WWE paid tribute to the late Bray Wyatt on last week’s SmackDown as well as this week’s episode of NXT, and since his tragic death, Wyatt’s friends and co-workers have all been sharing tributes on social media as well. WWE has published a new video that features several of Wyatt’s colleagues and friends in WWE sharing stories of their time with him, including Bayley, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Adam Pearce, Top Dolla, The OC, Otis, Mike Rome, Byron Saxton, and Samantha Irvin. You can watch all of the tributes in the video below, and you can find excerpts from McIntyre’s tribute below as well. Our hearts go out to the Rotunda family.
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“I really…don’t know what to say, and I’ve not been able to put together any words,” McIntyre said. “Been numb, like many people trying to process what’s happened. I couldn’t even do a tweet so I don’t know why I’m sitting in this chair but I owe it to Windham to try and find some words.”
“When something like this happens you start thinking of everything and everyone in your memory, every moment, and it’s funny how clear they are. I guess you never forget anything, we’re just a disorganized file cabinet, and when something like this happens you start remembering everything. The bond you have with certain people especially if you’ve been through certain situations and times in your life that really bond you so close,” McIntyre said.
“It was FCW for us, Florida Championship Wrestling before it was NXT,” McIntyre said. “I still remember the first time we met in a Gym, I don’t think it exists anymore, where FCW used to be. Like Sheamus and I met Windham, clicked with him right away. You can tell by the way everyone’s talking, the friendliest guy in the world. An amazing gem and such a brother. Wade Barrett said it in his tweet about him. During those times, you know we didn’t have any money. We were job scared. FCW wasn’t like NXT. It was like we lived on our own little island and we just had each other. We built some really strong bonds with each other during that period, and I see some of the clips and memories that are amazing from everybody’s experience with him and how he always had this promo ability. He was always that good at it. That is not exactly true.”
“In our early 20s, we were all terrible. I remember Wade and I particularly used to run out to Dusty’s promo class when Dusty first started in FCW,” McIntyre said. “Tried to get our promos out the way early so we could watch everyone else, and I remember every week for a period Windham and a gentleman called Vic Adams I believe he was called had a tag team and they were a detective agency for some reason, and the promos went on for like 15, 20 minutes of like nothing. And at the end they always said, I can’t remember the name of the detective agency, but there was such and such detective agency back in business. And he’d be clear and I’d be like, why are we in business in the first place? (Laughs).”
“I try to remember these positive memories man, because during these kind of times, like you build this bond that lasts forever, and no matter how much time would pass, you’d have to talk all the time, you’d have to text all the time. But you’d see each other and it’s like no time had passed at all because you’d been in the trenches together,” McIntyre said. “We were brothers, you were boys, you were cowboys, and we grew up together. To see the ups and we both went through our lives, personally and professionally and to see we’d finally made it, we’d finally succeeded in both ways, this makes this that much harder. Because he’d done it. He 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 was up to us to keep his memory alive,” McIntyre said. “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. And…Wyndham, thank you for always being my friend. I hope we get to see you again, but we’re gonna keep your memory alive, and I love you.
