WWE Star Bray Wyatt ‘Unexpectedly’ Dead At 36

The wrestling star came from a long line of WWE performers.

Wrestling star Bray Wyatt has died at age 36, a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive announced Thursday.

Wyatt, whose legal name was Windham Rotunda, “unexpectedly passed earlier today,” former wrestler and current WWE executive Paul Levesque, better known by his stage name Triple H, announced on Twitter. He said he received the news from Wyatt’s father, the former wrestler Mike Rotunda. 

“Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time,” Triple H said.

Wyatt first entered the professional wrestling world in 2009, using the stage names Alex Rotundo and Duke Rotundo. He rebranded himself as Wyatt in 2012 when he debuted “The Wyatt Family,” a wrestling stable made up of him and two other wrestlers. The group went through various iterations before disbanding in 2017.

Open Image Modal
Bray Wyatt attends an event in 2016.
Monica Schipper via Getty Images

The WWE released Wyatt in 2021 before bringing him back last fall, when he debuted a new gimmick as a contoversial character with multiple personalities. His alternate persona, The Fiend, was a scary monster-clown.

But early this year, Wyatt disappeared from WWE matches and public life, reportedly due to a “life-threatening” illness.

However, no cause of death has been announced.

Wyatt comes from a big wrestling family. In addition to his father, his grandfather, two of his uncles and younger brother are all part of the WWE world.

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost