Age, Biography, and Wiki
Bray Wyatt was born on May 23, 1987, in Brooksville, Florida. He came from a wrestling lineage, being the son of Mike Rotunda (Irwin R. Schyster) and the grandson of Robert Windham (Blackjack Mulligan). His uncles, Barry and Kendall Windham, were also professional wrestlers. Wyatt pursued a career in wrestling, making his debut in 2009 and quickly gaining popularity with his unique character and storyline, notably as the leader of The Wyatt Family.
| Occupation | Football Players |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 23 May 1987 |
| Age | 38 Years |
| Birth Place | Brooksville, Florida, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 24 August, 2023 |
| Died Place | Brooksville, Florida, U.S. |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Before his passing, Bray Wyatt stood at a height of 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm) and weighed approximately 289 pounds (131 kg).
At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, The Wyatt Family defeated Team ECW in an eight-man tag team elimination tables match. Wyatt and Luke Harper lost to Brock Lesnar at Roadblock on March 12 in a handicap match. At WrestleMania 32 on April 3, The Wyatt Family confronted The Rock, who defeated Rowan in an impromptu match in six seconds; the Wyatts were fended off by John Cena and The Rock. On the April 4 episode of Raw, The Wyatt Family attacked The League of Nations, starting an unexplained feud between the two factions and showing signs of a face turn. On April 13, during a match against Reigns at a live event in Italy, Wyatt suffered an injury to his right calf and was pulled off WWE's European tour. His injury prematurely ended the feud. The Wyatt Family returned on the June 20 episode of Raw, starting a feud with WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, who interrupted Wyatt during his return speech, reverting the group back to heels. The New Day later confronted The Wyatt Family at their compound before the Wyatts defeated them at Battleground on July 24 in a six-man tag team match. In the 2016 WWE draft, Wyatt and Rowan were drafted to the SmackDown brand while Strowman was drafted to the Raw brand.
| Height | 6 ft 3 in |
| Weight | 285 lb |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Wyatt was married to Samantha Krieger from 2012 until their divorce in 2017. They had two daughters together, Cadyn and Kendyl. After his divorce, Wyatt was in a relationship with JoJo Offerman, a former WWE ring announcer, with whom he had a son, Knash Sixx Rotunda, and a daughter, Hyrie Von Rotunda.
Rotunda was a third-generation wrestler, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, his father Mike Rotunda, and his uncles Barry and Kendall Windham. His younger brother Taylor is also a wrestler under the ring name Bo Dallas. Alongside his brother, he held the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice while in WWE's then-developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He wrestled under various ring names between 2008 and 2012 in FCW, and wrestled on WWE's main roster from 2010 to 2011 as a member of The Nexus under the ring name Husky Harris.
Following the punt by Orton on Raw, Rotunda returned to FCW and in March 2011 adopted the gimmick of the hockey mask-wearing Axl 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 (then FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion) feud with Lucky Cannon and Damien Sandow. The two brothers later teamed up to defeat Cannon and Sandow. Later, Harris voiced his displeasure of Bo's relationship with Aksana, and when Bo suffered a legit injury his title was vacated and a tournament set up to determine the new champion, during which Harris defeated Big E Langston to make it to the final, a fatal four-way match against Dean Ambrose, Leo Kruger and Damien Sandow, which he lost after Richie Steamboat (who was at ringside to aim for Ambrose) performed a superkick on Harris instead. Despite Aksana managing to get Steamboat to attack Harris again, he still won a triple threat match against Ambrose and Sandow to earn a match for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship against Kruger, which Harris lost when he was distracted with Steamboat's interference once again. 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 the title. However, 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 Rotundo defeated Brad Maddox and Eli Cottonwood to win the vacant FCW Florida Tag Team Championship for the second time. They successfully defended the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship against Antonio Cesaro and Alexander Rusev, but lost the championship to Corey Graves and Jake Carter on March 15.
