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Showing posts with label Bray Wyatt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bray Wyatt. Show all posts

August 24, 2023

WWE Star Bray Wyatt Dead At 36

WWE superstar Bray Wyatt, whose real name is Windham Rotunda, has died, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque announced on social media Thursday. Wyatt was 36.

"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," Levesque wrote on X, the company formerly known as Twitter. "Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time."

The news of Wyatt’s death was a shocking and devastating revelation as a report surfaced earlier this month that the former champion was nearing a return to the ring after battling a "life-threatening illness."

Earlier in the year, Wyatt got COVID that exacerbated a heart issue. He suffered a heart attack. Pro wrestlers and fans sent their condolences across social media.

Back in October, Wyatt had made a return to the WWE in one of the most mysterious build-ups the company had done in a while. A white rabbit, mystery QR codes and other messages appeared on WWE programming leading up to Wyatt’s eventual return at Extreme Rules. The hints pointed toward his return about 15 months since he was released in July 2021.

Wyatt’s "Fiend" character was among the favorite programs that WWE ran in recent years. WWE was able to make the character thrive through the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and he was put into epic feuds with John Cena and Randy Orton.

Wyatt’s cult leader character was also well-received when it began in 2013. However, Wyatt was released on July 31, 2021. His release marked the end of a 12-year run at WWE.

After his return on the premium live event, Wyatt cut a heartfelt promo thanking fans for welcoming him back and helping him through the tough times after his release.

"I am incredibly grateful. I’m really, really nervous to be here. I never thought this would happen," Wyatt said. "This right here, this is just me OK? This is a version of me I never got to introduce to you guys before. This is just me being me – genuine me – for the first time."

Wyatt explained at the time that over the last year, he lost a lot of friends and things in his life.

"I lost my career. I lost my self-confidence. I lost two people who were very, very close to me. I lost my way," he said. "And I got to a point where I thought that everything that I’ve ever done here or otherwise, it was all meaningless. Nothing I’ve ever did has ever mattered to anyone. And I was wrong.

"Once I was done feeling sorry for myself, I decided to go out in the world again and see … people everywhere that would say, ‘Thank you Bray, man. When you coming back home?’ And then every once in a while there would be someone I would meet that would be truly remarkable, and you know who you are. But these people they would come to me. They would come to me, and they would say, ‘Bray, I just wanted to thank you, man, because I was in a time of need, and I lost people that were close to me, and I lost my self-confidence, and I felt weak, and I felt vulnerable, and in this weakened state I found your words, Bray. I found your words, and I just wanted to thank you, man. You saved my life, Bray.’

"The truth is, I don’t think about stuff like that. And the thing about that is, is that I can sit here right now today, and I can look all of you in the eyes, and I can say you were there when I was weak, when I was vulnerable, when I was down, and I just wanted to say, ‘Thank you, you all saved my life.’"

Wyatt feuded with LA Knight, which culminated in a Pitch Black match at Royal Rumble. He was set to start a program with Bobby Lashley before he reportedly fell ill.

He was angled for a September return before his unexpected death, according to Fightful Select.

Wyatt had two daughters with his ex-wife and a son and daughter with former WWE announcer JoJo Offerman. His father, Mike Rotunda, was known in the WWE as Irwin R. Schyster (IRS).

December 2, 2022

Stephanie McMahon Discusses Triple H’s Creative Vision For The White Rabbit Project

During the Wells Fargo 2022 TMT Summit (via Fightful), Stephanie McMahon spoke about the success of the White Rabbit Project in WWE and Triple H’s creative vision for it. The project caused TV viewership and live event attendance to go up and eventually led to the return of Bray Wyatt.

