This weekend marks the two-year anniversary of the tragic news that Windham Rotunda, higher referred to as Bray Wyatt, passed away on the age of 36. It was a chunk of reports that many fans still have not come to terms with, and one in every of the moments in time where every wrestling fan remembers exactly where they were once they came upon the data.
Wyatt spent virtually his entire profession with WWE, but that did not mean he did not have friends on the proverbial opposite side of the fence in relation to All Elite Wrestling. In reality, it was heavily rumored throughout the summer of 2021 after Wyatt was originally released by WWE that he would find yourself joining AEW, with a possible spot because the leader of The Dark Order being thrown around as an idea resulting from his reference to the previous leader, the late Mr. Brodie Lee, who passed away in December 2020.
Had Wyatt joined AEW, he would have been reunited with loads of his old friends and colleagues, in addition to being introduced to a bunch of men and ladies he might never have worked with, but most definitely influenced through his various characters. It’s these connections and bonds that led to various AEW stars paying tribute to Wyatt following his passing, something that caught WWE fans off guard resulting from the supposed tribalism between the 2 corporations. That said, when a family man with a love of skilled wrestling and a mind for the business unlike some other loses his life far before he was ever purported to, everyone within the industry comes together to pay their respect.
AEW All In London 2023
This weekend can also be near the two-year anniversary of the record-setting AEW All In London pay-per-view, which took place on August 27, 2023, three days after Wyatt’s death. Obviously the fans within the UK were excited to see AEW on European soil for the primary time, but there was a way of mourning around London that day, and the times leading as much as the event given the news of Wyatt, in addition to the legendary Terry Funk, passing away on August 23 and 24 respectively.
Chris Jericho was one in every of the primary AEW stars to get the prospect to pay tribute in public as his band Fozzy played a show on the O2 Kentish Town Forum in London the day after Wyatt had died. Jericho brought up Wyatt various times in the course of the show to pay his respects, in addition to doing a canopy of “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” with the live audience, who would also chant “Thank You Bray” on multiple occasions throughout the night. Jericho would go on to dedicate his match at All In London with Will Ospreay to Wyatt, before opening up about their friendship on an episode of his “Talk is Jericho” podcast a month later.
Throughout the event itself, fans had organized a special moment in the course of the House of Black’s entrance before their AEW World Trios Championship match with The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn. Because the lights went out, the fireflies lit up Wembley Stadium in tribute to Wyatt, with the House of Black even having fireflies on their Titantron as they made their entrance. The ultimate touch was when Buddy Matthews revealed Wyatt’s signature lantern and placed it at the highest of the doorway ramp before they walked all the way down to the ring, with the commentary team of Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, and Taz sending their thoughts to Wyatt’s family and friends because it happened.
Malakai Black would eventually return to WWE in April 2025, reverting back to his former name of Aleister Black, and in one in every of his first interviews since returning to the corporate, Black explained his relationship with Wyatt, and the way without Wyatt, Black would not be who he’s today, each on-screen and off it.
JoJo Offerman Appears In AEW
If there was one one who everyone had of their thoughts following Wyatt’s death, it was his fiancée, former WWE ring announcer JoJo Offerman.
JoJo had largely kept herself away from the highlight within the wake of her partner’s passing, but she would actually make a surprise return to wrestling with AEW in the beginning of 2025. She would act as a special guest ring announcer for a dark match before the January 4, 2025 episode of “AEW Collision” that took place in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a few suspected that perhaps this might change into a full-time gig for JoJo, but that wasn’t the case. Nevertheless, this would not be the one time she appeared on AEW TV in 2025.
Throughout the company’s biggest show of the 12 months, All In Texas on July 12, JoJo appeared on the doorway ramp to perform Chaka Khan’s hit single “Ain’t No one” during Swerve Strickland’s entrance before he teamed up with Will Ospreay to tackle The Young Bucks. While JoJo performed, fireflies flooded the screens in Globe Life Field because the fans began to light up the stadium with their very own fireflies as JoJo gave a performance that reportedly moved people in each the AEW and WWE locker rooms.
“Ain’t No one” was a track Strickland had used as an entrance theme long before he even appeared in WWE, and Strickland is a person who has gone on the record about how much of fan he was of Wyatt and the way he’s been influenced by the late star. This wasn’t the primary time that Strickland had paid tribute to Wyatt either, as the previous AEW World Champion’s attire on the 2023 Full Gear pay-per-view was patterned with red and black stripes, very similar to the apparel The Fiend would wear in his matches. Strickland would then go on to have one of the violent Texas Death Matches in modern history against Hangman Page, a match that he not only won, but felt like he was powered through by the spirit of Bray Wyatt.