AEW's Jeff Jarrett Discusses Working With Windham Rotunda, WWE's Bray Wyatt

In August 2023, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque revealed the unfortunate news that former WWE Universal Champion Windham Rotunda had unexpectedly died at the age of 36. Following his death, many of Rotunda's former colleagues shared their condolences, as well as their positive memories of the man that WWE fans knew as Bray Wyatt (and also as The Fiend). On a recent episode of "My World," WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett, who previously served as a backstage executive, opened up about his experience working with Rotunda.

"It's hard to really come up with certainly any new descriptors, but [Rotunda was] creative and talented and unique and an enigma ... The Fiend — gone way too soon in so many ways. His rise to prominence as the Wyatt family, he was a leader of that, but from the very beginning when that character launched, if you knew Bray, [you knew] that was an extension of his personality, and man, that is special and unique and creative. I think there wasn't any person on the creative team, or anybody in the WWE at the time, that didn't have to say in the early days, 'Now that's a little different. Is that gonna work?' Man, it wouldn't just work, it would go through the roof. I say this so many times on this pod, connecting emotionally with your audience, he did it on multiple levels."

While Rotunda may have portrayed a menacing character on television, Jarrett asserts that he was nothing but a "sweet soul" in real life, especially with Jarrett's children. After noticing that Jarrett's son, Kody, was a huge fan of the Bray Wyatt character, Rotunda later invited Kody into his dressing room to meet him — a heartwarming gesture that Jarrett will never forget.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "My World" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.