John Cena took to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday morning to remember former World Wrestling Entertainment champion Bray Wyatt.
News of Wyatt's passing at the age of 36 broke Thursday evening in an announcement from WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque. No cause of death has been released.
Real name Windham Rotunda, Wyatt was known in the industry as a creative genius and talented performer. His three world championships paled in comparison to the characters and stories he portrayed.
Social media was immediately flooded Thursday night with posts remembering Bray Wyatt. Early Friday morning, 16-time world champion John Cena paid tribute: "Devastated by the news of the passing of Windham Rotunda. My heart goes out to the entire Rotunda family. Windham brought the best out of me in so many ways. I'm forever grateful for the moments we shared. A sad day for all those he reached around the world. RIP."
Cena and Wyatt's careers have been intertwined for more than a decade, dating back to Wyatt's second match on WWE RAW in 2010, according to the Internet Wrestling Database.
Cena was an established star at the time with multiple world title reigns on his résumé. Wyatt was coming off of his time on the second season of WWE show NXT where he had performed as a character called Husky Harris. Wyatt and his partner Joe Hennig lost a tag team contest to Cena and Randy Orton.
Four years later, Wyatt and Cena were back in the ring together for Wrestlemania XXX. Wyatt, in the role as the heel, received praise from the live crowd while Cena, the traditional crowd favorite, received mixed reactions.
Wyatt and Cena continued their story, wrestling frequently throughout the rest of the year. Wyatt picked up a memorable victory in a steel cage match at the Extreme Rules premium live event.
In 2017, Wyatt won his first world title in an Elimination Chamber match with four other competitors in addition to Cena, who held the title. Wyatt had the belt for 49 days before losing it to Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 33. Wyatt went on to capture WWE's Universal Championship twice.
Wrestlemania 36 in March 2020 marked the last time the two wrestlers would perform together. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE produced their annual spectacle without fans. While many matches were performed live in an empty arena, Cena and Wyatt produced a series of pre-taped vignettes. The footage was filled with more symbolism than traditional professional wrestling, digging into Cena's career and reflecting on their time together.
The segment was polarizing, with some fans critical of the lack of wrestling action. Others, however, praised it as a work of genius.
"Give it 11,000 stars," Erik Beaston wrote in Bleacher Report's review of the show. "And an Emmy. And an Oscar."
Wyatt had not been seen on WWE television since January. Many industry outlets reported an undisclosed injury. No official announcement had been made regarding the reason for his absence.
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