The passing of Bray Wyatt was a gut punch to everyone in the professional wrestling business, and the reaction of WWE Hall of Famer Booker T was an illustration of that when the tragic news was relayed to him while he was recording his podcast.
WWE’s head of creative, Triple H, broke the news Thursday that Wyatt, whose real name was Windham Rotunda, had died unexpectedly at 36 years old.
Later, wrestling site Fightful reported that Wyatt had suffered a heart attack.
Booker T was taping his “Hall of Fame” show and discussing the death of legendary pro wrestler Terry Funk, when his co-host, Brad Gilmore, cut in and said, “Oh my God.”
Gilmore had received the news that Wyatt had died and read Triple H’s tweet to Booker T.
Booker T was in disbelief, stating, “You’re saying Bray Wyatt’s passed away?”
After it sunk in, Booker T was devastated.
“I don’t even have words man. I don’t even know what to say. I’m at a loss,” he said.
They took a break to gather themselves and came back with perspective on Wyatt’s life.
“He had kids, and that’s the first thing you think about — especially for me, I lost my dad when I was 10 months old,” Booker T said.
“Something that I have lived with my whole my life. That’s where my heart goes — to his kids, his [fiancée JoJo Offerman] and his family. Hopefully, they can get through this. I know it’s gonna be hard.”
Wyatt was a one-time WWE champion and two-time Universal champion.
He signed with WWE in 2009, wrestling in developmental promotions FCW and NXT before joining the main roster in 2012 as head of the Wyatt family.
Wyatt had what was perhaps the most supernatural character in WWE since The Undertaker, pushing audiences to suspend their disbelief as a tribute to the ambitiousness and creativity of the gimmick, and so it was fitting when The Undertaker whispered undisclosed remarks into Wyatt’s ear on the 30th-anniversary show of “Raw” earlier this year.
Wyatt’s biggest run in WWE came a few years back, when he had the split personality between his surreal “FireFly Funhouse” vignettes and The Fiend, an indomitable beast who could not be slayed.
“I’m just in shock,” wrote Alexa Bliss, who was teammates with Wyatt in the Fiend’s storyline.
“Extremely heart broken And at a loss for words. What I can say is what an amazing human being Windham is. An Amazing & kind friend. one of the most creative minds to ever walk this earth. Windham, you’ve brought so much joy and happiness to everyone around you. It’s going to take me some time to really process this. Sending my love to the Rotunda Family, Jojo & their babies. We love you Windham.”
As The Post’s Joesph Staszewski wrote in his tribute column, Wyatt had a longer creative leash than Vince McMahon and WWE give virtually any of the other performers, and he used it to take the audience on a wild ride.
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