The Complete History Of The Wyatt Family

WWE enjoyed mixed success in the early years of the 2010s with their developmental system, but that all changed when two trios in The Shield and the Wyatt Family moved from NXT to the main roster. 

The Wyatt Family was composed of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan, three big talents who had vague motives, but they were enigmatic together from the beginning and they remain one of the most talked-about and compelling acts from the PG era of WWE TV, especially after being joined by Braun Strowman in 2015.

Husky Harris

The late 2000s in WWE was a sprawling haven for numerous second and third generation wrestlers, as the main roster and developmental system became overloaded with a growing number of legacy acts, from Cody Rhodes to Ted DiBiase Jr. to Natalya to The Usos. Those talents made it plainly obvious who they were related to, but that wasn’t the case for Windham Rotunda, who shared little resemblance to his father Mike, best known for his four-year run as Irwin R. Schyster. 

While Mike was leaner and had fairly conservative physical features, son Windham - named after his father's tag team partner and brother-in-law Barry Windham - was considerably heftier, while he also sported tattoos and unconstrained hair. They both had athletic credentials, though, and Windham was a standout in amateur wrestling and football, winning state championships in the former and earning a scholarship to Troy University for the latter.

Windham looked to have a good shot of making it in pro wrestling and WWE reached out by the end of the decade, with Windham debuting in WWE’s Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory in February 2009. 

Over the ensuing three years, Windham Rotunda lived a whirlwind existence in WWE's environs, cycling through multiple names and alternating between developmental and the main roster.

His most prominent early run was as part of a re-manufactured Nexus, under the name Husky Harris. As Harris, Rotunda was but a beefy underling that didn't speak much, with his only real identifying characteristic being that he wasn't built like the pseudo-bodybuilders that WWE tended to mass-produce, instead more resembling a roughneck from a bygone era.

In the spring of 2011, Rotunda was written out of main roster canon after being punted in the head by Randy Orton and he returned to developmental, where he spent much of the ensuing year in the championship scenes as Husky.

In April 2012, however, Rotunda embarked on the role that would change his fortunes forever.

Bray Wyatt Is Born

On the day of WrestleMania 28, Rotunda wrestled as Harris as part of a six-man tag at the AXXESS fan festival. Four days later, Husky Harris was replaced and Rotunda emerged as Bray Wyatt for the first time at the April 5 FCW TV tapings. 

Dressed in a Hawaiian-print shirt with white pants and topped with a straw fedora, Wyatt sauntered out of the entrance way to Mark Crozer's "Broken Out in Love". The disquieting low energy of the song was a fitting complement to this new Bray Wyatt character, as Rotunda was about to demonstrate.

Rhapsodising to the audience through a barely-constrained giddiness, the first Wyatt monologue began with Rotunda saying, "I can only imagine what you people must think of me now!"

From there, Wyatt southern drawled his way through the vague riddles and foreboding promises that would quickly become Wyatt staples, while also making references to an unseen Sister Abigail, for whom his finisher was named.

After the first glance, Bray Wyatt drew comparisons to Robert De Niro's portrayal of righteously vengeful ex-con Max Cady, the antagonist of the 1991 remake of Cape Fear. De Niro's Cady had previously been co-opted in the mid-1990s by Dan Spivey for his short-lived turn in the WWF as the sinister Waylon Mercy.

While Waylon Mercy was a loner, Wyatt quickly began to construct a cult, initially being seconded by Eli Cottonwood before Cottonwood requested his release. It didn’t take long for Wyatt to look for new allies, though, and it came at an opportune time as Wyatt suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the middle of 2012, which would keep him sidelined for the remainder of the year. 

While he was out of the ring, though, Wyatt still had the ability to serve as a voice for his family and on the November 7, 2012 edition of NXT (following the rebranding of FCW), Wyatt began introducing the world to The Wyatt Family.

The first wrestler was initially introduced without a name, but any fan of the independent wrestling scene quickly recognised him as Brodie Lee, whose mountain man-like appearance and dangerous aura were tailor-made for Wyatt's crusade.

After Lee demolished his opponent in a matter of minutes, Wyatt informed the audience that Lee was henceforth to be known as Luke Harper, a name Lee had already been using in untelevised developmental bouts after signing with WWE earlier that year.

The following month, Wyatt continued fortifying his sizeable family. On December 12, another member was introduced in Erick Rowan, a giant with a red beard who kept his frame concealed by a green jumpsuit. Like Harper, Rowan debuted in a squash, defeating Oliver Grey in no time. 

