Bray Wyatt, the WWE superstar currently known as The Fiend, will wrestle Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37 this weekend.
The pair, who squared off against each other at WrestleMania 33, will add another chapter to the rivalry on Sunday night in Tampa, on night two of the 2-day event.
Wyatt is a Florida-born third generation wrestler who played a little college football at Troy University who began climbing the WWE ladder around 2014 as the head of the Wyatt Family. The son of Mike Rotunda (perhaps best known as I.R.S.), grandson of Blackjack Mulligan and brother to Bo Dallas, Wyatt (his real name Windham Rotunda) comes from a pretty unique wrestling pedigree that certainly shaped him into one of the current faces of WWE.
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When we interviewed Wyatt in 2016 ahead of a show in Birmingham, he talked about his time spent in Alabama.
“While being at Troy, it was a tough lesson for me,” he said. “It kind of helped me get to be the person that I am now because I never experienced such things that I saw there. I love Alabama. It’s beautiful, but I started destroying myself while I was there, emotionally. Troy kind of helped pick me up and set me to where I am right now.”
In 2019, he introduced “The Fiend,” a demonic character with supernatural powers, feuding with the likes of Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and John Cena. He would even attack WWE legends like Kurt Angle, Jerry Lawler and Mick Foley. After losing to Orton in a Firefly Inferno match at the Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV last December, The Fiend returned at Fastlane where he helped Alexa Bliss defeat Orton in their intergender match, setting up this weekend’s ‘Mania showdown.
This marks a rematch after their WrestleMania 33 showcase. Wyatt winning the WWE title at Elimination Chamber meant he’d face Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton at ‘Mania. During the match, Wyatt attempted mind games by projecting images of different insects on to the ring canvas. Didn’t work, as Orton handed him his third straight WM loss.
Below is a timeline of Wyatt’s other WrestleMania appearances:
WrestleMania 30: Wyatt made his ‘Mania debut against the company’s biggest star in John Cena. Even his pals Erick Rowan and the late Luke Harper’s help, Wyatt still succumbed to the Attitude Adjustment and suffered his first pinfall loss on the main roster.
WrestleMania 31: Dubbing himself “The New Face of Fear,” Wyatt challenged the Undertaker. Fresh off of his first WrestleMania loss (to Brock Lesnar at WM30), the Dead Man wouldn’t start a new streak and defeated Wyatt in convincing fashion.
WrestleMania 32: When WWE legend and biggest movie star in the world Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared, lit his name on fire with a flamethrower and charmed the Arlington crowd of 101,763 with his signature catchphrases, the Wyatt Family showed up to spoil the party. Johnson defeated Rowan in an impromptu match in six seconds, while the other Wyatts dispatched by Rock and his pal John Cena.
WrestleMania 34: Wyatt returned and turned good guy for the first time in his WWE career, helping Matt Hardy win the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. They would then form a team and win the vacant Raw Tag Team titles at Greatest Royal Rumble, defeating Cesaro and Sheamus.
WrestleMania 36: Wyatt scored his first ‘Mania win after adopting his new gimmick, “The Fiend.” While the character suffered his first loss to Goldberg at Super ShowDown, he then challenged his WM30 opponent John Cena for a rematch six years in the making. With the COVID-19 pandemic surging, WWE resorted to a PPV without fans, but Wyatt and Cena delivered a “Firefly Fun House Match,” among the acclaimed moments of the 2-day that took a madcap trip through the pair’s storied rivalry, resulting in the Fiend’s win.