This Insane Cult Leader Was A Big Fan of Bray Wyatt And Wanted To Meet Him
Former WWE writer Nick Manfredini recently dropped a bombshell on Freddie Prinze Jr.’s podcast that sounds like it was ripped straight from a fever dream. Apparently, Charles Manson—yes, that Charles Manson—wanted to meet Bray Wyatt after watching his WWE promos from prison. And honestly? I’m still processing it.
The Uncomfortable Inspiration Behind The Eater of Worlds
Manfredini revealed that Bray Wyatt‘s entire character was heavily inspired by the infamous cult leader. During his time writing for WWE, Manfredini spent countless hours deep-diving into Manson content—interviews, speeches, anything he could find. His YouTube search history must’ve looked absolutely unhinged. Manfredini said the following quote
“My YouTube search history back then was just Charles Manson and cult leader for anybody who looked it up… So I’ve probably seen every Charles Manson quote, every video, every promo that he ever cut.”
The goal? To capture pieces of Manson’s twisted charisma and weave them into Wyatt’s promos. And let’s be real—it worked. Wyatt’s character was magnetic, disturbing, and utterly captivating. But here’s the kicker: the inspiration went full circle in the strangest way possible.
A Prison Guard, Some WWE Promos, and One Very Bad Idea
Now this is where the story veers into “you can’t make this up” territory. One of Windham Rotunda’s former college football teammates ended up working as a prison guard at the facility where Charles Manson was incarcerated. Somehow, this guard thought it’d be a brilliant idea to show Manson some of Bray Wyatt’s WWE promos. Manson watched them and he wanted to meet the guy.
“Allegedly, this guy showed Manson the Bray Wyatt promos, and he wanted to meet him, and this was a whole thing,” Manfredini said, insisting the story is 100% true. “I swear. It is 100 percent true.”
Mike Rotunda—Wyatt’s father and a longtime WWE producer —caught wind of this bizarre situation and brought it up to WWE brass. Whether it was Vince McMahon or Triple H who heard it first doesn’t really matter, because the response was immediate and predictable: absolutely not.
WWE’s Quick “Hell No”
Can you imagine the PR nightmare? WWE briefly entertained the idea of filming a Network special with Charles Manson before quickly coming to their senses.
Yeah, no kidding. Even in an era where WWE has pushed boundaries and stirred controversy for ratings, there are some lines you just don’t cross. Meeting with one of America’s most notorious criminals would’ve been professional suicide for Wyatt—and a PR disaster for the company.
Bray Wyatt’s Creative Mind That Never Stopped
In the summer of 2023—just months before Wyatt’s tragic passing—the two were working on developing a TV series together. Wyatt’s mind was always racing with ideas, many of which never made it to WWE programming. Bray Wyatt was an artist, a storyteller, and someone willing to push creative boundaries. Drawing inspiration from real-world darkness to craft his character—but actually catching the attention of Charles Manson? That’s a whole different level and is another example of how great his character work was in the ring.
