April 2012, Rotunda debuted a new character, Bray Wyatt, who initially associated himself with Eli Cottonwood while in FCW. When WWE rebranded FCW into NXT Wrestling, Wyatt debuted on the fourth episode of the rebooted WWE NXT, taped at Full Sail University, where he defeated Aiden English in a singles match. Wyatt is portrayed as an evil cult leader who believes himself to be more monster than human. The character drew comparisons to Max Cady of the 1991 film Cape Fear and Waylon Mercy. In July, Wyatt suffered a torn pectoral muscle and required surgery. Despite the injury, Wyatt continued to appear on NXT by founding a faction known as The Wyatt Family in November, with Luke Harper as his first "son" and Erick Rowan as his second. Wyatt had his first match back from injury on the February 21, 2013 episode of NXT, defeating Yoshi Tatsu. Wyatt suffered his first loss on the March 13 episode of NXT, when he was defeated by Bo Dallas. On the May 2 episode of NXT, Wyatt was defeated by six-time world champion Chris Jericho. On the May 8 episode of NXT, Harper and Rowan defeated Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas to win the NXT Tag Team Championships. The Wyatt Family went on to feud with Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno, with Wyatt defeating Graves on the May 22 episode of NXT. The following week, Wyatt eliminated both Graves and Ohno during an 18-man battle royal to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship, although he was later eliminated by Neville. On the June 19 NXT, the Wyatt Family defeated the team of Graves, Neville and Ohno. On the July 10 episode of NXT, Wyatt pinned William Regal when the Wyatt Family faced Graves, Neville and Regal in a six-man tag match.
From the May 27 episode of Raw, WWE aired vignettes promoting the upcoming debut of the Wyatt Family. The vignettes showed the Wyatt Family's backwoods origins and Rowan wearing a lamb mask. On the July 8 episode of Raw, the Wyatt Family made their debut by assaulting Kane. The Wyatt Family continued their attacks on wrestlers like R-Truth, Justin Gabriel and 3MB (Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, and Jinder Mahal) while sending cryptic messages to Kane asking him to "follow the buzzards". Following another assault, Kane challenged Wyatt to a Ring of Fire match at SummerSlam, which he accepted. On August 18 at the pay-per-view, Wyatt defeated Kane in the Ring of Fire match, following interference from Harper and Rowan. After the match, Harper and Rowan again attacked Kane and ended the segment by carrying him away. Wyatt's next target was Kofi Kingston, who he defeated at WWE Battleground.
The Wyatt Family's next feud began when they attacked Daniel Bryan and CM Punk in late October, leading to Bryan and Punk defeating Harper and Rowan at Survivor Series. The Wyatt Family continued their feud with Bryan as Wyatt attempted to recruit Bryan, and the trio defeated Bryan in a handicap match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. On the final Raw of 2013, Bryan defeated Harper and then Rowan in a gauntlet match so that he could face Wyatt, whereupon Harper and Rowan interfered for a disqualification and beat him down. A frustrated Bryan finally gave up and gave in to join the Wyatt Family. However, after Bryan joined them, they could not find success. This caused Wyatt to push Bryan, leading to Bryan attacking all the members of the Wyatt Family on the January 13 episode of Raw to signal him breaking free of the group. At the Royal Rumble, Wyatt defeated Bryan in a singles match, and later at the event, the Wyatt Family's distraction cost John Cena his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Randy Orton. The family proceeded to attack Cena and left him lying in the ring.
On the January 27 Raw, The Wyatt Family attacked Bryan, Cena and Sheamus during an Elimination Chamber qualifying match against The Shield, thus awarding Bryan's team the disqualification win and costing The Shield a chance to enter the Elimination Chamber match at the eponymous event. Therefore, a six-man tag team match was set up between The Shield and the Wyatt Family at the event. The Wyatts won the match at Elimination Chamber, disabling Dean Ambrose in the stands and throwing Seth Rollins through the Spanish announce table before finally pinning Roman Reigns. Later, they interfered in the Elimination Chamber match, leading to John Cena's elimination.
In the weeks following Elimination Chamber, Wyatt continued to torment and antagonize John Cena (including saying that Cena's heroic image was nothing more than a facade), to the point of interrupting his request to enter the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal to Hulk Hogan. Cena would then issue a challenge to Wyatt for a match at WrestleMania XXX, which was accepted. With Cena successfully resisting the urge to become a "monster" and overcoming interference from Harper and Rowan to defeat Wyatt at WrestleMania. The feud continued after WrestleMania based on the story that Wyatt was capturing Cena's fanbase, which was exemplified by Wyatt leading a children's choir to the ring on the April 28 episode of Raw, with the children later putting on sheep masks. At Extreme Rules, Wyatt defeated Cena in a steel cage match, after repeated interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family and a demonic child. Cena's feud with Wyatt continued with a Last Man Standing match being set up for Payback. At the pay-per-view, Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match and end the feud. On the June 13 episode of SmackDown, Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which John Cena won. The following night on Raw, the Wyatt Family attacked a returning Chris Jericho which led to matches between Wyatt and Jericho at Battleground, where Jericho won and at SummerSlam, where Wyatt won with the remaining Wyatt family banned from ringside. On the August 25 episode of Raw, Wyatt was utterly dominated by John Cena in a singles match. Harper and Rowan caused a disqualification, leading to a six-man tag pitting the Wyatt Family against Cena, Show and Henry. Cena submitted Harper to win, then delivered AAs to all three members of the Wyatt Family. On the September 8 Raw, Wyatt defeated Chris Jericho in a steel cage match by escaping the cage. Beginning from September 29, vignettes were shown of Bray Wyatt "setting Luke Harper and Erick Rowan free".
