Benjamin Ashford|WWE star Bray Wyatt, known for the Wyatt Family and 'The Fiend,' dies at age 36

WWE superstar Bray Wyatt,Benjamin Ashford who fascinated wrestling fans with his dark persona and brought the highly-praised "The Fiend" character to the ring, died Thursday at the age of 36.

WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque announced Wyatt's death on social media.

"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," Levesque said. "Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time."

A third-generation wrestler, Wyatt joined WWE's developmental brand NXT in 2010 under the name Husky Harris. He went on to be part of the Nexus faction that feuded with John Cena.

But Wyatt rose to stardom as the leader of the Wyatt Family, a cult-like group with sinister ideologies that also featured the late Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. The faction became a hit with fans, with their entrance — with the lights turned off and the crowd shining their flashlights, giving a backwoods feel to arenas — being among the best in WWE at the time. Years later, the group added Braun Strowman.

After the Wyatt Family broke up, Wyatt debuted the Firefly Fun House, which were a series of clips aired in a children's style program with Wyatt portraying a happy, fun character with some diabolical moments sprinkled in. Soon, the evil would take over Wyatt, and in the ring, he debuted "The Fiend," wearing a demon-like mask with red eyes.

The character, as well as the Firefly Fun House, was praised for its cinematography and ability to portray a movie-like persona, especially as WWE went through no-fans shows as the COVID-19 pandemic began. He also teamed up with Alexa Bliss during this time. Wyatt would win the Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2020, and is the last person to hold the title before current champion Roman Reigns.

After some time away following WrestleMania 37, hints were made that Wyatt was making a comeback in 2022 through quick messages displayed during WWE programming. At the end of Extreme Rules that October, Wyatt made his thunderous return to WWE. This time around, he debuted a new, yet still dark, persona with the mentioning of "Uncle Howdy," and later got in a feud with LA Knight. Wyatt would defeat LA Knight at Royal Rumble in a wild "Pitch Black match."

That would be the last match Wyatt would be in, as he would leave on-air shows as he dealt with a reported injury. In his more than 10 years in WWE, he was a WWE champion, two-time WWE Universal champion and Raw Tag Team Champion with Matt Hardy.

Wyatt is survived by his wife, former ring announcer JoJo, his two daughters and two sons.

Wrestlers pay tribute to Bray Wyatt

Several current and former wrestling stars shared their shock over the news on social media and praised Wyatt for his career accomplishments and for being fun to work with.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said he's always had respect and love for Wyatt and his family, while also mourning the death of Terry Funk. Johnson and Wyatt had a segment together at WrestleMania 32 alongside John Cena.

"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," Johnson said.

Bliss, who was with Wyatt during his "The Fiend" persona and his WrestleMania 37 match, said she was "extremely heart broken" to learn of his death.

"What I can say is what an amazing human being Windham is. Amazing friend & one of the most creative minds to ever walk this earth," she said.