Windham Lawrence Rotunda is a wrestler popularly known by his stage name, Bray Wyatt. Coming from a family that has a long history in wrestling, the work his uncles, father, brother, and grandfather have done as professional wrestlers have consolidated the Rotunda family in the Wrestling arena.
On his part, Wyatt began his career as a wrestler in 2009 using the pseudonym, Alex Rotunda. He went on to claim two Florida Tag Team Championships along with his brother, Bo Dallas. The successful debut he had set the tone for the kind of career he has had as a professional wrestler.
Bray Wyatt Won a State Wrestling Championship in 2005
Windham Rotunda had always shown an affinity for sports from his early teenage years. As a highschooler in Hernando High School, he became a state champion in 2005 at the 275 pounds State Wrestling Championship. He later gained a football scholarship to Troy University after playing football for two seasons at the College of the Sequoias.
While in the university, he continued with his college football career for two years. However, in 2009, he decided to leave Troy University. He had 27 credit hours to go, and he would have gotten his degree, but Wyatt decided to call it quits. Rotunda was ready to show the world that he was ready to live up to his family’s legacy in wrestling, and a degree was not going to stop him.
He Began His Professional Wrestling Career in 2009
In 2009, Wyatt began his wrestling career in the developmental territory of the WWE Florida Championship, where he formed a team with Bo Dallas, his brother. They went on to claim victory over Justin Angel and Kris Logan in Flordia Championship Wrestling (FCW). Later on, they reclaimed the championship by defeating Dylan Klein and Heath Slater, among others. At the early stages of his career, Rotunda also went by different monikers, including Alex Rotundo and Duke Rotundo.
However, in 2010, Bray Wyatt adopted the stage name Husky Harris in WWE NXT. During his time at NXT, the wrestler had uneventful and not-so-successful outings as he lost several matches, finishing 7th out of the eight rookies in the event. While he was appearing on NXT, Wyatt also continued his career at the FCW with the same ring name. Another major affiliation that was instrumental to his career success was The Wyatt family.
Windham Rotunda created this new team in 2012, with the Bray Wyatt persona. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were the first wrestlers who joined the team. The small clan also gained popularity when they had a clash with Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno. More so, their popularity increased as in all the three fights they had, Bray Wyatt’s team was successful for two of those fights.
The team disbanded in 2012, but by 2015 they reunited, and this time, they were joined by Braun Strowman. With Braun, they emerged as the winner of a six-man tag team match against Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, and Dean Ambrose. They are known to be one of the most vicious wrestling teams in the NXT program.
Notable Feuds That Brought the Wrestler into the Limelight
One of the earliest feuds that Bray Wyatt had in his career was with John Cena when he was trying to get inducted into the wrestling stable, The Nexus, in October 2010. He interfered in Cena’s match with Wade Berret, fighting in favor of Berret. After that, a tag team match was conducted, in which Bray, who went by the name Husky Harris back then, paired up with Michael McGuillicutty to fight John Cena and Randy Orton. Bray and his partner were defeated in the game. However, when he later formed The Wyatt Family, Wyatt was able to defeat Cena in 2013. Cena also retaliated when he challenged The Wyatt family to a fight in a WrestleMania Match, in which he emerged victoriously.
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When the Wyatt Brothers disbanded in 2014, Rotunda started focusing more on his solo career as a wrestler. The break-up of the group lasted for a year between 2014 and 2015, and during this period, Bray was in a fair share of feuds with Dean Ambrose, The Undertaker, and Ryback, among others. He was also involved in several other feuds with the reuniting of The Wyatt Brothers in 2015. Notable among them is the feud which broke out between that team and The League of Nations. During one of their fights, Rotunda’s right calf was injured, and the feud was suspended, pending when he was going to heal.
However, these feuds are not the only defining points of Bray’s career, as he has gone ahead to achieve a thriving career in wrestling. He has emerged as the winner of numerous wrestling matches, and the height of them all was perhaps in 2017 when he became the World Wrestling Entertainment Champion by defeating AJ Styles, John Cena, Baron Corbin, and among others, in an Elimination Chamber match.
Bray Wyatt Is Not The Only Popular Wrestler In His Family
Windham Rotunda, aka Bray Watt, is oftentimes described as being a 3rd generation wrestler. His grandfather was a popular wrestler who went by the name Blackjack Mulligan, and his father, Mike Rotunda, was also a professional wrestler. More so, Windham has two uncles, who were professional wrestlers- Barry and Kendall Rotunda. With regards to his siblings, Bray Wyatt’s younger brother, Taylor Rotunda, is also a professional wrestler, and he goes by the name Bo Dallas.
He is a WWE Champion and a two-time Tag Team Champion in FCW, as well as the youngest NXT champion in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment, which he earned at the age of 22. Wyatt’s sister, Mika Rotunda, also works as a fitness enthusiast and World Wrestling Entertainment’s backstage worker; she aids in the production of WrestleMania 33.
According to Windham Rotunda, his success and that of his siblings were orchestrated by their father’s role in their life. Personally, his father was a big influence on his decision to go into Wrestling. Mike Rotunda has also been hands-on with the career of his son, by being a part of his son’s team as a road agent.
His Marriage to Samantha Rotunda Lasted for Five Years
Bray Wyatt has had a somewhat successful career as a professional wrestler, but his attempt at marriage has not been very successful. The wrestler got married to Samantha Rotunda, his high school girlfriend, in 2012. Their marriage produced two kids before Samantha filed for a divorce in 2017, citing adultery as the major reason for their divorce.
According to reports, Wyatt was having an affair with Jojo Offerman, a WWE ring announcer. After filing for divorce, drama ensued between Samantha and Bray, with the wrestler accusing his wife of making defamatory statements in a bid to ruin his reputation. Samantha, on the other hand, also demanded about $15,000 in child and spousal support. Their divorce was finally concluded at a family practice in Florida.
Wyatt Has Two Children With Jojo Offerman
In 2019, a year after his divorce, Bray Wyatt and JoJo Offerman made their relationship public. Offerman, just like Rotunda, comes from a family of professional sportsmen. Her father, Jose Offerman, is known as a professional Baseball player. More so, it is already known that her work in wrestling is not limited to just ring announcements as she also used to work as a professional wrestler.
Later in that same year 2019, after making their relationship public, Offerman announced on Instagram that they are expecting their first child. By May 2019, they welcomed their first child, a boy who they named Knash Sixx Rotunda. About a year later, in May 2020, they had their second child, and this time, it’s a girl who they named Hyrie Von Rotunda. Bray took to twitter to break the good news by sharing lovely photos of his baby girl. Bray Wyatt currently lives with Jojo and their kids in Miami, while Samantha and her two daughters live in a house she co-owns with the wrestler on the west coast of Florida.
