Tag Archives: bray-wyatt

WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony

Posted on by

Last night, the WWE inducted seven people into the 2024 Class of the WWE Hall of Fame in a broadcast on Peacock. This year’s class included Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda, Thunderbolt Patterson, Muhammad Ali and Lia Maivia.

The headliner of the class was inducted first. Paul Heyman, whose background in Philadelphia with his revolutionary ECW was well known, came out after a really great induction by Roman Reigns. Paul, one of the best talkers in the history of the business, proceeded to give one of the best HoF speeches of all time. I have seen most, if not all, of the speeches over the years and, while I saw several hyperbolic comments online about this being the greatest HoF speech of all time, I’m not ready to anoint it such, but it is definitely in the argument. Paul Heyman had the audience in the palm of his hand and it was exceptional. Paul took us all on a ride that was funny, emotional, nostalgic, and generally inspiring.

There was a great moment inside the U.S. Express speech when Mike Rotunda mentioned his son Windham Rotunda, aka Bray Wyatt, who passed away this past year. Rotunda got out his cell phone and asked for the crowd to follow along with him displaying the light on the phone. This was the symbol of the Fireflies that were the fans of Bray Wyatt.

There was a really weird moment during the Muhammad Ali induction. Yolanda Ali, Ali’s widow, accepted the honor. What was weird was when Yolanda (Nicknamed Lonnie) presented Dwayne Johnson with a title of People’s Champion. Rock came out and thanked her. It felt fairly awkward.

Most of the other speeches were fine, but did not stand out. Thunderbolt Patterson spoke about his faith in God. Bull Nakano was well spoken despite English being her second language.

Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal

Posted on by

The WWE has always done exceptional documentaries. The new doc about the late great Windham Rotunda, better known to the world as Bray Wyatt, is about as exceptional as it comes.

Windham Rotunda shockingly passed away in 2023, something that no one expected or saw coming and it left a massive hole in the world of WWE. This documentary gives the story of Windham Rotunda from his early days to his final days inside the squared circle.

Narrated by the Undertaker, Becoming Immortal did not just focus on the positive moments of Windham’s life, but also the challenges that he faced as he worked his way through the world of sports entertainment. Though many said how difficult it was to work with him, everyone admitted what a creative genius Windham Rotunda was.

Comments from so many of Bray Wyatt’s contemporaries spoke throughout the doc, including Triple H, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Braun Stroman, Sami Zayn, Big E, LA Knight, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Alexa Bliss and Erick Rowan.

However, the most emotional moments are provided by Windham’s younger brother, Taylor Rotunda, known to the WWE audience as Bo Dallas, as well as other family members of Windham, including his father Mike Rotunda, uncle Barry Windham, his first wife Samantha and his second wife JoJo. The recollections of this group of people about the final days of Windham’s life were absolutely heart-breaking and brought tears to my eyes.

It was so clear how much Windham Rotunda was loved by everyone around him. Jason Baker, who was one of Windham’s closest friends, was one of the creative forces behind the masks and outfits for the character of Bray Wyatt. His insights into Windham Rotunda were very powerful as well.

Seeing some of the art Windham did during the time when he had been released from the WWE was amazing. It displayed such an amazing truth about how talented and creative Windham Rotunda was.

As a fan of Bray Wyatt, this was tough at times to watch, but I am very pleased that the documentary was shown. It is available on Peacock.

4.6 stars