Arsenal's classy subtle tribute to WWE star Bray Wyatt after tragic death

26 August 2023 , 19:08

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Arsenal and Bray Wyatt (Image: Getty)

After the tragic passing of WWE superstar Bray Wyatt, Premier League club Arsenal paid tribute to the wrestler on matchday.

Wyatt's signature song, "Broken Out In Love" by Mark Crozer, was played during the halftime of the Premier League matchup between Arsenal and Fulham on Aug. 26. After regular time, the match resulted in a 2-2 draw.

The man responsible for playing the music at the club was reported to be a huge wrestling fan and has played various WWE themes throughout his tenure with the club. The theme song was also played at Coventry Arena as Coventry City took on Sunderland.

There was a very clear link between football and the wrestling world on Saturday. Tony Khan also owns All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in addition to Fulham, and AEW also released a statement honouring Bray Wyatt despite the wrestler never performing for the company.

"AEW joins the entire wrestling world in mourning the loss of Windham Rotunda, aka Bray Wyatt. A third-generation wrestler, Windham proudly carried on his family's legacy by forging his own incredible path to superstardom," read the statement.

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Wyatt tragically passed away at the age of 36. Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE's chief content officer and head of creative, shared this heartbreaking news on social media on Thursday. Fightful, a trusted wrestling publication, listed a heart attack as the cause of death. However, none of his family members have confirmed any details.

"I was given permission to reveal that earlier this year, Windham Rotunda [Bray Wyatt] got COVID that exacerbated a heart issues. There was a lot of positive progress towards a return and his recovery. Unfortunately, today he suffered a heart attack and passed away," wrote Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful on social media.

Wyatt, known for his inventive character portrayals, began his WWE career in 2010 as Husky Harris in the faction group known as The Nexus. The third-generation wrestler was the son of Mike Rotunda, who was commonly known as Irwin R. Schyster, or IRS, during the 1980s. He was also the grandson of Blackjack Mulligan, who entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 as a member of the tag team The Blackjacks member.

Wyatt gained footing as part of the Nexus and later became the enigmatic leader of the rural-living Wyatt Family in 2012. Alongside Erick Rowan (Joseph Ruud) and the now-deceased Luke Harper (Broadie Lee.) The trio entered several high-profile feuds involving stints against The Rock, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Brock Lesnar.

He then transitioned into The Fiend character for younger audiences by introducing a pre-recorded segment called the Firefly Fun House, complete with a puppet show. Wyatt began to wear a sinister demon mask, stating that The Fiend arrived to protect the children who were fans of the gimmick.

Bray Wyatt enters the arena to fight in the pitch black

Wyatt's last match was against LA Knight, a rising star in the WWE universe. Wyatt won the no-disqualification match but made fewer appearances after reports of declining health began to surface.

During his career, Wyatt won multiple championships, including the WWE Championship, the WWE Universal Championship, and the tag team titles three times. Wyatt's Fiend character was recognized as the best gimmick in professional wrestling in 2019.

Rory Robinson