Tag: Bray Wyatt

Florida High School Renames Wrestling Tournament to Honor Bray Wyatt

The late Windham Rotunda, better known to the wrestling world as Bray Wyatt, is being honored by the school where his athletic journey began. Hernando High School in Brooksville, Florida — Wyatt’s alma mater — has renamed its annual wrestling tournament the Windham Rotunda Memorial Invitational, celebrating the life and legacy of one of its most accomplished former students.

The announcement came via social media from the Hernando High School Wrestling Club, which also revealed plans to establish an annual scholarship in Rotunda’s name. The award will be presented each year to a senior wrestler during the tournament finals, beginning with this year’s event on December 5–6.

“With the blessing of the Rotunda family and the Brooksville Kiwanis, we are changing the name of the long-standing Kiwanis Invitational to the Windham Rotunda Memorial Invitational,” said David Pritz, who now oversees the wrestling club and was once a teammate of Rotunda’s at Hernando. “Windham was my teammate and one of the most memorable athletes to ever wear the Purple and Gold. I hope this can be a small tribute to his lasting legacy. He is a true legend and someone we will never forget.”

Rotunda’s sister Mika shared that the gesture moved her and their father, WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda, to tears. Mike is currently recovering from a major heart attack suffered in September, which left him in a coma for a week and required a lengthy hospital stay.

Before captivating millions as Bray Wyatt in WWE — where he became a three-time world champion and one of the most creative minds in modern wrestling — Windham Rotunda was a standout athlete at Hernando High, excelling in both wrestling and football.

Wyatt tragically passed away on August 24, 2023, at just 36 years old after suffering a heart attack in his sleep. His influence, however, continues to be felt across the wrestling world — and now, through the halls of his hometown high school.

The renaming of the tournament and the creation of the scholarship ensure that Windham Rotunda’s legacy of passion, creativity, and perseverance will inspire young athletes for generations to come.

WWE Raw QR Code Finally Confirms Arrival Date Of New Stable Themed Around Bray Wyatt

Bo Dallas’ new stable themed around the late Bray Wyatt, as well as his own Uncle Howdy character, seemingly has a confirmed arrival date to WWE, with a new QR code seen on “WWE Raw.” On Monday, during Rey Mysterio’s entrance, an image popped up on the broadcast, complete with the code for fans to scan to find more clues about the mysterious faction. When scanned, it leads to a countdown, which ends next Monday during the broadcast.

“Your patience will be rewarded,” the staticky onscreen image during the broadcast read, before flashing again to read, “Your impatience will be punished.” The image then flashes to the code, then very quickly shows what appears to be a figure, assumably Uncle Howdy. When the code is scanned, the phrases “You refused salvation” and “The reckoning is inevitable” surround the real-time countdown.

The biggest clues surrounding the stable came from a Twitch stream almost three weeks ago. Those clues seemed to potentially spell out the exact date of the faction’s debut, which fans also determined to be next Monday, as well as who would be involved. Letters written to various “family members” seen on the stream seemed to include the recently re-hired Erick Rowan of the original Wyatt Family, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, and former Schism leader Joe Gacy. Alexa Bliss’ involvement with the stable has not been confirmed, though some eagle-eyed fans thought they spotted her backstage during a recent “Raw.”

The most recent code on Friday’s episode of “WWE SmackDown” led to a letter thanking fans, telling them, “this is all because of you.” Last Monday, a code featured Firefly Funhouse puppets when scanned, as well as poetry and images from a journal that seemingly belong to Uncle Howdy. After months of fans scanning codes and deciphering clues to be shared and speculated about online, it seems like the fun and games could be coming to an end after WWE’s Clash at the Castle premium live event. Or, knowing Wyatt and Uncle Howdy, this could be just the beginning.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Newest Wyatt-Themed WWE Raw QR Code Unlocks Ominous Survey, Cryptic Series Of Puzzles

Another episode of WWE programming, another QR code leading to a lengthy trail of clues all seemingly pointing toward Uncle Howdy and, now more than ever, other members of his new faction. As the Chad Gable vs. Sami Zayn match that opened Monday’s “WWE Raw” went to a commercial break, the code quickly flashed on-screen, alongside the newspaper clipping that we’ve seen before about the missing therapist with a byline attributed to “Wendy Lucho,” an anagram for Uncle Howdy. Scanning the code takes viewers to the URL wwe.com/ecgpramstor, and deducing that the slug is an anagram for spectrogram will come in handy later down the path. The page itself says, “hello,” and then begins a survey featuring the following series of yes or no questions:

“Can you ever truly be free?”

