Former WWE writer Nick Manfredini recently appeared on Freddie Prinze Jr.’s Wrestling with Freddie podcast to discuss his time working closely with the late Windham Rotunda, famously known as Bray Wyatt.
Manfredini stated that Rotunda’s early on-screen persona was heavily inspired by the infamous criminal and cult leader, Charles Manson.
“So, he was very Charles Manson-inspired, right?” Manfredini said. “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. We were trying to take little pieces from each one, and that was the style we wanted to go for.”
The Shocking Meeting Request
The inspiration took an unexpected turn when, according to Manfredini, Manson himself saw the Bray Wyatt promos. Manfredini explained that one of Rotunda’s former college football teammates had become a prison guard at the facility where Manson was incarcerated.
“Allegedly, this guy showed Manson the Bray Wyatt promos, and he wanted to meet him, and this was a whole thing,” Manfredini stated. “I swear. It is 100 percent true, and so, Mike Rotunda knew about it, and I think he brought it up to somebody.”
When Rotunda’s father, WWE producer Mike Rotunda, mentioned the bizarre request to WWE leadership, the idea was instantly rejected. “I don’t know if it was Hunter or Vince (McMahon) or someone and they immediately squashed it. Obviously, that’s terrible… Because they were like, ‘Can we shoot a Network special with Charles Manson?’ It was immediately squashed.”
Manfredini admitted that he and Rotunda briefly considered making the visit on their own time. “And then afterwards, I was like, ‘Let’s just go. Next time we’re in Northern California, me and you, let’s just put on a hat or something. Nobody will know it’s you. Let’s just go meet him.’”
He quickly realized the damaging implications such a move would have had. “I thought more about it and obviously it was a terrible, terrible idea. Would have been a good story but, a bad idea… It was like, wait a minute, this would be so fun — weird to do. But, obviously, Bray Wyatt probably would have never seen TV again if we did that.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Wrestling with Freddie with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