Quick Success In WWE

The trio quickly became one of NXT's most compelling acts. Wyatt’s monologues were one-of-a-kind on NXT and the group had a unique look, allowing them to completely stand out from the crowd inside Full Sail University.

The faction weren’t booked like unstoppable juggernaut’s, though, as Harper and Rowan lost in the final of the tournament to crown the first-ever NXT Tag Team Champions to Oliver Grey and Adrian Neville. 

This was a short-term setback as Harper and Rowan captured the titles from Neville and Bo Dallas (subbing for an injured Grey) soon after. The feud with Dallas would continue too as he rejected an offer from his real-life brother to join the Wyatts, and Dallas would go on to hand Bray Wyatt his first pinfall loss. Like the earlier tournament loss for Harper and Rowan, this defeat would hardly dent Wyatt's momentum, and the intrigue in he and his family among NXT fans remained sturdy.

By late May of 2013, the group looked to be on the move to the main roster as the final Raw of the month featured a Wyatt Family vignette of Wyatt, Harper, and Rowan (donning a sheep mask) in a desolate backwoods area, among various unnamed followers, each of them apparently docile and unwavering in their support of Bray's spoken word. Wyatt did most of the vignette's oration, but Harper made his own mark, shouting, “Send us someone. Just don't send anyone you want back.”

It was obvious to the WWE audience the stable were dangerous individuals with vile intentions, serving a charismatic leader in the vein of Charles Manson or David Koresh.

The intrigue built over the weeks ahead, with everyone from the diehard to the jaded anticipating the group's arrival, with each vignette ending with Wyatt declaring, “We’re coming.”

The debut then finally occurred on the July 8 episode of Raw as the Wyatt Family targeted Kane. Preceding the group's formal entrance, Wyatt appeared in a manic pre-taped soliloquy, which actually earned hearty applause at its conclusion. Seconds later, flanked by Harper and Rowan, Wyatt ignited a lantern, before paying off the ends of those vignettes by rasping, "We're here."

Over the months ahead, the Wyatts established themselves in WWE's upper mid-card. Pay-per-view wins over the likes of Kane and Kofi Kingston for Wyatt, as well as a high-profile feud with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, afforded the Wyatts plenty of spotlight after their debut.

They even briefly gained a new member in a mentally-defeated Bryan, who fell under the group's spell to close out 2013. The union was brief, however, ending after Bryan turned on the group following a cage match in January 2014, and earning a huge reception for doing so. Wyatt then beat the uber-popular Bryan at the Royal Rumble, freeing the group for new rivalries. 

The next feud generated a ton of buzz in a trios programme with fellow heels The Shield, and the sheer teases of the two groups getting physical had arena goers losing their minds, and the response was even louder when they actually did face off at February's Elimination Chamber. After a wild battle, the Wyatts won to keep their momentum going.

The Momentum Slows 

Following the big win over Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt targeted WWE’s golden boy and the top babyface in the company in John Cena. After costing Cena in several WWE Title matches, Wyatt and company targeted Cena's wholesome public image, claiming it was all a constructed ruse. If Cena had evil within his depths, Wyatt was going to drag it out to prove a point.

The programme featured several tropes that would become synonymous with Bray Wyatt of iconoclasm, human psychology, and surreal occurrences. 

The three-match series with Cena began at WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. Keeping to the story, Wyatt, instead of simply trying to win the match, did all he could to goad Cena, encouraging him to cheat during the lengthy bout. Cena won, handing Bray his first truly-canonical pinfall loss, but his post-match demeanour indicated that Wyatt had successfully played havoc with his mind.

The mind games continued when Wyatt targeted Cena's young fanbase. In one memorable instance, Wyatt had a children's choir creepily serenade Cena with a rendition of, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." This led to Wyatt defeating Cena in a Steel Cage match at Extreme Rules, after another child (who happened to be the son of bygone WWF comic relief character Jamison) distracted Cena with a voice-modulated version of the song.

The blowoff came at June's Payback event when Cena - with the aid of The Usos, who neutralised Harper and Rowan - outlasted Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match.

Following the 2-1 defeat in the Cena programme, the Wyatt Family remained together, but they moved to lower-tier programmes. Harper and Rowan battled The Usos in a highly-underrated feud over the WWE Tag Team Titles, while Bray Wyatt kicked off a programme with Chris Jericho that lasted for much of the rest of 2014, with it even beginning with a win for Jericho before Bray won the feud overall. 

WWE Split Up The Wyatts, Then Quickly Put Them Back Together

Then, all of a sudden, the group was no more. In the autumn of 2014, Bray Wyatt announced that he was setting Harper and Rowan free, commencing a total split without any real storyline impetus. 