“Have you ever lost your way?”

“Did you find your way back?”

“Do you want to be better?”

“Do you know that I’m proud of you?”

“Is love unconditional?”

“Have they been set free?”

“Do you believe?”

“Do you want to meet them?”

Once the questions are through (if you answer them correctly, that is) the page renders the message “soon.” Below that are 10 clickable, blank boxes that lead to even more content and clues, including a cipher that, when cracked, states, “A puppet is free as long as he loves his strings,” and three separate audio files that, when run through a spectrogram, reveal a file named “ICU2” that just shows the word “hello,” another named “North_Star” that contains the familiar Bray Wyatt/Wyatt 6 upside down moth logo, and another named “WITNESS” that very clearly shows Uncle Howdy’s face.

WhatsApp, Glassboro, and the Allegory of the Cave

From there, the links in the boxes only get more intriguing, bizarre, and downright creepy. One goes to a newspaper article, positioned adjacent to the “Wendy Lucho” piece, titled “STUDY SEES NEGATIVE RESULTS.” The story refers to a “cruel and evil experiment” that actually look place in 1965, when Josie Laures and Antoine Senni set new records for time spent alone in a cave. The text of the story includes lines such as “I saved them,” “Give me a little more time,” and “I must give them the opportunity to repent. I hope, for their sake, they do.” It also features an image that appears to refer to Plato’s famous Allegory of the Cave.

Elswhere, a sheet of notebook paper with “LIAR LIAR” scratched out in red and black marker contains the words “WhatsApp 5.22” scrawled in the corner, likely suggesting another clue dropping Wednesday. There’s also a quick video showing the veiled visage of a mysterious female figure, source code that contains an anchor link to the word “DOOR” within an H1 tag, a piece of paper with the glyph for Pluto all over it, the coordinates 39.7100 N and 75.1192 W, which points to Glassboro, New Jersey, which happens to be the location of Rowan University — likely a not-so-subtle reference to rumored returning superstar and former Wyatt Family member, Erick Rowan — and a piece of paper with “WENDY LUCHO” written on it, along with tick marks in each letter, perhaps showing its author working out the anagram before attributing it to the byline in the newspaper article.

WWE Shop recently released two shirts that fit right in with this mysterious journey, with one labeled as “Cavebird 1” and the other as “Cavebird 2.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Update On Potential Members Of WWE’s New Bray Wyatt-Themed Faction

Over the last few weeks, WWE has guided fans on a cryptic treasure hunt, with the final prize rumored to be a new faction led by Uncle Howdy (fka Bo Dallas), the real-life brother of the late Windham Rotunda (aka Bray Wyatt). WWE’s latest clue revealed a QR code at WWE Backlash that linked to a phone number and an audio file indicating that several “missing” people have come together to form a new family in WWE.

QR code hit the screen that sent viewers to the WWE-hosted landing page www.wwe.com/porte_ouverte. (That slug, “port ouverte,” is French for “open door.”)

On the page, an audio file is hosted, along with what appears to be a phone number, 888-280-3999 — the same number that, in 2022, revealed an audio clip of Bray Wyatt’s doctor revealing his (in character) mental health diagnosis, ending with a tease of his return. When playing the audio on the page, a distorted female voice says, “You think you’re so close to finding him but you don’t even know what you’re looking for. He’s not what you think. He just wants to help. That’s all he ever wanted. He opens up his arms and makes you feel like you matter; like you belong. He doesn’t change you. He, he reminds you. He wants to know, ‘Why did you forget about them?’ He says he opened the door and the time of secrets has come to an end.”

The familiar phone number now hosts a different message, mentioning “the ones that had gone missing,” and going on to say, in part, “None of you cared. Their families didn’t care. Their friends didn’t care, but I set them free. They are my family now and we will do anything to protect our family. I can’t wait for you to see what we’ve become. It’s beautiful.”

