Rumors Circulating Regarding Bray Wyatt in AEW and Impact

Bray Wyatt was released from his WWE contract on July 31, 2021. Since then, wrestling fans and media outlets have been speculating where he could go next.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter and F4WOnline said that a September 29 appearance on AEW Dynamite is a possibility. This would coincide with the show taking place in Rochester, New York, the home city of the late Brodie Lee, who was a real-life friend of Wyatt and a member of the Wyatt Family stable in WWE.

That said, it’s worth noting that if Bray Wyatt is on a 90-day no-compete clause like most other released WWE talents, he wouldn’t be able to appear in AEW until later in October. This, too, would be fitting for the Halloween season as Wyatt has portrayed a brilliant, legitimately horror movie-like cult leader character for a very long time.

AEW aside, it’s also being speculated that Wyatt could actually debut for Impact Wrestling. While Impact may not have the massive following that AEW has, it’s been back on the rise the past few years due to its emphasis on pure wrestling and fun storylines.

Currently, AEW has a growing roster of stars, with the latest acquisitions being among the biggest names in the industry. As such, Wyatt could potentially shine a little brighter in Impact, which features a smaller, more focused roster. Not to mention, it would be very interesting to see Wyatt interact with wrestlers like Rosemary, who’s currently leading the horror-influenced Decay stable, and Eric Young, the leader of the cult-like Violent By Design stable.

Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda, was released from his WWE contract after over a decade with the company. He wrestled for developmental brand FCW before going to NXT (during its time as a game show/wrestling hybrid) and being renamed Husky Harris in 2010. He was then a part of the Nexus stable on Raw before being removed from TV. From there, he debuted as cult leader Bray Wyatt in FCW, then in NXT (in its current wrestling show format) before returning to the main roster in 2014 as the leader of the Wyatt Family.

Wyatt most recently portrayed an altered version of the character, dubbed The Fiend, who wore a mask designed by horror effects legend Tom Savini. This version of Wyatt was billed as an unstoppable monster who was mostly impervious to pain before a loss to Goldberg marked a decline in the character’s momentum.

Wherever Wyatt goes next, he unfortunately won’t be able to use the Bray Wyatt name as that’s copyright property of WWE. That said, his real name of Windham Rotunda is well-known since he’s part of a large wrestling family that includes his father IRS, uncles Kendall and Barry Windham, grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, and brother Bo Dallas. In any case, it’ll be interesting see what aspects of the Bray Wyatt character he retains in his career going forward.