Bray Wyatt Tributes That Broke WWE Fans

Bray Wyatt was one of the most creative minds in wrestling history, from his time leading the Wyatt Family alongside Luke Harper (the late Brodie Lee) and Erick Rowan, to his emergence as The Fiend, complete with dual personality alongside the Mr. Rogers-esque character who welcomed fans to the Firefly Funhouse. Wyatt was taken from the world too soon on August 24, 2023, when he died of a heart attack following a previous battle with COVID. Wyatt was just 36 years old, and his death rattled the industry.

Wyatt's death was revealed to the wrestling world in a post on X (which was then still known as Twitter) by Paul "Triple H" Levesque. Fans took to social media to express their pain over losing one of their favorite wrestlers, and other talent posted tributes to the close friend they had lost. The following night on "WWE SmackDown," the company honored Wyatt and hardcore legend Terry Funk, who died the day before Wyatt at age 79, with a 10-bell salute to open the show.

At the end of "SmackDown," a lone lantern, like one Wyatt would carry to the ring no matter what character he was portraying throughout his career, was left in the ring following a match where Wyatt's final opponent in life, LA Knight, defeated Finn Balor. The lantern was seen in the ring with a graphic of Wyatt on the tron behind it. The fans in the audience got out their phone lights to pay tribute to the fallen talent, and "thank you Wyatt" chants rang out as the show went off the air.

Those in the industry continued to pay tribute to Wyatt in the days and months following his passing. From WWE talent to AEW stars during their biggest event of the year, stars offered Wyatt tributes that broke fans of the "Eater of Worlds."

The late Wyatt and former WWE ring announcer and "Total Divas" alum JoJo Offerman were engaged to be married when he died. Wyatt left behind his widow and their two children, and his two children from a previous marriage. While Offerman has chosen to keep her life, and the lives of her children, relatively quiet since her fiancé's passing, her most recent appearance within the professional wrestling world came not with WWE, but its number one competitor, AEW.

Offerman briefly worked for AEW when she made a guest appearance as a ring announcer for a dark match ahead of the January 4, 2025, episode of "AEW Collision," but surprised AEW fans again when she appeared at All In Texas to perform onstage. Offerman sang Swerve Strickland's former theme song, "Ain't Nobody," by Chaka Khan, before Strickland walked down to the ring for his match to "Big Pressure." As she sang, fireflies appeared behind her on the tron, an homage to her late love.

It wasn't the first time the former AEW World Champion paid tribute to Wyatt. At AEW's Full Gear in November 2023, Strickland wore black and red gear inspired by The Fiend during his brutal Texas Death Match victory over "Hangman" Adam Page. Strickland explained later that he was a fan of The Fiend, whom he called a "revolutionary" character and said he wanted to show appreciation and "that the love and influence wasn't lost." Strickland also said that he felt as though Wyatt's spirit "powered him" in the match.

The last opponent that Wyatt had in the ring was LA Knight in their infamous Mountain Dew Pitch Black match at the 2023 Royal Rumble. Knight has been vocal about finding it strange that he was the person to be Wyatt's final opponent before his passing, especially in a match as odd as the sponsored Pitch Black match, where it was difficult for fans both in the audience and at home to see, despite the men's glow-in-the-dark gear and accessories. Following the match, the men also took their street fight on the road and competed against each other in a series of dark matches, with their last bout, Wyatt's final of his young life, taking place on February 26 in Illinois.

Knight said on an episode of "In The Kliq" that he wished he wasn't Wyatt's final match and said he didn't think about it too much, as it wasn't something to celebrate. Wyatt's death visibly shook Knight, who had to carry on during "WWE SmackDown" the day after his death. Knight was still reverting back to being "The Megastar" after a brief stint as Max Dupri, leader of the Maximum Male Models, and was locked in a feud with The Miz. "The Megastar" paid tribute to Wyatt in the best way he knew how, on the microphone during a promo. 

"Miz, a wise man once told me the next time you see me... RUN," Knight said, looking directly into the camera, and on the last word, the crowd cheered around him.