In the wake of this massive Easter egg, PWInsider is now reporting that this new group will soon present themselves on WWE television as a spinoff of sorts of the Wyatt Family. Moreover, this Bray Wyatt-themed faction will feature a few former associates of Wyatt’s, in addition to some new names, who have been subject to absences from WWE programming. The five names currently penciled into this reported group are Bo Dallas, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Erick Rowan.

Like the aforementioned audio file alluded to, all members of this new faction have previous experience in other factions, or families, in WWE. Cross formerly served as a member of Sanity up until her stablemates Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain were called up to WWE’s main roster, while she remained in “WWE NXT” in 2018.   Similarly, Dexter Lumis was once a member of The Way alongside the likes of Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, and Indi Hartwell. While the latter three stayed in close proximity to each other on WWE’s main roster, Lumis abruptly disappeared from television last year, last wrestling on the June 1 episode of “WWE Main Event.” Erick Rowan, of course, was a member of the original Wyatt Family before the group disbanded in 2017.

For Gacy, his status as the leader of The Schism took a turn when Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler (Grizzled Young Veterans) departed from WWE in September 2023. As a result, Gacy later declared that Schism was “dead.”

As of now, there is no word on whether Alexa Bliss, who notably aligned with Wyatt’s alter-ego The Fiend from 2020 until 2021, will be part of this offshoot unit as well.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bray Wyatt Reportedly Not Planned For WWE Hall Of Fame 2024

On Monday, April 1, WWE will air a new documentary on the life of Bray Wyatt that is narrated by The Undertaker. It’s titled “Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal.”

John Cena, Becky Lynch, Triple H, Hulk Hogan, and Bo Dallas were all interviewed for the documentary. The documentary will air exclusively on Peacock.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Wyatt won’t be going into the WWE Hall of Fame this year and the doc has something to do with the decision. 

“I was told [the new Bray Wyatt documentary] had something to do with the decision not to induct Wyatt into the Hall of Fame this year, that this year they were doing the big documentary for him and would induct him later,” Meltzer wrote.

Source: eWn

WWE Releases Trailer For Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal

Last year, WWE star Windham Rotunda, known onscreen as Bray Wyatt, died of a heart attack at the age of 36. As the wrestling world continues to mourn the late performer, WWE is preparing to release a documentary focusing on Rotunda’s career, titled “Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal.” The first trailer offers a glimpse at what audiences can expect to see.

The doc is set to include interviews from Paul “Triple H” Levesque, John Cena, Braun Strowman, Rotunda’s partner Joseann “JoJo” Offerman, and more. Additionally, Mark Callaway, better known as The Undertaker, will narrate the feature. “Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal” is also set to include never-before-seen footage and interviews with the late performer.

“Becoming Immortal” is scheduled to debut on Peacock on April 1, 2024 — just a few days before the annual WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. Wyatt is rumored to be included as an inductee into the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class, but his inclusion has yet to be officially confirmed by the promotion.

Levesque, WWE’s booker and Chief Content Officer, took to social media to comment on the upcoming Wyatt documentary.

“Windham Rotunda had a brilliant mind,” Levesque said. “There was no wall he wouldn’t break down in the name of storytelling. You had no choice but to believe in him. He was just that good. It’s time for his story to be the one that’s told.”

Rotunda — whose father, grandfather, uncle, and younger brother were all wrestlers — first signed with WWE in 2009. The documentary will detail Rotunda’s rise as the Wyatt character as well as some of the struggles he faced throughout his time in the promotion.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Report: Lia Maivia To Be Inducted Into WWE Hall Of Fame, Bray Wyatt Still Unconfirmed

WWE is rounding out this year’s slate of WWE Hall of Fame inductions and a new report from The Wrestling Observer shines a light on two more names who could possibly be inducted in this year’s ceremony in Philadelphia, PA.

According to The Observer, Lia Maivia, former wrestling promoter and grandmother to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has been confirmed as an inductee in this year’s class. A WWE source confirmed Maivia would join Thunderbolt Patterson, Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, Muhammad Ali and The US Express’s Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham. A list recently circulated with all of the mentioned names, as well as Bray Wyatt, but The Observer was unable to confirm Wyatt (real name Windham Rotunda) as an inductee. Wyatt, the son of inductee Mike Rotunda and nephew of Barry Windham, died suddenly last year at the age of 36.

