History of Bray Wyatt in Timeline
Windham Lawrence Rotunda, known as Bray Wyatt, was a prominent American professional wrestler. He was primarily known for his time in WWE, from 2009 until his death in 2023. Wyatt was known for his captivating characters and storylines, most notably as the cult leader Bray Wyatt and his alter ego, "The Fiend." He captured the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship during his career. Wyatt's ability to blend horror elements with professional wrestling made him a uniquely memorable and impactful performer in the industry.
1983: Inspiration from Hysterical
In 1983, the film Hysterical, starring Richard Kiel as Captain Howdy, served as an inspiration for the Uncle Howdy character.
1991: Inspiration from Cape Fear
In 1991, the film Cape Fear, starring Robert De Niro as Max Cady, served as an inspiration for Bray Wyatt's character.
2005: State Wrestling Champion
In 2005, Windham Lawrence Rotunda, wrestling under his real name, won a state wrestling championship at 275 pounds (125 kg) at Hernando High School.
June 2009: FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
In June 2009, Windham Rotunda, teaming with his brother Bo Rotundo, won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).
June 2, 2010: Joined NXT as Husky Harris
On June 2, 2010, Windham Rotunda joined NXT under the name Husky Harris, paired with Cody Rhodes as his Pro.
September 2010: Feud with Percy Watson in FCW
In September 2010, while still on NXT, Husky Harris (Windham Rotunda) began a feud with Percy Watson in FCW after attacking him during a tag team match.
2010: Birth of Daughter
In 2010, Windham Rotunda and Samantha Pixley had a daughter.
March 2011: Adoption of the Axl Mulligan Gimmick
In March 2011, Windham Rotunda adopted the gimmick of Axl Mulligan, a hockey mask-wearing character, in FCW. However, the character never made it to FCW TV, and Rotunda continued to play Husky Harris on FCW TV.
August 2011: Feud with Lucky Cannon and Damien Sandow
In August 2011, Husky Harris (Windham Rotunda) became involved in his brother Bo's feud with Lucky Cannon and Damien Sandow in FCW, teaming with Bo to defeat them.
February 2, 2012: Second FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
On February 2, 2012, Husky Harris and Bo Rotundo defeated Brad Maddox and Eli Cottonwood to win the vacant FCW Florida Tag Team Championship for the second time.
April 2012: Rebranded as Bray Wyatt
In April 2012, Windham Rotunda was repackaged as Bray Wyatt, initially associating himself with Eli Cottonwood in FCW before WWE rebranded FCW into NXT.
July 11, 2012: NXT Debut as Bray Wyatt
On July 11, 2012, Windham Rotunda, repackaged as Bray Wyatt, debuted on the rebooted NXT, defeating Aiden English.
2012: Debut of Villainous Cult Leader Character
In 2012, Bray Wyatt debuted his character as a villainous cult leader.
2012: Marriage to Samantha Pixley
In 2012, Windham Rotunda married Samantha Pixley.
February 21, 2013: First match back from injury in NXT
On February 21, 2013, Bray Wyatt had his first match back from injury on NXT, defeating Yoshi Tatsu.
August 18, 2013: Defeats Kane at SummerSlam
On August 18, 2013, Bray Wyatt defeated Kane in a Ring of Fire match at SummerSlam, marking his first main roster match, with interference from Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.
2013: Birth of Daughter
In 2013, Windham Rotunda and Samantha Pixley had another daughter.
2013: Best Gimmick Award
In 2013, Windham Rotunda was voted as the Best Gimmick by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
2014: Wrestlemania XXX
In 2014, Bray Wyatt and John Cena faced off at Wrestlemania XXX in a match that Cena won.
January 5, 2015: Defeats Dean Ambrose in an Ambulance Match
On January 5, 2015, Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose in an Ambulance Match on Raw, effectively ending their feud.
January 24, 2017: Orton defeats Harper, Wyatt exiles Harper
On January 24, 2017, on SmackDown Live, Randy Orton defeated Luke Harper, leading to Bray Wyatt delivering Sister Abigail to Harper, exiling him from the group.
2017: Divorce Filing
In 2017, Samantha Pixley filed for divorce from Windham Rotunda.
January 22, 2018: Wyatt defeats Hardy at Raw 25 Years
On January 22, 2018, at Raw 25 Years, Bray Wyatt defeated Matt Hardy.
2018: End of Villainous Cult Leader Character
In 2018, Bray Wyatt ended his run with the villainous cult leader character.
