On December 5th news broke that WWE Hall of Famer and uncle of Bray Wyatt, Barry Windham, had suffered a major heart attack and undergone emergency surgery in a bid to save his life.
It was Mika Rotunda, daughter of Mike Rotunda, and sister to Wyatt and Bo Dallas, who made the announcement, while launching a GoFundMe page to help cover the legend’s medical expenses.
In a career that spanned the best part of three decades, Barry Windham wrestled for some of the biggest promotions in the world, opposite some of the very best to ever lace up a pair of boots. Windham is a former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, two-time WWF Tag Team Champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012 as part of the Four Horsemen.
Bray Wyatt Shares Heartfelt Tribute To Barry Windham
Taking to social media on December 9th Bray Wyatt discussed the awful situation that has unfolded for his family, while thanking fans for their well wishes.
“Normally I keep a lot of my outside life separate from anything I do on here or in the ring. I just wanted to let everyone know I’m incredibly thankful for the support and the love I’ve received since I’ve been back and throughout my career. Wrestling has been a part of my life always. When I was a kid I looked at my dad and my uncles and my grandfather who were all professional wrestlers.”
“I looked at them like they were Greek gods, like they couldn’t feel pain, they were immortal and they’d always be just like that. As we get older and I become a man myself you start to understand that’s just not the case, nothing is forever.”
“This week, my uncle Barry Windham had a massive heart failure in Atlanta and he went down and he didn’t have a pulse for ten to twenty minutes, you know he was away, he was gone. I wanted to thank one specific man Michael Todd Laylick who was there.”
“A random citizen and he gave him CPR for that entire time before everyone else could get the EMTs to him and he stayed with him and he’s the reason we have Barry still. He’s alive, he’s with us. Barry Windham has given his life to his profession, his whole life has been about this just like mine. You put everything into it and I just wanted to share that I’m incredibly thankful to have him back.”
“My sister set up a GoFundMe in his name, no one’s obligated to share anything but if you could that would be incredibly helpful. And take it from me, sometimes when you’re someone like that, it’s incredibly powerful to remind them that they mean a lot to a lot of people. I hope everyone out there that’s hearing this, I hope you take this from me, be good to the ones you love, always remind them about that, how much they mean to you because nothing is forever. Thank you for everything guys.”
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Everyone at Inside The Ropes would like to send their best wishes to Barry Windham and his family at this difficult time.
H/t TJR