Rotunda married Samantha Pixley in 2012, and they had a daughter in 2010 and a daughter in 2013 before she filed for divorce in 2017. Rotunda and WWE announcer JoJo Offerman were reported to be dating during this time. They later had a son in May 2019, whose godfather is wrestler Braun Strowman, and a daughter in May 2020. They were engaged from 2022 until his death in 2023.
Rotunda died in his sleep at his home in Brooksville Florida, on August 24, 2023 at the age of 36. The cause of death was a heart attack. His death was announced on X by WWE's chief content officer Triple H, following a phone call he had received from Rotunda's father Mike Rotunda. Rotunda had been dealing with an undisclosed illness since February, which was reportedly life-threatening. Just days before his death, reports were published stating that he was making progress in his recovery. Shortly after his death, it was revealed that the illness was due to an earlier COVID-19 infection, which had exacerbated a pre-existing heart condition. He had been hospitalized for a heart issue one week before his death, and was advised to wear a specialized vest containing a self-activating defibrillator; at the time of his death, he was not wearing the vest, which police found in his car.
WWE also announced that any further proceeds from Rotunda's merchandise sales would be given to his family. A few months later, Rotunda's father revealed that WWE had signed Rotunda to a Legends contract and arranged for all proceeds from the contract to go to his children.
During the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 5th, he was honored by his family (who were there for the induction of his father Mike Rotunda, and his uncle Barry Windham, as part of the US Express) with the crowd showing his traditional "fireflies," and his music being played. The fireflies entrance would eventually be adopted by Jey Uso, who withdrew from The Bloodline to begin his singles run in late summer 2023, at the start of his match against Damian Priest at Backlash France the next month.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Samantha Pixley (m. 2012-2017) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2022, Bray Wyatt's net worth was reported to be $2 million by The Sports Grail. However, there was a variation in his net worth reported in 2021 as $850,000 by EssentiallySports. Before his release from WWE in 2021, Wyatt was earning approximately $4 million annually.
At the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 4, 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, becoming members of The Nexus weeks later. He worked as a member of The Nexus, including when CM Punk became the new leader of the stable until the January 31 episode of Raw, when Harris was written off television after Randy Orton punted him in the head.
In November, Wyatt began a feud with Matt Hardy, resulting in Hardy's "Broken" gimmick reemerging. The two fought again at Raw 25 Years on January 22, 2018, which Wyatt won. On January 28, Wyatt entered the Royal Rumble match at #8, but failed to win after Wyatt and Hardy eliminated each other simultaneously. At Elimination Chamber on February 25, Wyatt lost to Hardy. On the March 19 episode of Raw, after losing to Hardy in an Ultimate Deletion match, Wyatt was pushed into the "Lake of Reincarnation", where he disappeared. At WrestleMania 34 on April 8, Wyatt returned and turned face after he interfered in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, helping Hardy win. They formed a team and won the vacant Raw Tag Team Championship on April 27 at Greatest Royal Rumble, defeating Cesaro and Sheamus. They lost the titles to The B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) in their first pay-per-view title defense on July 15 at Extreme Rules. On the July 23 episode of Raw, they invoked their rematch clause against The B-Team, but were unsuccessful. Soon after, Hardy took time off to heal his injuries, disbanding the team. The reason WWE disbanded the team was because they grew tired of them both pitching several ideas for their characters.
Rotunda made his video game debut in WWE '12 (as Husky Harris) and later returned, as Bray Wyatt, in WWE 2K15, WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, and WWE 2K20. His alternate persona The Fiend was a pre-order bonus for WWE 2K20. The final persona of Wyatt and Uncle Howdy were released as downloadable content in WWE 2K23. Wyatt appeared posthumously in WWE 2K24 and WWE 2K25. The new attire and appearance Wyatt had planned to use for a new iteration of The Fiend was added to WWE 2K24 in October 2024, and to WWE 2K25 in March 2025.