This year’s Hall of Fame ceremony is the first one put together without the input of longtime WWE figurehead Vince McMahon, who retired in disgrace earlier this year following allegations of sex trafficking. Maivia’s grandson, The Rock, is also said to have a certain amount of say in this year’s ceremony as a result of his new place on the TKO Group Holdings Board of Directors. The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is set to take place on April 5 after “WWE SmackDown.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bray Wyatt Passed Away While Taking A Nap, Was Not Wearing Recommended Heart Monitor

Bray Wyatt tragically passed away at the age of 36 last Thursday after suffering a heart attack.

According to a report from TMZ, Wyatt had been experiencing a series of heart complications in the months leading up to his passing. At least one doctor had recommended that he wear a heart defibrillator at all times.

The official police report from the incident states that Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) told his girlfriend (JoJo Offerman) that he was going to take a nap. After about an hour, his alarm clock went off and she became concerned when it wasn’t stopping. JoJo then entered the bedroom and found Bray on his bed and not breathing. The report also noted that he was turning blue at that point.

JoJo Offerman immediately called 911, while her mother attempted to perform CPR.

The family told police that Wyatt had battled a case of COVID-19 in March 2023 and developed heart complications. The family said he became incredibly sick and it caused him to have a “weak lower part of his heart.”

TMZ is also reporting that Windham was hospitalized for a heart issue just one week before his passing. On the day he died, he had a follow-up appointment with doctors and they encouraged him to continue to wear an external heart defibrillator.

As far as that external heart defibrillator is concerned, Rotunda was not wearing it at the time of his death. Police later found it in his vehicle that was parked in the driveway of his residence.

We continue to keep the family and friends of Windham “Bray Wyatt” Rotunda in our thoughts and prayers.

Source: eWn

Tony Khan Allowing The AEW Roster To Skip Dynamite To Attend Bray Wyatt’s Services

There could be a few top names missing from this week’s or next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, as Tony Khan is allowing any talents in his promotion who want to attend Bray Wyatt’s services to do just that.

According to a report from Fightful, Khan notified the entire roster on Monday that they are not required to attend AEW Dynamite if they want to attend the services for Windham Rotunda. The AEW President is more than willing to re-write episodes of Dynamite if need be.

As of this writing, there is no word on when Bray Wyatt’s services will be taking place but many talents who will be attending the services will need some travel time.

Source: eWn

WWW Pays Tribute To Bray Wyatt And Terry Funk On SmackDown

WWE honored both Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt on Friday, opening  “WWE SmackDown” with a ten-bell salute after the passing of both stars this week. WWE Hall of Famer and hardcore wrestling legend Funk died on Wednesday, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque announced Thursday that Windham Rotunda, better known to fans as Bray Wyatt, had died as well. As previously reported, plans for “SmackDown” were scrapped after Rotunda’s death to add a “significant tribute element” to the show.

Michael Cole opened up the show as “SmackDown” went on the air. Members of the WWE locker room, as well as Levesque and even Impact star Erick Redbeard, formerly known as Erick Rowan during his time in WWE as a member of the Wyatt Family, stood on the stage, emotional. Cole said the broadcast would honor both stars’ legacies, a process that began with the ten-bell salute. A spotlight then showcased the rocking chair Rotunda used as the Wyatt character, empty on stage, before a video package honoring the star aired. The video showed highlights of Wyatt’s career, from his time leading the Wyatt Family to his time with various championships. Photos of Rotunda with his wife, JoJo Offerman, and their children were also shown.

Later in the broadcast, WWE aired a video package about Funk’s passing, as well, which was introduced to the live audience by Cody Rhodes. Both Funk and Wyatt also received packages showing the outpouring of grief for their passing on social media, alongside footage of their most iconic moments. Moreover, a series of QR codes — a reference to the White Rabbit storyline that heralded Wyatt’s return to WWE last year, led to various YouTube videos highlighting his career.

Source: Wrestling Inc.