I saw the Tweet from HHH 15 minutes after it was posted. Pretty unreal, gone way too soon. Windham was one of my favorites in an era where there aren't a lot of impressive younger talents that can put it all together. In a business that often struggles to find charismatic performers today, Bray was a truly gifted one. Everything he did revolved around the characters he created, not a move or boring persona. He created entertaining gimmicks in an era where gimmicks were dead. His Bray Wyatt "Eater of Worlds" was creepy and mystic. The Firefly Funhouse was a strange twist that married a children's performer with dark and twisted multiple personas. The Fiend had it's ups and downs, but at one point it was popular with the fans. This makes two members of the "Wyatt Family" that passed early, the other being Jon Huber two years ago. Windham had been battling health issues since February and was actually recovering, he was cleared just two weeks ago to return to wrestling. They're saying it's a heart attack that did him in.
I love a good entrance. Bray did a lot of things so well, but I always thought his entrance was pretty cool, especially in later years when people would get out their cell phone cameras when the lights went out. This was the Wyatt family debut, and for a guy still early in his career he did such a good job playing a sadistic character and exuding mystery as he'd come down to the ring with these entrances.
This was the first promo he did after he was rehired last October (He was let go as part of the pandemic layoffs). It's pretty emotional, but you can tell there's some truth in what he's saying.