====Singles run and feud with The Undertaker (2014-2016)====
Wyatt returned alone at Hell in a Cell in October, during the main event match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Just as Ambrose was about to defeat Rollins, the arena lights cut out and Wyatt's lantern appeared in the middle of the ring, spraying out smoke and projecting an image of a ghostly specter while the sound of Wyatt reciting an incantation was heard. Wyatt emerged from the smoke and blindsided Ambrose, who was then pinned by Rollins for the victory. After the match, Wyatt attacked Ambrose. In the following weeks, Wyatt would taunt Ambrose while offering to "fix" him like he had done with Harper and Rowan. Wyatt eventually defeated Ambrose at Survivor Series by means of disqualification after Ambrose used a steel chair to attack Wyatt. The following month at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Wyatt once again defeated Ambrose, this time in a TLC match. After being defeated by Ambrose at Tribute to the Troops in a Boot Camp match, Wyatt would defeat Ambrose on the December 22 episode of Raw in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight. This would lead to an Ambulance match on the January 5, 2015 episode of Raw, which Wyatt won, effectively ending their feud. At Royal Rumble, Wyatt competed in the Rumble match, entering at #5 where he lasted for almost 47 minutes, eliminating six other contestants before being eliminated by Big Show and Kane.
Over the next few weeks, Wyatt began a series of cryptic promos which led to Fast Lane, where Wyatt challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 31, which Undertaker accepted on the March 9 episode of Raw. On March 29 at WrestleMania XXXI, he was defeated by The Undertaker. Before the event, Wyatt suffered a sprained ankle, causing his match with The Undertaker to be worked with a slow pace.
Wyatt would air a series of vignettes in the coming weeks which would eventually turn into a feud with Roman Reigns.
====Feud and Reconcile with 'Woken' Matt Hardy (2017 - 2018)====
Matt Hardy had made his recreation of the 'Broken' character. After losing a match in November 2017, repeating the Delete chant, and had said some things on his Twitter that something his persona would say. He had made an official debut of his character in December 4, 2017 interrupting Bray Wyatt's promo. He made his 'Woken' in ring debut in January 2018, defeating Curt Hawkins. Bray Wyatt would go on to feud with Matt Hardy because of this in a non-title pursuit. Bray Wyatt would go to be defeated at the Ultimate Deletion by Matt, after distractions from Senor Benjamin and Jeff Hardy. In the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Matt Hardy was facing Baron Corbin at the near end of the match, as they were the last 2 to be eliminated. With the help of rival Wyatt, Matt Hardy won by Wyatt eliminating Corbin. They would go on to reconcile this turned Wyatt face as a result, with now Wyatt referring to Jeff as Brother Nero (possibly insinuating Jeff becoming his Brother Nero again) after his match.
====Firefly Funhouse (2019–2021)====
After an injury, Bray Wyatt's character was revamped. He returned to host the Firefly Funhouse, a children's show segment with dark undertones, further foreshadowing the emergence of The Fiend. Wyatt was released by WWE on July 31, 2021.
====Return to WWE (2022-2023)====
Amidst weeks of mysterious clues, leading fans down the rabbit hole, Wyatt made his return on October 8, 2022 at Extreme Rules. Along with his return, a mysterious Unlce Howdy has appeared too, causing even more mysteries for the WWE Universe.
On the November 11 episode of Smackdown LA Knight was being interviewed backstage about his anger at not being included in the SmackDown World Cup Tournament when Wyatt arrived and introduced himself. Wyatt said they can be friends because he understands Knight's anger. Wyatt asked Knight how far he is willing to go with his anger to which Knight insulted Wyatt resulting in Wyatt headbutting Knight and walking away. On the November 18 episode of Smackdown, Wyatt offered an apology to Knight but Knight slapped Wyatt, saying he accepts the apology and now they are even. Wyatt agrees they are now even and offers a handshake to Knight but Knight strikes him again. Later that night, Knight was found trapped underneath rubble backstage after appearing to be attacked. Over the coming weeks, Knight continues to be attacked while each time Wyatt denied attacking him. On the December 9 episode of Smackdown, Knight provided evidence that Wyatt was the attacker given that Bray's mask was present when Knight was attacked. The following week a mysterious figure appearing to be Wyatt tied up Knight in footage received via a QR code. Later that night, Knight attacked Wyatt before being chased away by the appearance of Uncle Howdy. On the December 30 episode of Smackdown Knight again confronted Wyatt, only this time Howdy arrived and attacked Wyatt. This led to a Pitch Black match between the two being made official for the Royal Rumble.