Wyatt continued on as the loner version of himself, and Harper pretty much did the same, though his gimmick seemed to be that he had "crazy eyes", which his entrance video strongly emphasised. Rowan, meanwhile, softly turned babyface and was given brand new character traits. While keeping the jumpsuit and sheep mask, it was revealed Rowan was something of a silent savant, solving Rubik's Cubes and making his own award-worthy wine.

The singles runs for the trio began well enough. Harper and Rowan were on opposite sides of the excellent Team Cena vs. The Authority Survivor Series Elimination match, which coincided with a brief Intercontinental Title run for Luke Harper that ended with a banger of a Ladder match against Dolph Ziggler at TLC. Harper would then remain in the Intercontinental Title picture through to WrestleMania 31 and he was featured in the great Ladder match opener of WWE’s biggest show of 2015. 

Erick Rowan, meanwhile, began to flounder following Survivor Series as he lost to the Big Show in a much-maligned Stairs match at TLC, before he continued to be a foil to The Authority through to the Showcase of the Immortals.

Bray Wyatt continued to be pushed as a top guy without the Wyatt Family. He returned at Hell in a Cell 2014 to cost Dean Ambrose the win inside the steel structure against Seth Rollins. This kicked off a programme between the future world champions that was somewhat mixed due to Vince McMahon’s booking of finishes, complete with an exploding TV at TLC, but Wyatt did decisively win the feud soon after. Wyatt then moved into a high-profile programme with The Undertaker that culminated in a loss for the ‘New Face of Fear’ as The Undertaker bounced back from the end of The Streak one year earlier. 

With the trio floundering following WrestleMania 31, WWE decided to put the group back together. Harper and Rowan were reunited by May 2015, although this was short lived as Rowan suffered a torn biceps and was out of action until October. By July of 2015, Harper reunited with Bray Wyatt, helping the Eater of Worlds to defeat Roman Reigns at Battleground 2015.

The two-man Wyatt Family then continued to feud with Roman Reigns and his former Shield stablemate Dean Ambrose as the summer progressed, leading to a loss to the Big Dog and the Lunatic Fringe at SummerSlam. 

A New Member 

While SummerSlam 2015 was very much a mixed bag, the Raw after the Biggest Party of the Summer was a great episode of WWE television, particularly for the Wyatts as the “black sheep” of the family in Braun Strowman made his debut to take out Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.

Strowman had only wrestled his first match eight months earlier and was extremely green, but he looked suitably powerful as the profound muscle of a group certainly not lacking size.

Strowman was booked strongly too as he helped secure the win for the Wyatt Family over Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose at Night of Champions.

After Reigns ultimately won the feud with Bray at Hell in a Cell inside the steel structure, the Family switched to a feud with The Undertaker and Kane just in time for ‘Taker’s 25th anniversary celebration as a WWE performer. 

Such a milestone suggested the Wyatts would be losing another feud and that is what happened as the Brothers of Destruction defeated Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper in 10 minutes at Survivor Series. 

From there, the Wyatt Family drifted in and out of feuds, sparking intrigue only on the prior allure of the characters. The quartet defeated an ECW contingent at December's TLC pay-per-view, and made an impact on the 2016 Royal Rumble match, eliminating numerous individuals including Brock Lesnar. That spun off into a feud with Lesnar that never officially paid off, in large part due to the injury bug.

Shortly before WrestleMania 32, Harper suffered a long-term knee injury, and Wyatt was working less due to serious back issues. He, Rowan, and Strowman did get to be on hand at WrestleMania 32 for a verbal shellacking from The Rock, leading to Rowan losing the shortest Mania match ever to Dwayne Johnson, before an injured John Cena helped Dwayne Johnson clear the Family out.

This phase of Wyatt lore culminated that summer in a brief feud with The New Day, which gave us an admittedly-lacklustre ripoff of the recent Final Deletion, before the Wyatt trio defeated Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods at Battleground, with a key point of the story being Woods’ failure to overcome his fear of the cultish group. 

Another Split & Slow Walk To The End

Following the feud with the New Day, WWE reintroduced the brand split between Raw and SmackDown and the Wyatt Family were separated as part of the first WWE Draft for five years, with Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan going to SmackDown, while Braun Strowman was moved to Raw, giving him the solo run that would ultimately define his career. 

Rowan wasn't long for the truncated version of the group, taking time off to have rotator cuff surgery. Around that time, Luke Harper returned to aid Wyatt in his feud with Randy Orton, though that feud quickly kicked off an alliance as Orton seemingly fell under Bray's spell.

