AEW's Heartfelt Tributes To Bray Wyatt Caught Fans Off Guard

This weekend marks the two-year anniversary of the tragic news that Windham Rotunda, better known as Bray Wyatt, passed away at the age of 36. It was a piece of news that many fans still haven't come to terms with, and one of the moments in time where every wrestling fan remembers exactly where they were when they found out the information.

Wyatt spent virtually his entire career with WWE, but that didn't mean he didn't have friends on the proverbial opposite side of the fence when it comes to All Elite Wrestling. In fact, it was heavily rumored throughout the summer of 2021 after Wyatt was originally released by WWE that he would end up joining AEW, with a potential spot as the leader of The Dark Order being thrown around as an idea due to his connection with the former leader, the late Mr. Brodie Lee, who passed away in December 2020. 

Had Wyatt joined AEW, he would have been reunited with a lot of his old friends and colleagues, as well as being introduced to a group of men and women he might never have worked with, but most certainly influenced through his various characters. It's these connections and bonds that led to a number of AEW stars paying tribute to Wyatt following his passing, something that caught WWE fans off guard due to the supposed tribalism between the two companies. That said, when a family man with a love of professional wrestling and a mind for the business unlike any other loses his life far before he was ever supposed to, everyone in the industry comes together to pay their respect. 

This weekend is also close to the two-year anniversary of the record-setting AEW All In London pay-per-view, which took place on August 27, 2023, three days after Wyatt's death. Obviously the fans in the UK were excited to see AEW on European soil for the first time, but there was a sense of mourning around London that day, and the days leading up to the event given the news of Wyatt, as well as the legendary Terry Funk, passing away on August 23 and 24 respectively.

Chris Jericho was one of the first AEW stars to get the chance to pay tribute in public as his band Fozzy played a show at the O2 Kentish Town Forum in London the day after Wyatt had died. Jericho brought up Wyatt a number of times during the show to pay his respects, as well as doing a cover of "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" with the live audience, who would also chant "Thank You Bray" on multiple occasions throughout the night. Jericho would go on to dedicate his match at All In London with Will Ospreay to Wyatt, before opening up about their friendship on an episode of his "Talk is Jericho" podcast a month later.

During the event itself, fans had organized a special moment during the House of Black's entrance before their AEW World Trios Championship match with The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn. As the lights went out, the fireflies lit up Wembley Stadium in tribute to Wyatt, with the House of Black even having fireflies on their Titantron as they made their entrance. The final touch was when Buddy Matthews revealed Wyatt's signature lantern and placed it at the top of the entrance ramp before they walked down to the ring, with the commentary team of Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, and Taz sending their thoughts to Wyatt's family and friends as it happened.

Malakai Black would eventually return to WWE in April 2025, reverting back to his former name of Aleister Black, and in one of his first interviews since returning to the company, Black explained his relationship with Wyatt, and how without Wyatt, Black wouldn't be who he is today, both on-screen and off it.

If there was one person who everyone had in their thoughts following Wyatt's death, it was his fiancée, former WWE ring announcer JoJo Offerman.

JoJo had largely kept herself away from the spotlight in the wake of her partner's passing, but she would actually make a surprise return to wrestling with AEW at the beginning of 2025. She would act as a special guest ring announcer for a dark match before the January 4, 2025 episode of "AEW Collision" that took place in Charlotte, North Carolina, and some suspected that perhaps this would become a full-time gig for JoJo, but that wasn't the case. However, this wouldn't be the only time she appeared on AEW TV in 2025.

During the company's biggest show of the year, All In Texas on July 12, JoJo appeared on the entrance ramp to perform Chaka Khan's hit single "Ain't Nobody" during Swerve Strickland's entrance before he teamed up with Will Ospreay to take on The Young Bucks. While JoJo performed, fireflies flooded the screens in Globe Life Field as the fans began to light up the stadium with their own fireflies as JoJo gave a performance that reportedly moved people in both the AEW and WWE locker rooms.

"Ain't Nobody" was a track Strickland had used as an entrance theme long before he even appeared in WWE, and Strickland is a man who has gone on the record about how much of fan he was of Wyatt and how he's been influenced by the late star. This wasn't the first time that Strickland had paid tribute to Wyatt either, as the former AEW World Champion's attire at the 2023 Full Gear pay-per-view was patterned with red and black stripes, much like the attire The Fiend would wear in his matches. Strickland would then go on to have one of the most violent Texas Death Matches in modern history against Hangman Page, a match that he not only won, but felt like he was powered through by the spirit of Bray Wyatt.