Seth Rollins Wore Bray Wyatt Sideplates On His World Title On Raw

The news that Bray Wyatt passed unexpectedly at the young age of 36 still doesn’t seem real six days later. Fans and wrestlers have been remembering the late wrestler ever since it has been reported that he had a heart attack while napping after coping with underlying cardiac troubles made worse by COVID-19. There have been tributes to Wyatt all across the wrestling world lately, whether it be in the form of videos, tweets, or even hat tips during events like The House of Black’s lantern at All In.

Seth Rollins’ Sideplates

This week on Raw, wrestlers continued to pay tribute to Wyatt in a variety of ways, including Becky Lynch tearfully closing the event while holding up a black armband with the image of Bray. Seth Rollins, Lynch’s husband, demonstrated his love for Wyatt in more ways than simply the Yowie Wowie he used to start his promo. Fans have noticed that Rollins represented Wyatt on Monday night in a much more understated manner

A closer inspection of the World Title around Rollins’ waist reveals that The Architect had substituted a Wyatt sideplate with one of his own. The same sideplate that WWE presumably utilized when Wyatt won the Universal Title while posing as The Fiend. The image below shows The Fiend’s face on Rollins’ title. A pretty nice method for Rollins to express his love for someone with whom he has a long history, and one he was aware that fans paying careful attention would notice.

FTR Did The Same For Jay Briscoe

If you’re a champion, changing your sideplates to memorialize a deceased wrestler has become somewhat of a fad this year that I don’t recall ever seeing before. A few months after Jay Briscoe was killed in a vehicle accident, AEW fans saw FTR placed the late wrestler’s name in place of their own on the Tag Team Championships. Rollins also changed his license plates to memorialize Wyatt.

Naturally, wrestlers from all throughout the industry will continue to remember Wyatt in the coming days. Given that the two of them had a spectacular, visually stunning match at WrestleMania three years ago, it seems probable that John Cena will have something heartfelt to say when he returns to SmackDown this Friday. Also confirmed is Tony Khan’s consent for any AEW member who want to attend Wyatt’s burial service to forgo Dynamite if necessary.