She said: “In terms of in-ring content, under Paul Levesque, it’s one of the key strengths that he was one of the biggest performers in the history of our business. He understands what it takes to be a successful superstar, one of the most successful. He understands audience connection and how to create content in a way I don’t think many do. When you think about the changes he’s made, the talent he’s brought back, not only bringing back stars, but how he’s doing it. For example, we were bringing back one of our biggest stars, Bray Wyatt, whose character is a bit of a cult-type leader. We used a multi-media approach and hired a horror writer to help us craft this narrative so fans were engaged. We started doing QR codes randomly in the background. It’s what we called the White Rabbit Project. There were interactive games, there were different misleads. We had one puzzle that was coordinated to a record store in Corbin, Kentucky that was White Rabbit Records. It happened to be that the people at the store played along. Our fans would call and ask, ‘What’s going on? Is someone returning? What’s happening at WWE?’ They would use some of the language we were using in the campaign and then hang up the phone. One of the codes drove us to a date, and that date happened to be the SmackDown that was happening. It looked like it could be a date or a time code, September 23 or 9:23. At 9:23, we saw viewership increase 20% over that time period. It’s strategies like that, that work because the audience is different and they’re growing and evolving. Some people want to have a lean-back experience, and that’s great, but a lot of people want to engage deeply and have fun and have misleads and misdirections. The worst thing in the world is when things are predictable from a content perspective. We want to make them unpredictable.“

October 18, 2022

Triple H Discusses 'The White Rabbit Project' Leading To Bray Wyatt's Return

Speaking to The Wrap, WWE’s Chief Content Officer Triple H discussed how WWE used social media to build up Bray's return.

“We asked ourselves how we could bring back Bray Wyatt in the most engaging way possible. So we created ‘The White Rabbit Project,’ intended to lead our audience down this literal rabbit hole of content to help build anticipation for Wyatt’s return at ‘Extreme Rules’ on Peacock,” he said. "It started with flickering lights in arenas and continued with the release of other easter eggs, like hidden QR codes within episodes of ‘SmackDown’ and ‘Raw’ that led viewers to more clues that kept them guessing, and tuning in, each week. It culminated in what we believe was a massive pay-off for our fans – and for WWE. This is a great example of how WWE is uniquely positioned as a sports and entertainment property to harness the power of our shows and our social following to develop multimedia, long-term storytelling that can help produce meaningful aggregated audiences."

August 2, 2021

Fans Point Out Bizarre Trend Between Randy Orton, AEW and Released Wrestlers

July 31, 2021

Bray Wyatt Released From WWE

WWE announced Bray Wyatt has been released.

“WWE has come to terms on the release of Bray Wyatt. We wish him the best in all his future endeavors,” WWE wrote.

It was recently reported that WWE was keeping Wyatt off TV for the time being for reasons that were not related to creative.

Wyatt was told by John Laurinaitis that his departure was due to budget cuts, according to F4WOnline. Wyatt is among a string of stars who have been released as of late for the same reason.

September 17, 2016

Bray Wyatt on Growing Up In Pro Wrestling, Being Different Than Others, Making a Name for Himself


Bray Wyatt sat down with The Daily Journal to promote an upcoming tour of Tupelo Mississippi. The full interview is at this link and below are highlights:

Always wanting to make a name for himself:

“I don’t really view myself as a legacy. I am my own thing. When I was a child, all I wanted to do was get here some day at some point because I had so much to say and things I wanted to accomplish. Not because someone before me did, but because I had my own message.”

Growing up in the business:

“Growing up in that environment is a strange thing. Most people couldn’t imagine it. When I was a child, I thought everyone was a wrestler. I thought when you went to work, you went to go wrestle. It was weird hearing kids talk trash about your family from what they see on television, but it kind of molded me and made me what I am today – thick-skinned.”

Being the most memorable going today:

“I am the most shock and awe product there is today. It’s a strange vibe when I come out. I’m different than anything else out there. It’s violence and wildness.”

May 10, 2016

WWE Conference Call: Vince McMahon discusses the first quarter financial report


Vince McMahon and members of senior management served as the hosts of a conference call pertaining to the 2016 first quarter financial report that was released on May 10, 2016. The following are the highlights of the call. Refresh the page for the latest updates.

-The call is hosted by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, WWE Chief Strategy and Financial Officer George Barrios, and WWE Investor Relations Michael Weitz.

-It was emphasized that WrestleMania occurred in the second quarter this year compared to last year.

-Vince said the earnings revenue was “pretty good.” He praised the WWE Network number through WrestleMania and the “brand equity of WrestleMania” while noting that they broke their attendance record. Vince said the majority of the tickets were sold when they put them on sale.

