It’s been confirmed that WWE has released Bray Wyatt. The news was made official earlier this afternoon per the company’s social media and official website. “WWE has come to terms on the release of Bray Wyatt,” said the company on their website. “We wish him the best in all his future endeavors.”
The last time Bray Wyatt appeared on WWE programming was at WrestleMania 37 this past April. On Night Two of the weekend event, “The Fiend” battled Randy Orton in the opening match. The match in question concluded when Alexa Bliss, who had been aligned with Wyatt, interfered at his expense. This allowed Orton to deliver an RKO and pick up the pinfall victory. Wyatt hasn’t been seen on WWE television since. Following WrestleMania, he took time off, with many speculating that this was due to mental health issues. However, per Fightful Select, the word among backstage performers was that he was fine and that there was no specific reason why he wasn’t on TV.
WWE has come to terms on the release of Bray Wyatt. We wish him the best in all his future endeavors. https://t.co/XIsUbaMUZ7 pic.twitter.com/koRuC3w1yr
— WWE (@WWE) July 31, 2021
Bray Wyatt began his WWE career in 2009 with its developmental territory, at the time, Florida Championship Wrestling. Under the name Alex Rotundo, he teamed with real-life brother Bo Rotundo, otherwise known as Bo Ballas. Together, the brothers became 2x FCW Florida Tag Team Champions. In 2010, he made his main roster debut on WWE NXT Season 2 under the name Husky Harris. As an “NXT Rookie,” he was paired off with “WWE Pro,” Cody Rhodes. From there, Harris joined The Nexus, not only under the faction’s original leader, Wade Barrett but their future leader, CM Punk.
When NXT was rebranded as WWE’s new developmental platform, Harris’s character underwent a striking metamorphosis. In the spring of 2012, he underwent a repackaging as Bray Wyatt, a cult leader character that captivated viewers with his unique cadence and chilling promos. He would soon recruit Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, forming The Wyatt Family. Wyatt led Harper and Rowan to the NXT Tag Team Championship. The trio would debut on the main roster together the following year. From Kofi Kingston to Kane to The Shield, The Wyatt Family feuded with many notable WWE stars, building credibility in the process. The group would be joined by Braun Strowman in due time. Additionally, for temporary periods, The Wyatt Family saw members in Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton.
So many times they had something right in front of them with Bray Wyatt and they never quite got it right. pic.twitter.com/z5IKCwh81D
— Alex McCarthy (@AlexMcCarthy88) July 31, 2021
Once The Wyatt Family officially disbanded, Bray Wyatt briefly teamed with Matt Hardy, forming The Deleters of Worlds. However, Wyatt’s next big character reinvention came in April of 2019, when he took on the persona of an overly enthusiastic children’s show host, accompanied by various puppet friends; collectively, they became known as The Firefly Funhouse. However, as the weeks progressed, Wyatt hinted at a darker, more chilling persona. This gave rise to “The Fiend,” a masked, nigh-indestructible force. From the character’s chilling entrance to the way in which it shook off even the most devastating maneuvers, this persona proved to be not only a threat in the company but, for a time, one of its most popular acts.
During his time in WWE, Bray Wyatt achieved considerable success. In addition to being a 2x tag team titleholder in the company, he won the WWE Championship once and, as “The Fiend,” the Universal Championship twice; thus, Wyatt ended his tenure with the company as a 3x world champion. As stated earlier, he is the real-life brother of former WWE Superstar Bo Dallas. He is also the grandson of Black Mulligan and son of Mike Rotunda, the latter perhaps better known to WWE fans as Irwin R. Schyster, or IRS. Wyatt’s uncles, Barry and Kendall Windham, were wrestlers as well.
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