Wrestlers Braun Strowman, Karrion Kross, and Shotzi, alongside WWE's head of long-term creative Rob Fee, got matching tattoos of Rotunda's Wyatt logo. On the August 28 episode of Raw, WWE again paid homage to Rotunda, replaying the tribute video from SmackDown and turning off the arena lights to see the "fireflies" while his rocking chair again sat on the ramp. Several wrestlers would pay tribute to Rotunda, most notably by wearing armbands with his name on it. Seth Rollins mentioned Wyatt during his promo segment, while his World Heavyweight Championship bore side plates with Rotunda's Fiend logo. Becky Lynch wrestled in the main event against Zoey Stark and paid an emotional tribute to Wyatt after the match by holding his armband in the air. In a video posted by WWE's youtube channel Bayley, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and others reflect on the incredible impact Bray Wyatt had on their lives, careers and WWE.
Career, Business, and Investments
Bray Wyatt began his wrestling career in 2009 and quickly rose to prominence with his character, adopting the persona of a cult leader. He was known for his work in the WWE, particularly as the leader of The Wyatt Family and for his solo career. Wyatt won the WWE Championship once, defeating John Cena, AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, and Baron Corbin in an Elimination Chamber match. There is no public information about significant business or investment ventures outside of his wrestling career.
On February 12 at Elimination Chamber, Wyatt won the WWE Championship by defeating John Cena, AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, and Baron Corbin in an Elimination Chamber match; it was the first singles title in Wyatt's wrestling career, and the first world title of his career. This raised the possibility of Orton challenging his teammate Wyatt but on the following SmackDown Live, after Wyatt successfully defended the WWE Championship in a triple threat match involving John Cena and AJ Styles (despite a pre-match attack by Harper), Orton pledged allegiance to Wyatt and refused to face him at WrestleMania 33. However, this was revealed to be a ruse as Orton destroyed The Wyatt Family compound, including Sister Abigail's grave, two weeks later, and defeated Wyatt for the title at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, ending Wyatt's reign at 49 days. On April 10, Wyatt was moved to the Raw brand as a part of the Superstar Shake-up; his title rematch at Payback on April 30, billed as a House of Horrors match, was changed into a non-title match; Wyatt defeated Orton after being helped by Jinder Mahal ending their feud.
John Squires of horror website Bloody Disgusting wrote that Rotunda was a "truly one of a kind talent insideand outsidethe squared circle [...] the 'Eater of Worlds' will go down in history as an all-time great character in the annals of professional wrestling". B.J. Colangelo of film website /Film described Wyatt as "wrestling's horror icon" and wrote that "over the course of his career in WWE, Bray Wyatt truly became the new face of fear, and incorporated horror into the world of wrestling in a way that no one before him ever could".
On April 1, 2024, WWE released a documentary titled Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal. Narrated by Mark Calaway, the film examines both Rotunda’s career and personal life and features interviews with his family and various WWE personalities.
Social Network
While there is no active social media presence for Bray Wyatt now, during his career, he was active on platforms like Twitter and Instagram, where he engaged with fans and shared updates about his life and career.
After Elimination Chamber, Wyatt feuded with Cena, with Wyatt wanting to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies" while also trying to turn Cena into a "monster". Wyatt went on to accept Cena's challenge for a WrestleMania match, with Cena successfully resisting the urge to become a "monster" and overcoming interference from Harper and Rowan to defeat Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX on April 6, marking Wyatt's first pinfall loss on WWE's main roster. The feud continued after WrestleMania XXX 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 on May 4, 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 on June 1, where 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 2014 Money in the Bank ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship on June 29, which Cena won.