-Vince spoke about new network content. He said Camp WWE is doing “extremely well” on the VOD side. He also touted the Holy Foley show and Total Bellas. Vince also boasted of their success on social media and once again labeled it the strength of the brand.

-Vince said they were able to make “chicken salad” out of the injuries they suffered heading into WrestleMania. He mentioned Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and John Cena among the returning stars. He said they have introduced 13 new talents and said it speaks to the strength of the NXT brand.

April 9, 2016

Bray Wyatt On His Relationship With Triple H, Moving On From Husky Harris, Being Patient


Bray Wyatt joined Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca on Busted Open during WrestleMania week. They sent us these highlights:

Moving past his previous incarnation in WWE as Husky Harris:

"I explain the old guy as a shell of a man that never really existed at all because that's exactly what it was. It was 'the man' trying to make into something that they thought would be humorous for them, but it meant nothing to me. Never did and it never will."

The perspective he has that allows him to be patient:

"There's a level of understanding that comes with seeing it. I didn't just see the good times. I saw all the horribleness in-between and the drop-off when it ends. My mind has always been prepped to be here. That being said, there's no favors being done for me. When I was thrown away years ago, and I was. I was thrown away and no one ever thought I'd come back. I remember Hunter telling me something. Hunter told me, 'When you walk in the door, no one is going to look at you and go, 'This guy needs to be a world champion.' He's like, 'You have to find yourself and invent yourself and you have to grab them by the throat and make them watch, make them understand you'. That's where I came from and that's exactly what I've always tried to do and I think I've done a pretty good job of that. Not to mention adding five giants behind me has kind of helped with that."

Whether true faces and heels still exist in wrestling today:

"TV and movies have changed everything about that. Stone Cold Steve Austin, for instance. There still is, to me, the cliche 'good guy' and 'bad guy'. I really believe that, but there's also guys like me and Roman that kind of blur the lines… Deadpool has this wonderful thing, and I think this explains this wonderfully. He tosses a guy up and he sticks him with two swords and he goes, 'Hey, hold on. I know it looks like I'm a hero here, but I want you to know something. I am a bad guy' and he slices the guy in half. That's a great testament to, I think, what I am. I fight for what I believe in, but I'm not a good person. I never claimed to be and I'm not."

His relationship with Triple H:

"Me and Triple H, I think we have a love-hate relationship. I love him, he hates me. I'm just kidding.

"Hunter was there at the beginning of NXT. It was nothing, it was still FCW, it was a warehouse, and when he came in, everything started to change. It was a lot of cartoon characters. It was, I'm not going to name names, but a lot of goofs and, you know, guys just wearing trunks and going out there, baby oil all over themselves, and then there was me. When we started that first show, I was one of the first characters to ever come out and I was so different. No one understood that at that time because NXT was not what you see today with all these bright characters. Finn Balor coming out with all the, whatever, devil crap. It wasn't like that then. It was just cartoon characters and when I walked out, it was just a great feeling because people immediately accepted what I was doing. They didn't care about the other guy. They didn't want to know about how it happened. They were just happy it did. They were very receptive and Hunter was instrumental in that for believing in me when not too many other people did… He's carried me a long way and I owe him everything."

March 1, 2016

Details on WWE Roadblock Live Network Special, Poster Revealed, Run Time for the Event, Talent Advertised and More


WWE has changed the March to WrestleMania live Network special to WWE Roadblock, and it will be headlined by Triple H vs Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Title.

The event takes place in Toronto on March 12th, and the official website of the Ricoh Coliseum is advertising the following:

-Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus

-The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho

-Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman vs. Luke Harper with Bray Wyatt

Other talents being advertised include The New Day, The Miz, The Usos, Paige and Brie Bella

The WWE Network has the event scheduled from 8:00pm EST to 10:30pm, making it just short of a normal monthly PPV.

