WWE just announced that they have come to terms on the release of former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt, 34.
The official statement:
WWE has come to terms on the release of Bray Wyatt. We wish him the best in all his future endeavors.
Wyatt has not appeared for the company since Wrestlemania 37 and the word internally had been that there was a "specific reason" he had not returned and that it was not a creative situation, implying perhaps that Wyatt had not been cleared to perform. Prior to Wrestlemania, Wyatt last performed in January 2021 in a pre-taped bout against Randy Orton. He was slated to defeat Orton at Wrestlemania but that finish was changed over the course of Mania weekend.
Wyatt had disappeared from the company's internal roster weeks ago but there had been no official stance on his status with the company.
Wyatt has not commented much on social media in recent months beyond telling the audience he missed them.
The grandson of WWE Hall of Famer Blackjack Mulligan and the son of all time great Mike Rotunda, Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda, had been with WWE since 2009 when he and his brother, who performed as Bo Dallas, signed WWE developmental deals and debuted for FCW, the WWE developmental territory at the time.
The Wyatt and Fiend characters would remain under WWE's ownership. During his time as The Fiend version of the Wyatt character, Bray Wyatt was among the top merchandise movers for the company, specifically in the action figure realm.
WWE chose to release Bray Wyatt and that the word going around was that it was a budget-related reason( yeah, sssuurreee it was, sure it was), similar to other big cuts, such as Braun Strowman. It was not a case of Wyatt asking to be released.
We are told that Wyatt was called by John Lauirinaitis (who wasn't even at TV this week as he's in the middle of moving back to Connecticut) and informed it was simply a budgetary decision and not something Wyatt had done.
To say that the reaction within the company was stunned would be a massive understatement given how plugged into licensing the Wyatt character has been in recent years. The Fiend had been a massive hit for t-shirts and action figures. eBay will probably be selling these like hot cakes now.
One source pointed the finger squarely at WWE President Nick Khan and CFO Kristina Salen, stating that they are so "obsessed" with the company not being even one iota in the red on the financial ledgers that even after the most recent financial quarter, there had to have been a push to cut costs where with previous regimes, there would have been more leniency.
Others noted that Wyatt and Vince McMahon's relationship behind the scenes ran very hot and cold at times and that McMahon has given Khan the ability to run things far more than anyone else has historically been able to accomplish, so there was likely less of a push-back over the idea of cutting a big money contract from the ledger.
Another source pointed that Wyatt's 90 days would run out the week before AEW's Full Gear and how Vince McMahon may have been very prophetic about handing AEW other assets during yesterday's media call.
For those who have asked if there are other releases coming today, we have heard nothing that leads me to believe that is the case. We'll see now, won't we.
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