10 Backstage Tales About Bray Wyatt Fans Should Know

Joining up with WWE and starting his in-ring career in 2009, Windham Rotunda came from an impressive wrestling family that included not only his brother Bo Dallas, but also father Mike Rotunda (a.k.a. IRS), grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, and Uncle Barry Windham. But it was in 2012 that Rotunda reinvented himself as the spooky cult leaderBray Wyatt, who would end up becoming one of the promotion’s top stars.

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Before his untimely death in 2023, Wyatt showed off an impressive creativity to go along with his solid in-ring abilities, keeping his character fresh over the course of a decade. Let’s take a look at 10 backstage tales about Bray Wyatt — including some behind-the-scenes stories about some of Wyatt’s most infamous in-ring moments.

10 Many In WWE Resisted Bray Wyatt’s Ideas

Wyatt’s Creative Input Wasn’t Always Appreciated, Although Bruce Prichard Was A Supporter

Bruce Prichard WWE Runs	Prichard Aliases
1987-1991, 1992-2008, 2018-Present	Brother Love

As stated, Bray Wyatt’s creativity was often lauded, as he tried to have active input in his gimmicks and storylines, some of which became very popular with fans and resulted in some classic segments. However, by some accounts it was an uphill battle for Wyatt in WWE. According to on-screen manager turned backstage figure Bruce Prichard, those who were supportive of Wyatt’s ideas were in the minority, with far more people backstage being baffled and ultimately resisting them. According to Prichard, he was one of the ones lobbying to just give Wyatt’s ideas a shot, believing they would work out.

9 Paul Heyman Asked Mick Foley If The Fiend Could Use The Mandible Claw

Foley Was The First Person To Fall Victim To The Fiend’s Version Of The Move

Mandible Claw Innovator	Other Practitioners	First Used By The Fiend	Date
Sam Sheppard	Mick Foley, The Fiend, Britt Baker	WWE Monday Night Raw	7/22/2019

If a pro wrestler wants to use another wrestlers’ signature maneuver as their own, it’s not uncommon for the former to seek permission from the latter. When Bray Wyatt reinvented himself as the demonic Fiend, he started using a new finisher in the Mandible Claw, which was most famously used in the 1990s and 2000s by the hardcore legend Mick Foley. Curiously, it wasn’t Wyatt himself who approached Foley about The Fiend using the move, but rather someone who Foley knew a lot better: former ECW boss and longtime WWE on-screen manager Paul Heyman. Foley was enthusiastic about the idea, and even became the first victim of the Mandible Claw under the Fiend.

8 The Story Behind His First Match With Matt Hardy

Both Stars Hated Their Inaugural Encounter

First Encounter	Show	Date	Location
Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy	WWE Monday Night Raw	11/27/2017	Knoxville, TN

Fans may remember Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy’s on-screen pairing — first as rivals, and then as partners as the tag team The Deleters of Worlds. While the highlight of their storyline was The Ultimate Deletion (the WWE version of The Final Deletion) in March 2018, their first in-ring clash happened a few months earlier in late November 2017.

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Unfortunately, their first-ever matchup lasted a scant two-and-a-half minutes. While fans were disappointed, the wrestlers involved “both hated it,” according to Hardy himself. Hardy and Wyatt tried to make the most of their ridiculous time constraints, but were ultimately unhappy with the result.

7 Teaching Becky Lynch How To Use A Table

“The Man” Had Never Had A Tables Match Before

Match	Event	Date	Location
Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss	WWE TLC	12/4/2016	Dallas, TX

After the 8/28/2023 episode of Raw went off the air, Becky Lynch addressed the audience to tell an anecdote about Bray Wyatt, who had died just a few days earlier. Back in December 2016, Smackdown Women’s Champion Lynch had a Tables Match against challenger Alexa Bliss at the TLC pay-per-view, but had never wrestled that kind of match before, and thus had no idea how to incorporate a table into a match. Wyatt was booked for a SmackDown Tag Team Title match that same evening, but spent the day helping Lynch get ready for her bout.

