WWE Originally Wanted Bray Wyatt And Uncle Howdy To Face Off At WrestleMania

Even after Bray Wyatt passed away more than a week ago, it still doesn’t seem real. Late last Thursday, word spread that Wyatt, actual name Windham Rotunda, had passed away suddenly. Since then, it has been established that Wyatt died while taking a nap, not wearing the defibrillator doctors advise he carry with him at all times, after battling certain heart problems for the majority of 2023.

Bray Wyatt’s WrestleMania Plans

There had been rumors Wyatt was close to making a comeback to the ring just two weeks before he passed away. That whatever issues he had been dealing with, they were practically behind him. If Wyatt had shown up, it would have marked his first WWE TV appearance since going missing without much of an explanation earlier this year.

As a prelude to his WrestleMania match, Wyatt pledged to pursue the winner of Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar at Elimination Chamber. However, a recent rumor from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter claims that WWE had intended to have Wyatt and Uncle Howdy square off on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

It’s unclear exactly when this pitch was made or how WWE would have gotten there. When Wyatt made his previous WWE TV appearance, he and Howdy were still employed together. In fact, since Howdy was so closely associated with Wyatt, that was also the final time he appeared on television. Because the wrestler playing Howdy wasn’t prepared for a match of that caliber, it sounds like the plan may have been shelved before Wyatt fell ill and needed to take time off.

Uncle Howdy Was Bo Dallas

Although it hasn’t exactly been a secret for a while, the identity of Howdy also seems to have been confirmed by The Wrestling Observer. All the indicators that Howdy was Dallas were present, including the specific mention of Taylor Rotunda and Bo Dallas, Wyatt’s biological brother. When the mysterious character was included in the game via DLC last month, WWE 2K23 even included Dallas’s WWE achievements under the name Howdy.

Dallas/Howdy is probably still under contract with WWE, although it is unclear whether he will continue to serve in any role for the business. The former NXT Champion is probably still mourning the loss of his brother at this time, not having made up his mind to continue competing. He and the rest of Wyatt’s family are in our prayers right now.