Former WWE champion Bray Wyatt dies at age 36 - ESPN

WWE star Bray Wyatt, known for being one of the most creative minds in professional wrestling who pushed the boundaries with innovative characters, died Thursday at the age of 36, WWE chief content officer Paul «Triple H» Levesque announced on social media.

Wyatt, whose real name was Windham Rotunda, had been inactive over the past several months in WWE while dealing with an undisclosed health issue. He had been with WWE since 2009, save for just over a year in 2021 and 2022 when he was surprisingly released. Rotunda returned to WWE last September with much fanfare and a mysterious storyline, including cryptic vignettes, that helped boost television ratings.

«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, formerly known as Twitter. «Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time.»

Rotunda came from a wrestling family. His father Mike gained fame in WWE as Irwin R. Schyster, as well as in other promotions under his real name or Michael Wallstreet. Rotunda's uncle Barry Windham was one of the most highly regarded wrestlers of the 1980s and early 1990s and a former member of the prestigious Four Horsemen stable. Rotunda's brother, Taylor, also wrestles for WWE and in the past used the moniker Bo Dallas.

Windham Rotunda was married to former WWE ring announcer JoJo Offerman. They had two children and Rotunda had two other children from a previous marriage. He was a two-time former WWE Universal champion and former WWE champion.

After starting in WWE's developmental program as the character Husky