While it was his brother, Matt Hardy, who worked closely with Wyatt on-screen for a time in their "Deleter of Worlds" tag team, Jeff Hardy was also friends with the mind behind The Fiend. Hardy paid tribute to Wyatt in a unique way, by painting his face ahead of a match on a September 2024 episode of "TNA Impact!" to look like The Fiend's mask. Hardy revealed the look in the main event of the episode when he teamed with his brother and Masha Slamovich to take on The System and Tasha Steelz.

Hardy revealed to Sports Illustrated's "The Takedown" that he had never attempted to paint his face with anything like a skull or anything with teeth over his years of performing. He said he initially tried a Joker-like smile to his lips while painting his face in a hotel room ahead of a show, and that's when he thought it would be a "pretty cool" tribute to do The Fiend mask. He said he was initially scared to do it, but was proud of the payoff, especially when it came to honoring Wyatt. Hardy said he was glad he went for it.

His brother, Matt, revealed previously on his "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" podcast that Jeff wished he had interacted more with Wyatt during the times their paths crossed in WWE. Matt said that a trio with his "Broken" Matt character, The Fiend, and Jeff's alter ego, Willow, would have been something to see.

Alexa Bliss' character in WWE took a turn for the dark side when she became obsessed with The Fiend in the summer of 2020, and their eventual partnership lasted through WrestleMania 37 when she turned her back on him and cost The Fiend his match against Randy Orton. Prior to the turn, Bliss had become close to both of Wyatt's sides, The Fiend and the host of the Firefly Funhouse, and she would appear alongside him in matches as well as on his children's show spoof. Bliss has spoken about how this time period of her career was some of her favorite work she's done in the industry.

The pair became close in real life, but would not cross paths on-screen again after WrestleMania, despite Bliss continuing to use her darker gimmick and the "supernatural powers" she seemed to have gained from The Fiend and her Lily doll. Bliss was away from WWE on maternity leave when Wyatt passed away. She took to social media to express her heartbreak over losing her friend. 

Bliss would return to WWE at the 2025 Royal Rumble, and when she entered the match at #21, she appeared in her spooky gimmick once again. Bliss wore a ring jacket with the words "FIEND FOR ETERNITY" on the back, with an "R" and "S" also written on the jacket in white, changing "Fiend" to "Friends." She continues to wear the jacket to the ring, and merchandise with the slogan is even available on WWEShop. 

Her young daughter also has her own matching ring jacket in an adorable tribute to Wyatt. Bliss also recently revealed on "The Nikki & Brie Show" that she also has a piece of Wyatt's gear sewn into the skirt she wears down to the ring.

In the days following Wyatt's death, a group of WWE stars and even some of those behind-the-scenes in the company paid tribute to Wyatt in a permanent way that not many fans will be able to spot when the stars are on-screen. Former Wyatt Family member Braun Strowman, Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Shotzi, ring announcer Mike Rome, WWE production staff members, Director of Longterm Creative Rob Fee, who helped orchestrate Wyatt's return, and more all got tattoos to memorialize Wyatt. 

The WWE talent were tattooed by artist Greg Mosier of Deep Search Tattoo in Clarksville, Indiana, who shared images of the group's visit to his Instagram page. The group got similar tattoos of Wyatt's signature moth symbol, complete with a skull in the middle. Kross got his inked above his right wrist and Strowman on his inner forearm. Mosier wrote in his post that the night of tattooing was cathartic for Wyatt's friends as they also shared memories of the late star during the process.

Kross shared an image of his completed tattoo on his Instagram, alongside a group photo of the WWE talent and employees in the tattoo studio. Kross quoted horror author HP Lovecraft in his caption, saying, "The more he withdrew from the world around him, the more wonderful became his dreams," and ended the post, "For Windham."

Wyatt's death rocked the entire wrestling world, including over in All Elite Wrestling. AEW held their biggest pay-per-view event of the year, All In London, just three days following Wyatt's death. Ahead of the Sunday event, former WWE star Chris Jericho, a man who had faced Wyatt in the ring quite a few times, including at SummerSlam in 2014 and also in a steel cage match later that year, paid tribute to the fallen star on stage during a Fozzy concert.

Fozzy played at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London ahead of All In, and between songs, Jericho paid respects to Wyatt in front of the crowd. He said that the wrestling world lost a "great brother," and the crowd chanted "Thank you, Bray." Jericho called him a "f****** great guy" and one of the greatest creative minds he had ever worked with. Jericho then led the crowd in a rendition of the chorus of "He's Got The Whole World in His Hands." He dedicated All In to Windham Rotunda's memory and thanked the crowd for remembering him. 

