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As the professional wrestling world prepares for Bray Wyatt‘s memorial ceremonies in the week following his untimely passing due to a heart attack, WWE decided to release a video where almost a dozen performers, announcers, and creatives alike sat down in front of a camera to tell some of their favorite stories from the life of the “Eater of Worlds.”
One performer, however, who fans may not have expected to be featured in the video was Drew McIntyre, who only appeared in one televised match with Wyatt during their shared time in WWE, the 2011 Royal Rumble, plus a Moments of Bliss segment on RAW in 2020. And yet, despite their lack of regular angles on RAW, SmackDown, and PLEs, Wyatt touched McIntyre immensely during his life, and he plans to do everything in his power to keep that legacy alive into the future.
“I'm trying to remember these positive memories, man, because during these times, you build this bond that lasts forever. No matter how much time would pass, you don't have to talk all the time, you don't have to text all the time, you can see each other, and it's like no time had passed at all. You'd been in the trenches together. You were brothers, you were boys, and we grew up together,” Drew McIntyre said via Wrestlezone.
“To see the ups and downs we both went through, through our lives personally and professionally, to see that we'd finally made it, we finally succeeded in both ways, it just makes this that much harder. Because he'd done it. He'd succeeded, and it's just not fair. We should be going to the wedding, not a funeral. Trying to stay positive. I'm trying to keep a smile going. I can't stop thinking about JoJo. I can't stop thinking about the kids.
“Career-wise, I don't have to say it. Everyone else says it. That's not in doubt. The fans will remember forever. But it's up to us to keep his memory alive, who he was. Backstage, what he meant to everybody, and the older you get, the more you realize that you don't have as many friends as you thought you did. Windham, thank you for always being my friend. I hope I get to see you again. We're going to keep your memory alive, and I love you.”
If McIntyre's desire is to keep Wyatt's memory alive then he's in luck, as it's hard to imagine anyone will ever forget about all of the ideas, from the Wyatt Family to “The Fiend,” that he got to television. If anything, Wyatt's passing has actually gotten folks to revisit some of his work that was once considered divisive and realize just how innovative it was.
Bayley thanks Bray Wyatt for “letting her in” to his world.
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Elsewhere in the WWE's memorial video, Bayley shared her experience with Bray Wyatt, which dates all the way back to when she first arrived in FCW, which was one of the promotion's developmental brands before NXT.
After being introduced to Wyatt by Saraya, aka WWE's Paige, the “Eater of Worlds” let Bayley into his world, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“Bray, Windham, was one of the first people I met at FCW. Saraya, Paige, actually introduced me to him, and I feel like I opened a secret door to the best person, and it was like he let me in. No pun intended. He let me in, just based off that introduction because she meant so much to him,” Bayley said via Fightful.
“He was already with the Wyatt Family. They were on their way going to Raw and SmackDown as I was making my way into FCW and NXT. So those promo days were insane. While Dusty Rhodes is talking up this group, talking up this man, and listen to his words and you could feel him just by looking at him, and you could see Bray pacing back and forth before these promo days. Super intense, super intimidating, but just breathtaking. That's a whole different level. One in a million. He's one in a million. Those were my first memories. As we got to know each other, he's just a goofy guy. Behind that insane, intense, beautiful, electrifying character is just a silly dude with the goofiest laugh that you could hear a mile away. Bray and Windham meant so much to everybody. I'll miss his laugh. Thank you, Bray. We love you. I'll miss you.”
While it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that WWE performers forge friendships backstage that don't always appear on screen, if this last week has illuminated anything, it's that the proprietor of the Firefly Funhouse was just about the most popular man in the entire WWE Universe, as you will nary find someone with an unkind thing to say about the 36-year-old take from fans too soon.