6 The Time Bray & Bo DIDN’T Meet Sting

Wyatt Shed Some Light On A Frequently Circulated Photo

Sting In-Ring Debut	Notable Promotions	Accomplishments
1985	UWF, WCW, TNA, WWE, AEW	NWA World Heavyweight Championship (2x), WCW World Championship (6x), TNA World Heavyweight Championship (4x)

The transmission of information in wrestling can often be very questionable, as the constant need for headlines, rumor mills, and wrestling’s longtime secretiveness can result in minor things being blown out of information along with outright misinformation. One falsehood that often gets circulated is a backstage photo of two boys and WCW legend Sting, with the two boys often being mislabeled as Bray Wyatt and his brother, Bo Dallas. In mid-2022, Wyatt finally revealed that it isn’t him or his brother, though he considered the misnomer a “hilarious little joke.”

5 Approaching Leva Bates In NXT

Wyatt Gave Some Unexpected Comfort To The Wrestler Formerly Known As Blue Pants

Leva Bates NXT Stint	Gimmick
2014-2015	Blue Pants

With Bray Wyatt’s tragic and unexpected passing in 2023, wrestlers from all over the industry came out to talk about their experiences with the man behind the gimmick — including former AEW star Leva Bates, who briefly appeared on NXT television as the fan-favorite underdog known only as Blue Pants. While working for WWE, Bates felt like an outsider because she was an unsigned talent who some believed didn’t deserve the television exposure she was getting. Nevertheless, one day Bray Wyatt approached her and, as the two exchanged inconsequential small talk, Bates felt more “at ease” and appreciated Wyatt going out of his way to cheat with her.

4 Bray Wyatt Refused To Return To His Cult Leader Gimmick

Wyatt Couldn’t Disrespect His Dearly Departed Friend

Wyatt Family Run	Wyatt Family Lineup
2012-2017	Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan

In pro wrestling, it’s not uncommon for a wrestler to return to a previous gimmick for the sake of nostalgia. Had Bray Wyatt not suffered an untimely death, it didn’t seem too inconceivable that he’d one day revert to his original Wyatt shtick as the cult leader who rocked Hawaiian shirts and sat in rocking chairs.

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However, Wyatt himself actually refused to go back to it out of respect for Wyatt Family stablemate Luke Harper (a.k.a. Brodie Lee), who died in late 2020. Because Wyatt considered Harper such a pivotal part of the group, he thought reverting to the old gimmicks would be disrespectful to his friend.

3 Behind The Scenes With The Firefly Funhouse Match

The Cinematic Match Was A Group Effort

Match	Event	Date	Location
John Cena vs. The Fiend	WrestleMania 36 - Night 2	4/5/2020	Orlando, FL

One of the highlights of Bray Wyatt’s career was the infamous Firefly Funhouse Match, which aired on Night 2 of WrestleMania 36. A cinematic match recorded during COVID, the segment had Wyatt deconstructing the character of WWE icon John Cena in a strange and ultimately creatively successful endeavor. The creation of the Firefly Funhouse Match was a group effort, with the primary figures driving it being not only Bray Wyatt and Bruce Prichard, but also John Cena himself. Cena has stated that he had no idea what he was getting into when he signed on for it, but was excited about the prospect and offered a lot of ideas himself.

2 Losing To Goldberg At Super Showdown 2020

Plans Were Changed At The Last Minute

Match	Event	Date	Location
The Fiend vs. Goldberg	WWE Super Showdown	2/27/2020	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

One of the lowlights of Bray Wyatt’s career — particularly as The Fiend — was his Universal Championship loss to aging legend Goldberg at the Saudi Arabia show Super Showdown in 2020. Because of Goldberg’s star status, there were rampant rumors that he refused to lose to the younger talent, but in 2022 he actually dispelled those allegations. According to Goldberg, he was actually booked to lose to Wyatt’s Fiend alter-ego, but the outcome was changed late in the game, with Goldberg maintaining that he had nothing to do with the decision.

1 Hell In A Cell 2019 Wasn’t Bray Wyatt’s Fault

It Wasn’t Seth Rollins’ Fault, Either

Match	Event	Date	Location
Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend	WWE Hell In A Cell	10/6/2019	Sacramento, CA

As great as Bray Wyatt was as a performer, booking was often the late legend’s worst enemy. The fall of 2019 brought one of Wyatt’s most infamous matches — his shot at Universal Champion Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match. Besides the hard-to-see red lighting, fans despised this match for ending in a No Contest referee stoppage despite years of rhetoric about HIAC matches being notoriously violent. However, it wasn’t the fault of either performer, who actually lobbied for a more satisfying ending to their main event match. Unfortunately, according to Rollins, Vince McMahon was set on the No Contest ending.