Top 5 Favorite Bray Wyatt Moments

This really, really hurts.

The wrestling world, wrestling fans, and everyone affected felt the terrible heartbreak of the news that broke a day prior: Bray Wyatt suddenly passed away at the tender age of 36. The eldest offspring of Mike Rotunda (aka Irwin R. Schuyster), Windham Rotunda was born on May 23, 1987 in Brooksville, Florida, and it was in 2009 that he delved into the family business of wrestling. He was part of a vast collection of third-generation wrestlers, as his maternal grandfather was the legendary Blackjack Mulligan. In addition, his uncles were wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, and Bray wasn't the only one in his generation to enter the ring, as his younger brother, Taylor Rotunda, joined WWE as Bo Dallas.

The Rotunda brothers actually competed as a tag team in FCW, before Windham took on the name Husky Harris and served as a rookie under the guidance of Cody Rhodes on NXT (back when it was a competition show). Husky Harris' promotion came at the 2010 Hell in the Cell event, when he and Michael McGillicutty became the newest members of the Nexus faction. It wasn't until 2012 that Windham became Bray Wyatt, which would be his longest and most successful moniker. Bray engaged in a plethora of memorable feuds with stars such as Roman Reigns, John Cena, and even The Undertaker, held the tag titles twice, and was a three-time world champion.

I loved watching Bray for all those years; my fandom increased with every moment he gave us. When it came to the moments, there were a plethora of them, but there were five that stood out the most to me:

5. Shield vs Wyatts

Bray's "Wyatt Family" started on NXT in 2012 before the promotion came in 2013, with the original formation consisting of Bray, Erick Rowan, and the late Luke Harper. At the time that the triumvirate made their main roster debuts, there was already a villainous trio running roughshod all over WWE: The Shield. The trio of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns had made their mark on WWE in just under a year, and once the Wyatts hit the main roster, it was a matter of time before these two trios faced each other.

The interesting part about this was that even in the build to this match, which took place at the Elimination Chamber event in 2014, both trios were heels. The Shield eventually turned face after WrestleMania XXX, but the signs were not there by the time this match was made. It was a brief build once the match was made, but let's be clear, the build started once the Wyatts hit the main roster. The Wyatts actually defeated The Shield at the event, and I remember being a bit surprised at that result.

4. WrestleMania 36

The COVID-19 pandemic was an immensely tough time for everyone, including the world of wrestling. So much was shut down, but other forums worked through it all, and that included the world of wrestling. Each major wrestling company had that one star who shined the most during the shutdown period that saw no fans in attendance (leading to the Thunderdome being created in WWE). In WWE, that was Bray Wyatt. Just under a year before the pandemic, we were introduced to "The Fiend," with part of the gimmick including Bray hosting a children's TV segment of sorts called the "Firefly Fun House," which is basically Mr. Rogers mixed with Pee Wee's Playhouse, with a horror element mixed in.

The Fiend was a monstrous alter-ego for Bray's genial demeanor, and regarding WrestleMania 36, his target was John Cena. Bray and Cena feuded six years prior to this, but 2020, in my view, stood out more. Of course, with the pandemic at an immensely high rate, that year's WrestleMania saw no fans in attendance, and that allowed WWE some freedom in creativity. As a result, the Firefly Fun House match between Bray and Cena ended up being one of two "cinematic" matches on the two-night WM, with the other being The Undertaker's final match of his career against AJ Styles. We saw a lot of funny moments in this match; references to WCW, references to Cena's old "Doctor of Thuganomics" gimmick, you name it. This was one of the best moments from that year's WrestleMania, as well as one of the best moments in Bray Wyatt's career.

3. Deleter of Worlds

I absolutely loved the "Deleter of Worlds" duo of Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy. It didn't start out that way. They were actually rivals for several months, and the feud actually led to Matt Hardy's "Broken" gimmick (which we saw in Impact Wrestling) surfacing in WWE. The now "Woken" Matt Hardy faced Bray in the "Ultimate Deletion" match, and won, with Bray being pushed into the Lake of Reincarnation. Bray resurfaced at WrestleMania 34 and helped Matt win the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, leading to a partnership that saw them capture the Raw Tag Team Championship.

I loved this partnership, I loved the "Deleter of Worlds" duo so much. For one, it was a rare babyface role for Bray, and it paired him with Matt's "Woken" persona, making for quite the oddball pairing. I mainly loved the brief interaction between the pair and Jeff Hardy just moments after WrestleMania, it was heartwarming, and quite hilarious.

2. "Anyone But You, Roman"

One of the many things I loved about Bray was how he spoke. There was a lot of soul in Bray's promos; honestly, it was like hearing Dusty Rhodes talk. He had his share of catchphrases over years. His main one when he started the Bray Wyatt gimmick was "Follow the buzzards." There was also "Run," and another one I loved, "Find me!," as well as "Wowee yowee" during his Firefly Fun House gimmick. Out of all of his phrases, the one that stand out to me the most: "Anyone but you, Roman."

Bray and Roman were engaged in a hell of a feud in 2015, and during this battle, Bray often ended his promos to Roman with the words, "Anyone but you, Roman." Those four words were uttered because at that time, Roman Reigns was on his own and had been for a year, and of course, the buzz was that he was supposed to be the guy back then. He had come off facing Brock Lesnar in the main event at WrestleMania, only for Seth Rollins to pounce with his MITB briefcase and take the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from both men. "Anyone but you, Roman," had a lot of meanings. One meaning was that others would always be ahead of Roman as far as stock and elevation. Another meaning could be based on the fans' feelings about Roman at that time, which wasn't exactly positive. There were many possibilities

I myself loved "Anyone but you, Roman," because of the way Bray said it, and part of why I find it funny is because of the way Bray said it. I could listen to Bray talk for a long time, but that phrase, IMO, was his best out of his many catchphrases.

1. WWE Champion

It's not even close. Not even close. My all time favorite moment in Bray Wyatt's career came at the 2017 Elimination Chamber event, which saw him capture the WWE Championship for the very first time. I remember the build to this Chamber match, and something in the back of my mind told me that Bray would win the title. When he won, I was so happy for him. Hell, I was deliriously happy. My first thought when Bray raised the title over his head: "I can't wait for SmackDown."

When I read the sad news of Bray's passing, my mind went to this moment, and I literally cried after watching that brief clip of Bray winning the WWE Title. He would add two more World Title reigns later on, both with the Universal Championship, and I remember the Fun House segment where the color of the Universal Championship changed from red to blue, as Bray was a SmackDown star holding the title.

We are all still processing this. We all can't believe it. We are all heartbroken over this. We all loved Bray, we all loved watching Bray. He gave us so much during his career, and he gave his all to us in the very short time he was in this world. Bray Wyatt is an absolute legend, and that is a stone cold fact.