Bray Wyatt, the World Wrestling Entertainment superstar otherwise known as “The Fiend,” has passed away.

He was 36.

Born Windham Rotunda, the Florida-born third generation wrestler was a fixture in WWE the last 10 years and one of the industry’s most creatively ambitious performers with his subversive and often frightening characters. Wyatt feuded with John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, The Undertaker, Randy Orton and a host of other top-tier stars. WWE owner Vince McMahon and others in creative saw star power in him, pushing several storylines and plastering his face on much of the company’s branding.

Wyatt also played a little college football at Troy University in Alabama. The son of Mike Rotunda (perhaps best known as I.R.S.) and grandson of Blackjack Mulligan comes from a pretty unique wrestling pedigree that certainly shaped him into one of the faces of WWE.

Triple H, the WWE superstar whose real name is Paul Levesque, confirmed that Wyatt died unexpectedly Thursday. Levesque, who is WWE’s chief content officer and head of creative, tweeted his father Mike Rotunda had relayed the news.

“Just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the tragic news that our WWE family member for life Windham Rotunda — also known as Bray Wyatt — unexpectedly passed earlier today,” he wrote. “Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time.”

Other notable WWE and pro wrestling personalities shared their condolences online.

“Im heartbroken over the news of Bray Wyatt’s passing,” Dwayne Johnson, who performed as “The Rock” in WWE, wrote. “Always had tremendous respect and love for him and the Rotunda family. Loved his presence, promos, in ring work and connection with @wwe universe.

“Very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy world of pro wrestling. Still processing losing the goat, Terry Funk yesterday and now Bray today. My love, light, strength & mana to the Rotunda family and Funk family during this tough, heartbreaking time.”

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.

Wyatt was particularly accomplished on the industry’s biggest stage, the WWE’s annual “WrestleMania” event:

WrestleMania 30: Wyatt made his ‘Mania debut against the company’s biggest star in John Cena. Even with 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 were dispatched by Rock and his pal John Cena.

WrestleMania 33: 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.

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.

WrestleMania 37: As The Fiend, Wyatt squared off against Randy Orton in a bit of a grudge match, reviving the rivalry initially squashed in a WrestleMania 33 contest during which they projected insects on to the surface of the ring. This time, after Orton defeated The Fiend in a Firefly Inferno match at Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Alexa Bliss aligned with Wyatt to haunt Orton. The pair opened night two, with Bliss turning the handle of a giant Fiend in the Box under creepy red lights. Wyatt then leapt off the box onto Orton. Even though he caught Orton with the Mandible Claw twice and nearly landed the Sister Abigail, black goo began running down Bliss’s face, distracting Wyatt who was then defeated with Orton’s signature RKO.