Bray Wyatt, a star professional wrestler in WWE, has died unexpectedly.
He was 36 years old.
The news was announced by WWE’s head of creative, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the NY Post reports.
“Just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the tragic news that our WWE family member for life Windham Rotunda – also known as Bray Wyatt – unexpectedly passed earlier today,” Triple H tweeted Thursday.
“Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time.”
An official cause of death was not immediately revealed, though Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported it was due to a heart attack.
Wyatt had been off-air as he recovered from a “life-threatening illness” — heart issues exacerbated by COVID, according to Fightful — but earlier this month the outlet reported he was nearing a return to WWE.
Wyatt held the WWE championship once and the promotion’s Universal championship twice, and was part of two tag-team championship teams.
Several big-name WWE stars past and present offered their condolences to Wyatt’s family.
“I’m heartbroken over the news of Bray Wyatt’s passing,” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Always had tremendous respect and love for him and the Rotunda family. Loved his presence, promos, in ring work and connection with @wwe universe.
“Very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy world of pro wrestling. Still processing losing the goat, Terry Funk yesterday and now Bray today.”
He first signed with WWE in 2009, wrestling in developmental promotions FCW and NXT before getting promoted into the main roster in 2012.
Wyatt debuted as the leader of a stable called the Wyatt Family, along with Luke Harper, who tragically died of a respiratory illness in 2020 at 41 years old, and Erick Rowan.
Braun Strowman was also eventually introduced into the stable.
Wyatt’s biggest notoriety in WWE came when he performed as “The Fiend.”
What began as a series of surreal “Firefly Funhouse” vignettes that featured Wyatt and a number of deranged puppets evolved into a character who was indomitable, switching back and forth to his “Funhouse” persona in a split personality, leading the audience to suspend disbelief in the supernatural.
The WWE legend last wrestled at this year’s Royal Rumble in January.
Rotunda was released from the company in 2021 but resigned last October. After his return, he did a promo video thanking the fans for welcoming him back to the company.
“I am incredibly grateful. I’m really, really nervous to be here. I never thought this would happen.”
“This right here, this is just me OK? This is a version of me I never got to introduce to you guys before. This is just me being me – genuine me – for the first time.”
Prior to his time in the WWE, he was a standout athlete growing up in Florida.
He won a state wrestling championship in high school and was a star football player earning a scholarship to play at Troy University after a two-year stint playing in junior college.
At the time of his death, Rotunda was engaged to his fiancée, Joseann Offerman, a former WWE ring announcer, with whom he shares two children. Rotunda also had two daughters from a previous marriage.
This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.