The late Windham Rotunda won’t be going into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, although father Mike Rotunda expects him to join the ranks of legendary wrestlers “at some point.”
After Windham Rotunda, known commonly by his on-screen name Bray Wyatt, passed away suddenly last August, many wondered what WWE would do to honor him. Some assumed that Wyatt would join the 2024 Hall of Fame class. However, as it stands, Wyatt isn’t expected to be inducted next week.
Ahead of his induction next in just a little over a week as one-half of the U.S. Express, Mike Rotunda commented on his reaction to Wyatt not being a part of the class.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Rotunda mentioned that he initially thought Wyatt would be a part of this year’s class. He believes that WWE didn’t want to put him into the Hall of Fame “too soon,” especially since his family is still less than a year removed from his passing. However, Mike is confident that Wyatt will be part of a class in the future.
“With Windham passing, I thought they were gonna immediately put Windham into the Hall of Fame, which he will be at some point,” he said. “But I think WWE reassessed stuff and thought it was too soon to go there with our family, you know, and the reactions and the stress on us. We got a call from WWE and said ‘Hunter [Paul Levesque] wants to do a Zoom call.’ We were thinking they were going to tell us what was going to happen at Wrestlemania. Hunter said ‘You guys are going to get inducted. You and Barry were part of the first [Wrestlemania] ever. It was very flattering obviously, and actually less stressful on us with Windham passing, just the mental capacity of it. And obviously, it’s a great honor because you’re getting honored for what you spent 40 years doing.”
WWE will release a documentary on Sunday to honor Windham Rotunda’s life. “Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal” will be released on the subscription service Peacock.
When asked about the documentary, Mike Rotunda said: “It’s very sad, but it’s so well done.” He wants viewers to have the takeaway that “Windham was a star that was loved by millions.”