This submissive, more zombie-like Orton helped bring championship success to the Wyatts, as Bray and Orton defeated Heath Slater and Rhyno at TLC to win the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, which all three members were permitted to defend via the Freebird rule. The reign was short, however, as Orton and Harper fell out during a title defence, and friction remained after the loss to American Alpha. 

The fallout continued with Harper at odds with both Orton and Wyatt, and he even attempted Sister Abigail on Wyatt himself during the 2017 Royal Rumble match. Orton saved his leader, before going on to win the Rumble himself.

Two weeks later at Elimination Chamber, Orton vanquished Harper in singles action, while Wyatt won the WWE Championship inside the namesake cage, becoming the third third-generation wrestler (after The Rock and Orton himself) to win the top prize.

This set Orton on a collision course with Wyatt for WrestleMania 33, for which the flames were quite literally fanned when a not-at-all-brainwashed Orton burned down the Wyatt Compound. Orton went on to defeat Wyatt in a middling WWE Title bout made infamous by the random imposition of creepy crawlers on the canvas at different junctures.

Following WrestleMania 33, the group pretty much disintegrated. Rowan returned from injury on the SmackDown after WrestleMania to briefly reunite with Bray Wyatt as he became involved in Bray’s continuing feud with Orton, while Rowan would also clash with Luke Harper. The group was then quietly disbanded, with both Harper and Rowan being referred to as former Wyatt Family members on the May 9, 2017 SmackDown. 

Post-Wyatt Family

Two members of the Wyatt Family would reunite just months after the cult’s dissolution as Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were paired back together as the Bludgeon Brothers, which would see them win the SmackDown Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 34. Bray Wyatt, meanwhile, would feud with Finn Balor and then Matt Hardy, before uniting with the then-Woken One for a brief spell in 2018. 

Wyatt would enjoy his biggest post-Wyatt Family success upon his return from months away in 2019 as he became a kids TV presenter with a demonic side of The Fiend, a gimmick which instantly became incredibly popular and saw Wyatt secure two Universal Title reigns. He also exacted revenge upon John Cena at WrestleMania 36 in a Firefly Funhouse match, one of the most unique matches in WWE history. 

After the Bludgeon Brothers came to an end due to an injury to Luke Harper, Erick Rowan aligned with Daniel Bryan in his eco warrior run as WWE Champion, before reuniting with Harper once again in late 2019. Harper was then pulled from TV as he asked for his WWE release and was eventually let go in December.

Without Harper, Erick Rowan had a spell of carrying what turned out to be a pet spider to the ring, before Rowan was also released by WWE as part of COVID-19-related roster cuts in April 2020.

Harper then rediscovered himself in AEW as Mr. Brodie Lee, the ruthless Exalted One that pulled the strings of The Dark Order. Sadly, Jon Huber would pass away from a rare respiratory illness in December 2020, aged just 41. 

Bray Wyatt would be released by WWE in 2021 and return to the organisation just one year later. He sadly passed away in 2023, succumbing to heart failure at just 36.

In a tribute held in Rotunda's honour on SmackDown the next night, both Strowman and Rowan were on hand. Rowan was also on hand three years earlier during AEW's tribute to Huber, serving as an equaliser for The Dark Order during a trios bout.

The faction and Bray Wyatt continued to be honoured on TV today as Taylor Rotunda - AKA Bo Dallas - currently wrestles on WWE TV as Uncle Howdy, the leader of the Wyatt Sicks.

The Legacy of the Wyatt Family

Though the Wyatt Famly only existed within a five-year period, and had long stretches of dormancy within that time, they felt omnipresent for far longer. Emerging at a time when developmental call-ups didn't exactly burst onto the scene with gusto, the Wyatts were a breath of fresh air when WWE's roster needed one.

Powering the group was Bray Wyatt's unique vision, as well as his rare charisma. The Wyatts were important because they *felt* important. On a WWE landscape where most newcomers felt too safe, the Wyatts - like the Shield preceding them - hit the ground running as revelations. Though not everything the Wyatt Family members touched would turn to gold, a viewer could at least be assured that when Bray and company were around, they weren't in for the same old/same old.

The story of PG-era WWE cannot be told without copious mention of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, the group's short-lived associates, and their many rivals. They were ubiquitous, and quickly so. Any later successes for the members, including those in another promotion, would inevitably get tied to the group's overall legacy.

The Wyatt Family may have come and gone, but their indelible mark remains.