Bray Wyatt was reportedly close to debuting for AEW before WWE return

It’s hard to believe, but around this time last year the wrestling world was immersed in WWE’s white rabbit chase. That would eventually lead to the return of Bray Wyatt (the late Windham Rotunda) at Extreme Rules, more than a year after WWE released him in July of 2021.

During his time away from WWE, Wyatt didn’t do anything pro wrestling-related. But he was apparently in talks to. In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the first since Bray’s death last week at the age of 36, Dave Meltzer writes there was “great demand” for Bray’s services from other promotions. Impact was interested, as was Mexico’s AAA and unspecified “Japanese groups”.

But Wyatt’s negotiations with AEW were said to have been the most involved. They apparently got to the point Tony’s Khan’s television partners at Warner Bros Discover were given a date when Bray would debut for the company. The deal was obviously never finalized, falling apart for reasons “believed to be money related”.

Just an intriguing “what if”, in case that kind of thought exercise is helpful as we all continue to process the tragic loss of Windham Rotunda.