Below is the official WWE Roadblock promo poster:

February 1, 2016

WWE Hall of Famer Hospitalized, Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas Leave WWE Raw Tonight to Be at His Side


According to PWInsider.com, WWE Hall of Famer Robert “Blackjack Mulligan” Windham has been hospitalized in Florida, and his son-in-law Mike Rotunda, along with his grandsons Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas, have left WWE Raw in Alabama to be with him.

Mulligan’s condition is unknown at this time, but it’s obviously serious enough that Wyatt and Dallas left Raw to be with their ailing grandfather. Mulligan was previously hospitalized in 2015 after suffering a heart attack.

December 14, 2015

Detailed Recap of Last Night's WWE Network Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels Podcast

November 10, 2015

Video: The Undertaker and Demon Kane reemerge to unleash hell upon The Wyatt Family

July 1, 2015

Rolling Stone Releases Their WWE "Best of the Rest of the Half-Year" Awards, Praise for Kevin Owens


Rolling Stone has announced their WWE "Best of the Rest of the Half-Year" awards at this link. They named NXT Champion Kevin Owens as the WWE Wrestler of the Year, so far. They wrote:

"In a matter of months, the father of two from Marieville, Quebec has not only stared down his potential but surpassed it, becoming a lynchpin of two promotions and building a character inspired by everything it took to get him to this point. Love him or hate him, you can't deny his impact on the first six months of 2015 – or wonder how high he'll climb by year's end. It's wrestling, folks. It's Kevin Owens."

January 5, 2015

Photo from CES Reveals New WWE WrestleMania Pinball Game for 2015


Photos leaked from this week's CES convention reveal that the Stern Pinball company will be releasing a WWE WrestleMania pinball game this year, likely in time for WrestleMania 31.

Stars featured on the outside of the game include Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, a masked Kane and The Bella Twins.

More details should be announced at CES this week but the game could run well over $5,000. Apparently there is already a lot of backlash in the pinball community against Stern for their next big release being a WWE game.

December 25, 2014

Rumor Mill - Backstage News on Low Morale In WWE Following Vince Interview, Triple H Gives Speech to Roster


It's said that morale in WWE, which wasn't good before, has been noticeably different since Vince McMahon's live interview with Steve Austin. The feeling is that Vince "crapped on just about everyone in the locker room" except for Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt. There's also a feeling that Vince made it clear those were the only ones he sees that have top star potential.

Triple H actually gave a speech to the WWE roster after morale got bad due to the interview. His speech was described as an attempt at damage control that backfired.

As a general rule backstage, the talents in NXT love Triple H, but on the main roster, whatever he said in the speech lost him a lot of credibility, especially among those who have been with the company for some time.

December 2, 2014

Video: Vince McMahon comments on lack of ambition in the WWE locker room

October 8, 2014

Bray Wyatt is influenced by Martin Luther King, shepherded by Triple H and destined to face the Undertaker

September 26, 2014

WWE Star Tops PWI 500 List


WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan was the #1 ranked wrestler on the 24th annual “PWI 500″ list.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated selected this year’s list by evulating all pro wrestlers between July 1st, 2013, and July 31st, 2014. The rules state wrestlers must have competed in a minimum of twenty matches, or at least one match in seven separate months in the specified time frame.

The top ten of the PWI 500 list is as follows:

Daniel Bryan
Randy Orton
John Cena
AJ Styles
Kazuchika Okada
Bray Wyatt
Roman Reigns
Magnus
Adam Cole
Bully Ray

June 11, 2014

Rumor Mill - John Cena’s Eye Injury, Backstage News on Bray Wyatt Punished in the Past for Similar Incident


John Cena suffered an eye injury during his WWE live event match against Bray Wyatt in Madison, Wisconsin over the weekend. The injury came when Wyatt poked Cena in the eye, which resulted in massive swelling that was visible on Raw this week.

WWE cameras were instructed to shoot Cena from a distance on Raw this week, to camouflage the injury as best as possible.

According to The Wrestling Observer, this is not the first time this has happened, as Bray Wyatt, back when he was performing as Husky Harris, poked Cena in the eye in a similar fashion, and word is Wyatt was demoted back to developmental for the incident as he did not "apologize to Cena enough" for the mistake.

April 29, 2014

Video: Bray Wyatt and a children's choir serenade John Cena

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