The following month, Jericho opened up more about his friendship with Wyatt on his "Talk is Jericho" podcast. He said at one point, they were "really, really close friends," but had drifted apart over the years due to competing in separate companies. Jericho said they always had a great relationship, and he always complimented Wyatt on his creativity.

Following Chris Jericho's dedication of All In to Wyatt, the company's gothic, dark stable, House of Black, also paid tribute to the late star during their entrance in London's Wembley Stadium. Buddy Matthews, Aleister Black, and Brody King, alongside Julia Hart, were set to defend their AEW World Trios Championships against The Acclaimed's Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and Billy Gunn. Before the House of Black came out on stage, the lights in the stadium dimmed and the historic crowd turned into "fireflies," putting up their phone lights in tribute to Wyatt. 

When House of Black emerged onstage from the darkness, Matthews was shown to be carrying a lantern, symbolic of the one Wyatt always carried with him. Matthews placed it on the ground in front of the stable as the AEW commentary team sent their condolences to Wyatt's family. They said they'll never forget Wyatt's legacy and what he did for the professional wrestling world.

It was Black who was the closest to Wyatt, as he had worked in WWE prior to making the jump to AEW. In the years following Wyatt's passing, and after Black made the jump back to WWE, he revealed his last conversation with Wyatt while speaking on a podcast. Black said he used to send Wyatt ideas, and the late star told in in his final text message to Black, "'Don't let them tell you who you are. Stand for what you stand for.'"

Many fans thought Bray Wyatt would be posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024 following his untimely passing the year prior. That wasn't the case, but his father, Mike Rotunda, and his uncle and namesake, Barry Windham, were inducted as the U.S. Express over WrestleMania 40 weekend in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The induction was emotional for the former tag team, with Wyatt's siblings, including Bo Dallas, present for the ceremony. Dallas and his sister, Mika, stood in the corner of the ring, obviously choked up.

When Dallas introduced his uncle and father, he said that while he wished his brother could have been on stage with them, he knew he was there in spirit. Mika added that there would have been no Wyatt without the men of the U.S. Express.

Following their induction speech, Rotunda said he wished that Wyatt could have been there to see "his old man go in the Hall of Fame," which he said his son would have enjoyed seeing. In honor of Wyatt, Rotunda ended his speech by raising his phone flashlight to the camera and asking the fans to join him in a tribute to his late son. The crowd at the Hall of Fame lit up with "fireflies" as Wyatt's entrance music played as the arena lights dimmed, making for an incredibly emotional moment for the Rotunda family and Wyatt fans alike. 

As of 2025, Wyatt has not yet gone into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside his father and uncle, so there is still time for more tributes to the late star.

"The Visionary" Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt had a complicated relationship and rivalry on screen and most notably competed against each other in the infamous 2019 Hell in Cell match, which fans remember for the red lights making it difficult to see, as well as the ending, where the referee stopped the match even with the hardcore stipulation and The Fiend rising again after being put on a stretcher. Outside of the ring, however, Rollins and Wyatt were close, and Wyatt's death deeply rocked Rollins, which was something the former World Heavyweight Champion was open and honest about. Rollins posted a lengthy video to social media the day after Wyatt's passing, letting fans in on how heartbroken he was.

On the "WWE Raw" following Wyatt's death, Rollins, who was still champion at the time, opened the show with an enthusiastic "Yowie Wowie," the catchphrase which Wyatt often used during episodes of the Firefly Funhouse. Rollins didn't just make allusions to Wyatt in his promo, however. Fans noticed that one of the side plates of Rollins' title, which are usually designed after the champion's character, now featured The Fiend. "The Visionary" never mentioned the side plate change on the microphone, but it was a touching tribute to his on-screen rival and real-life friend.

The same night, Rollins' wife, Becky Lynch, was also visibly upset following her victory over Zoey Starks in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Lynch wore a black armband with the word "BRAY." She acknowledged the band following her win, and WWE posted the video of her emotional victory to TikTok and said Lynch "dedicated her victory" to Wyatt that night.