On the January 20, 2023 episode of Smackdown, Bray Wyatt returned to the Firefly Fun House and reunited with all of his friends Mercy the Buzzard, Abby the Witch, Ramblin' Rabbit, and Huskus the Pig Boy. Bray threatened LA Knight ahead of their match at the Royal Rumble.
==Personal life==
Rotunda was a third generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, father Mike Rotunda and uncles Barry and Kendall Windham were all professional wrestlers. He has a younger brother, Taylor, who is also a professional wrestler, and a younger sister, Mika. Rotunda was named after Barry Windham.
Rotunda attended Hernando High School, where he won a state wrestling championship at 275 lbs in 2005. He graduated from high school in 2005. He also played football as a defensive tackle and guard. Rotunda played at the College of the Sequoias for two seasons, earning second-team All-American honors as a sophomore offensive guard. He earned a football scholarship to Troy University, where he played collegiate football for two years. He left Troy University 27 hours before earning a bachelor's degree after deciding to become a wrestler.
As of June 2017 Rotunda's wife has filed a divorce after finding out he had an affair with WWE Ring Announcer Jo-Jo Offerman. On March 27, 2019, Offerman posted on Instagram announcing her pregnancy. On May 18, 2019, Rotunda and Offerman announced the birth of their first child on social media, a son named Knash Sixx Rotunda.
==Quotes==
*"Follow The Buzzards"
*"Go Down With The Machine"
*"He's Got The Whole World In His Hands"
*"I will always light the way! All you have to do... is let me in."
*"Yowie Wowie!"
*"Reveal in what you are."
==In wrestling==
*Finishing moves
**Stunner - as Axel Mulligan
**Running senton - as Husky Harris; Signature move as 'Bray Wyatt'
**Sister Abigail, sometimes preceded by a kiss to the forehead 2010–2023
**Mandible claw -  as 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt (adopted from Mick Foley), 2019–2023
*Signature moves
**Ura-nage
**Half-Nelson Slam
**Body Avalanche
**Short-arm clothesline
**Pop Up Forearm -FCW
**Side Slam
**DDT onto the ring apron
**Drop Suplex
**Palm strikes backing an opponent into a corner
**Running Body Block
**Running Crossbody
**Flying Cross Chop
**Headbutt
** Swinging Gutbuster
** Throat Thrust
*with Matt Hardy
**Double team finishing moves
***Wheelbarrow Twist of Fate
***The Kiss of Deletion (Double swinging reverse STO, with theatrics)
*Managers
**Cody Rhodes
**Wade Barrett
**CM Punk
*Wrestlers managed
**Luke Harper
**Erick Rowan
**Daniel Bryan
*Tag teams and stables
**Nexus
**The Wyatt Family (w/ Luke Harper, Erick Rowan Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton)
**“Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt
*Nicknames
**"The Army Tank with a Ferrari Engine"
**"The Angel of Dirt"
**"The Reaper"
**"The Eater of Worlds"
**"The Man of 1,000 Truths"
**"The New Face of Fear"
**"The Deleter of Worlds"
**"The Fiend"
*Entrance music
**Smoke & Mirrors" by TV/TV (used as Cody Rhodes' rookie on NXT)
**"We Are One" by 12 Stones (used while a part of The Nexus)
**"This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (used while a part of The New Nexus)
**"He's got the whole world in his hands" (June 23, 2014)
**"Broken Out In Love/Live in Fear" by Mark Crozer (April 22, 2012–August 11, 2019)
**"The Deletion Anthem" by CFO$ (WWE: January 8, 2018 – July 3, 2018)
**"Let Me In" by CFO$ feat. Code Orange (WWE: August 11, 2019 - April 11, 2021)
**"Shatter" by Code Orange (WWE: 2022-2023)
==Championships and accomplishments==
*CBS Sports
**Comeback Wrestler of the Year (2019)
*Florida Championship Wrestling
**FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bo Rotunda
*World Wrestling Entertainment 
**WWE Championship (1 time)
**WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Matt Hardy
**WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Randy Orton and Luke Harper
**WWE Universal Championship (2 times)
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**PWI Match of the Year (2014) vs. John Cena at Payback 2014
**PWI ranked him #331 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
==External links== 
* WWE.com profile
* Profile
Category:1987 births
Category:2009 debuts
Category:American wrestlers
Category:Florida wrestlers
Category:Rotunda family
Category:Third Generation Wrestlers
Category:Florida Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:Nexus
Category:NXT season 2
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:WWE NXT alumni
Category:Former football players
Category:2023 deaths
Category:Male wrestlers
Category:WWE Tag Team Champions
Category:WWE Champions
Category:Elimination Chamber Match alumni
Category:Elimination Chamber Match winners
Category:FCW Florida Tag Team Champions
Category:WWE Universal Champions
Category:Masked Wrestlers
Category:Wrestlers who have died