2018: Hiatus from Summer
In 2018, Bray Wyatt went on hiatus from the summer.
April 2019: Debut of Firefly Fun House and The Fiend Persona
In April 2019, Bray Wyatt began appearing in pre-recorded segments as the host of Firefly Fun House, and introduced The Fiend persona, a demonic masked character.
May 2019: Birth of Son
In May 2019, Windham Rotunda and JoJo Offerman had a son, whose godfather is wrestler Braun Strowman.
2019: Return with Firefly Fun House and The Fiend
In 2019, Bray Wyatt returned with the Firefly Fun House and The Fiend character.
2019: Feud with Seth Rollins and Universal Championship Win
In 2019, The Fiend feuded with Seth Rollins, culminating in The Fiend defeating Rollins at Crown Jewel on October 31 to win the Universal Championship.
2019: Best Gimmick Award
In 2019, Windham Rotunda was voted as the Best Gimmick by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for the second time.
2019: Hell in a Cell Match Controversy
In 2019, Windham Rotunda's Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins at the Hell in a Cell event was universally panned by fans and critics, due to its "horrid" booking and contentious ending, significantly damaging The Fiend character. It was named Worst Match of the Year by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and also voted the Gooker Award winner for the year.
2019: Theme Song Played at Football Match
On August 26, 2019, Mark Crozer's "Broken Out In Love", Windham Rotunda's theme song, was played at half-time during a Premier League football match between Arsenal and Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.
January 26, 2020: The Fiend defeats Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble
On January 26, 2020, at the Royal Rumble, The Fiend defeated Daniel Bryan in a strap match, ending their feud.
May 2020: Birth of Daughter
In May 2020, Windham Rotunda and JoJo Offerman had a daughter.
2020: Drafted to Raw and feud with Randy Orton
In 2020, The Fiend was drafted to the Raw brand and reignited his feud with Randy Orton.
2020: Worst Gimmick Award
In 2020, The Fiend was recognized as the Worst Gimmick of the year by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, making Windham Rotunda the only performer to have won both Best Gimmick and Worst Gimmick with the same character.
March 21, 2021: The Fiend returns at Fastlane
On March 21, 2021, at Fastlane, The Fiend returned as a tweener, attacking Randy Orton during his intergender match with Alexa Bliss, allowing Bliss to win.
September 2022: "White Rabbit" Teases Begin
In September 2022, WWE began playing an a cappella version of "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane at live events, teasing Bray Wyatt's return.
2022: Return with Uncle Howdy character
In 2022, Bray Wyatt returned with a new character called Uncle Howdy.
2022: Engagement to JoJo Offerman
In 2022, Windham Rotunda and JoJo Offerman became engaged.
February 17, 2023: Wyatt and Howdy attack Hit Row
On February 17, 2023, on SmackDown, Bray Wyatt and Uncle Howdy attacked Hit Row, followed by Wyatt challenging the winner of Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley to a match at WrestleMania 39.
2023: Posthumous Voice Cameo
In 2023, Windham Rotunda had a brief posthumous voice cameo as a prison guard in the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, which was released a few months after his death.
2023: Death
In 2023, Windham Rotunda passed away. He was engaged to JoJo Offerman at the time of his death.
2023: Jey Uso Adopts Fireflies Entrance
In late summer 2023, Jey Uso withdrew from The Bloodline to begin his singles run and adopted the fireflies entrance.
April 1, 2024: Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal Documentary Release
On April 1, 2024, WWE released a documentary titled Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal. The film examines Windham Rotunda’s career and personal life and features interviews with his family and various WWE personalities and is narrated by Mark Calaway.
April 2024: Plans for The Fiend Revival Revealed
In the April 2024 documentary Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal, it was revealed that Windham Rotunda had been planning to revive the character of The Fiend with a new mask, outfit, and props.
June 2024: The Wyatt Sicks Debut
In June 2024, Windham Rotunda's brother Taylor (Bo Dallas) returned as the Uncle Howdy character and began leading a faction dubbed The Wyatt Sicks.
October 2024: Posthumous Inclusion in WWE 2K24
In October 2024, Windham Rotunda's new attire and appearance that he had planned to use for a new iteration of The Fiend was added posthumously to the WWE 2K24 video game.
2024: WWE Hall of Fame Honor
During the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 5th, Windham Rotunda was honored by his family, with the crowd showing his traditional "fireflies," and his music being played.
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