Remembering Bray Wyatt: Reflecting on 5 iconic moments in his WWE career
The pro wrestling world is trying to process the loss of Bray Wyatt. The real-life Windham Rotunda passed away on Thursday at the age of 36. The terrible news was first announced by WWE's Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque (better known as Triple H) on social media.
Bray Wyatt's cause of death was reported by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful. According to the journalist, Wyatt passed away after a heart attack.
Wyatt will forever be remembered as one of the most creative minds in the wrestling business. His ability to tell a gripping story inside the squared circle was second to none. Before reflecting on Bray Wyatt's five iconic WWE moments, let's take a moment to send our deepest condolences to the Rotunda family and the fans.
With that said, let's begin:
#5. The Firefly Funhouse match with John Cena at WrestleMania 36
Bray Wyatt was arguably one of John Cena's toughest opponents during the latter's active WWE career. Cena was also Wyatt's first high-profile opponent after The Wyatt Family joined the main roster full-time in 2013. Though the Eater of Worlds failed to beat Big Match John at WrestleMania XXX, he did leave an indelible impact on the franchise player's mind.
The two stars entered into a high-stakes feud on the road to WrestleMania 36 and finally squared off against each other in a Firefly Funhouse match.
The concept in itself was extremely challenging, but Wyatt and Cena, with their undeniable chemistry, managed to pull it off.
#4. Bray Wyatt's first WWE Title win
WWE split the roster into two back in 2016. This gave Bray Wyatt, who still hadn't won a world title at that point, the opportunity to showcase his talents. That changed at Elimination Chamber 2017 when he survived five other competitors to win his first WWE Championship.
Wyatt pinned AJ Styles to a huge pop from the Arizona crowd at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. He cut an incredible promo to kick off the SmackDown after Elimination Chamber.
#3. The epic confrontation with The Shield
It's hard to believe that The Wyatt Family and The Shield co-existed in the WWE a decade ago. What's even more amazing is that the seeds of their epic feud were inadvertently planted by none other than CM Punk. Back in 2013, Punk and Daniel Bryan had a two-on-three match against The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins).
Punk had Ambrose in the Anaconda Vice when, all of a sudden, the lights went out to foreshadow the arrival of The Wyatt Family. The lights came back, and fans saw Luke Harper and Erick Rowan inside the ring. Fans in the UK took over the arena with the "Yes!" chants as the two factions gave them a preview of their classic showdown at Elimination Chamber 2014.
#2. Debuting The Fiend
Bray Wyatt was unmatched as far as his creative genius was concerned. The WWE star was constantly thinking of ways to reinvent himself without allowing the fans to lose their interest in him.
In 2019, he underwent a scary metamorphosis to herald the arrival of his alter ego, The Fiend. The masked gimmick was a more violent and sadistic side to the otherwise calm and strategic Wyatt.
The Fiend made his debut on the July 15, 2019, episode of RAW by attacking Finn Balor. Wyatt retained his Sister Abigail finisher, though he did insert Mick Foley's mandible claw into his arsenal.
The Fiend proved to be extremely popular with the WWE Universe and catapulted Wyatt into superstardom, giving him two Universal Championship reigns in the process.
#1. The triumphant comeback at Extreme Rules 2022
Bray Wyatt was released from his WWE contract in 2021. His exit came as a huge shock to fans and peers alike because Wyatt was one of the top stars when he was let go by the company. It only took a year for WWE to bring him back.
Triple H and his team did an incredible job with the White Rabbit tease and other vignettes to prepare fans for Wyatt's return.
The comeback was top-notch as well. The lights went out while Daniel Cormier and Matt Riddle were making their way backstage at the end of Extreme Rules.
The cameras then showed the Firefly Funhouse characters in the crowd. The arena popped when Wyatt's voice came from the speakers. The man finally returned, and it was arguably one of the greatest comebacks of all time.
What are your favorite memories of Bray Wyatt's WWE career? Let us know in the comments section below!