Beginning on September 29, vignettes were shown of Wyatt "setting Harper and Rowan free". Wyatt returned alone at Hell in a Cell on October 26 during the main event match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, costing Ambrose the match. In the following weeks, Wyatt taunted Ambrose while offering to "fix" him like he had done with Harper and Rowan. On November 23 at Survivor Series, Wyatt defeated Ambrose by disqualification after Ambrose used a steel chair to attack Wyatt. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 14, Wyatt defeated Ambrose in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. Wyatt once again defeated Ambrose on the December 22 episode of Raw in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight. The feud culminated in an ambulance match on the January 5, 2015, episode of Raw, which Wyatt won to effectively end their feud.
Many wrestlers paid tribute to Rotunda on social media, such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ric Flair, Kane, Braun Strowman, Alexa Bliss, Kevin Owens, Mick Foley, Seth Rollins, and Booker T. The August 25 episode of SmackDown honored both Rotunda and Terry Funk, who had died one day before Rotunda; the show opened with a ten-bell salute for the pair. Per WWE tradition, all on-screen talent stood at the top of the entrance ramp during the salute; Wyatt's former tag team partner Erick Rowan, who was not signed to WWE at the time, was also present. Wyatt's iconic rocking chair was placed in front of the ramp while the crowd sang "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", a song often affiliated with Wyatt throughout his WWE career. Further tributes and behind-the-scenes footage aired during the show, with Wyatt's final opponent LA Knight wrestling in the main event against Finn Bálor, who was the first opponent of Wyatt's "Fiend" persona.
Make-up artist and actor Tom Savini, who worked with Rotunda for the creation of the Fiend gimmick, commemorated him on Twitter. The band Code Orange, who made his later theme songs, also paid tribute to him.
Education
There is limited information available about Bray Wyatt's formal education. However, he was deeply involved in the wrestling industry from a young age due to his family background.
His younger brother, Taylor, is also a wrestler who performs under the ring name Uncle Howdy in WWE. He attended Hernando High School, where he won a state wrestling championship at 275 lb in 2005, the year of his graduation. 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 at the California junior college. He earned a football scholarship to Troy University, where he played college football for two years. He left Troy 27 credit hours short of earning a bachelor's degree after deciding to become a professional wrestler.
In April 2012, Rotunda was repackaged as Bray Wyatt, who initially associated himself with Eli Cottonwood in FCW. When WWE rebranded FCW into NXT, Bray Wyatt debuted on the July 11, 2012, episode of the rebooted NXT taped at Full Sail University, where he defeated Aiden English. In July, Wyatt suffered a torn pectoral muscle and required surgery. Despite the injury, Wyatt continued to appear on NXT, 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, where he defeated Yoshi Tatsu. Wyatt suffered his first loss on the March 13 episode of NXT to Bo Dallas. On the May 2 episode of NXT, Wyatt lost to Chris Jericho. On the May 8 episode of NXT, Harper and Rowan defeated Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey to win the NXT Tag Team Championship. On the July 17 episode of NXT (which was taped on June 20), Harper and Rowan lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Neville and Corey Graves.
At Survivor Series on November 20, Wyatt and Orton were the sole survivors for Team SmackDown in the traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match after Orton saved Wyatt from a spear from Roman Reigns. The pair then began focusing on stopping the momentum of American Alpha, and to a bigger degree capturing the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, defeating them in a match to become #1 contenders. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 4, they won the championship from Heath Slater and Rhyno, marking Wyatt's first title win in WWE. Wyatt and Orton retained the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against the former champions on the December 6 episode of SmackDown Live but on the December 27 episode of SmackDown Live, Orton and Luke Harper (who defended the championship under the Freebird Rule) lost the title to American Alpha in a four corners elimination tag team match. This started dissent between Harper and Orton, who faced each other on the January 24, 2017, episode of SmackDown Live, which Orton won, leading to Wyatt delivering Sister Abigail to Harper, exiling him from the group. On January 29, Wyatt entered the Royal Rumble match at #21 and lasted until the final three: Wyatt and Orton cooperated against Roman Reigns, who eventually eliminated Wyatt but was himself eliminated by Orton, who thereby won the match and a title match at WrestleMania.
