- Wyatt, then 36, suddenly passed away after heart attack while still with the WWE
- It was expected he would be inducted into Hall of Fame at earliest opportunity
- Rotunda to be inducted himself as part of The US Express tag team with brother
Bray Wyatt’s father has explained why the WWE legend won’t be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
The wrestling world was left shook when Wyatt, who was still an active performer in the company, passed away after a heart attack last year.
WWE as a company and the stars that work in it have continued to pay tribute to the star since, and he will be honoured with a new documentary titled: ‘Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal’ later on this year.
Many thought he would be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the first opportunity, with the ceremony to take place in just over a week’s time during WrestleMania weekend.
That won’t be the case, though, and Wyatt’s father, who himself will be inducted, has detailed WWE’s decision to delay the process.
Bray Wyatt’s (pictured) father has explained why his son won’t be inducted into the Hall of Fame
The wrestling world was left shook when Wyatt passed away after a heart attack late last year
Rotunda (pictured) will be inducted into the Hall of Fame himself in just over a week’s time
‘I think WWE reassessed stuff and thought it was too soon to go there with our family and the reactions and the stress on us, Mike Rotunda told Sportskeeda. ‘We got a call from WWE and [they] said Hunter [WWE boss Triple H] wants to do a Zoom call. We were thinking they were gonna tell us what was gonna happen at WrestleMania.’
Instead, Triple H told Rotunda, alongside his brother Barry Windham, were to 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 gonna get inducted. You and Barry were a part of the first [WrestleMania] show”,’ Rotunda continued. ‘It’s very flattering obviously and actually less stressful on us because of all the stuff that we had to go through with Windham passing, just the mental capacity of it.
‘With Windham passing, I thought they were gonna immediately put Windham into the Hall of Fame, which he will be in at some point.’
‘Obviously, it’s a great honor because you’re getting rewarded for what you spent 40 years doing.’
Rotunda explained how he had thought his son would be put in the Hall of Fame ‘immediately’
He said the star will eventually be inducted but that WWE thought it was ‘too soon’ due to the family’s stress
The ceremony will be held on Friday April 5, a night before the first night of WrestleMania in Philadelphia.
It will be held after the go-home SmackDown show, with a number of WWE stars past and present to be in attendance.
Wyatt, who was 36 when he died, had his last match in WWE at the 2023 Royal Rumble, when he beat LA Knight in a Mountain Dew pitch black match.
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