Bray Wyatt’s father, Mike Rotunda, explains heartwarming reason why his son won’t be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year following his death in August
- Wyatt, then 36, died suddenly after suffering a heart attack while still with the WWE
- It was expected that he would be inducted into the Hall of Fame as soon as possible
- Rotunda himself will be inducted as part of The US Express tag team with brother
Bray Wyatt’s father has explained why the WWE legend will not be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
The wrestling world was shocked when Wyatt, who was still an active performer in the company, passed away last year after suffering a heart attack.
WWE as a company and the stars who work within it have continued to pay tribute to the star ever since, and he will be honored later this year with a new documentary entitled: ‘Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal’.
Many believed he would be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the earliest opportunity, with the ceremony taking place in just over a week during WrestleMania weekend.
However, that won’t be the case, and Wyatt’s father, who will be inducted himself, has detailed WWE’s decision to postpone the trial.
Bray Wyatt’s father (pictured) has explained why his son will not be inducted into the Hall of Fame
The wrestling world was shocked when Wyatt passed away late last year after suffering a heart attack
Rotunda (pictured) will itself be inducted into the Hall of Fame in just over a week
“I think WWE reassessed things and felt it was too early to go there with our family and the reactions and the stress on us,” Mike Rotunda said. Sportkeeda. “We got a call from WWE and (they) said Hunter (WWE boss Triple H) wants to do a Zoom call. We thought they were going to tell us what was going to happen at WrestleMania.”
Instead, Triple H told Rotunda that he, along with his brother Barry Windham, would be inducted as The US Express.
They will join the Hall of Fame alongside Bill Nakano, Thunderbolt Patterson, Muhammad Ali and manager Paul Heyman.
“Hunter said, ‘You guys are being inducted. You and Barry were part of the first (WrestleMania) show,’” Rotunda continued. “It’s obviously very flattering and actually less stressful for us because of all the things we had to go through when Windham passed away, just the mental capacity of it.
“Now that Windham had passed away, I thought they would immediately put Windham in the Hall of Fame, which is where he will end up at some point.”
‘It is of course a great honor, because you are being rewarded for what you have done for forty years.’
Rotunda explained how he thought his son would be inducted into the Hall of Fame “immediately.”
He said the star will eventually be inducted, but that WWE felt it was “too soon” due to the family’s stress
The ceremony will take place on Friday, April 5, one night before the first night of WrestleMania in Philadelphia.
It will take place after the SmackDown show and will feature a number of WWE stars past and present.
Wyatt, who was 36 when he died, had his last match in WWE at the 2023 Royal Rumble, when he defeated LA Knight in a Mountain Dew pitch-black match.