Charles Manson wanted to meet Bray Wyatt, ex-WWE writer claims
A former WWE writer claims that infamous cult leader and convicted murderer Charles Manson was a Bray Wyatt fan and wanted to meet him.
In an interview on Freddie Prinze Jr.’s Wrestling with Freddie podcast, ex-WWE writer and Wyatt collaborator Nick Manfredini said that Manson was shown Wyatt’s promos by a former college football teammate of Wyatt’s who was working as a guard at a California state prison and had access to Manson.
Manfredini says that Manson asked to meet Wyatt and that Wyatt’s dad and former WWE producer Mike Rotunda was made aware and facilitated a pitch to WWE brass that may have included Vince McMahon and Triple H for a WWE Network special where Wyatt and Manson would have met:
“Charles Manson… I don’t know if this story has ever been told. Windham [Wyatt’s real name was Windham Rotunda] Windham’s teammate, former college football teammate became a prison guard at Charles Manson’s prison. Allegedly this guy showed Manson the Bray Wyatt promos and he wanted to meet him and this was a whole thing, I swear. It is a hundred percent true.
So Mike Rotunda knew about it and I think he brought it up to somebody, I don’t know if it was Hunter or Vince or somebody, and they immediately squashed it. Cuz they were like, can we shoot a [WWE] Network special with Charles Manson? And it was immediately squashed.”
Manfredini says that Manson was a major influence on Wyatt’s promos:
“So [Wyatt’s character] was very Charles Manson-inspired, right? My YouTube search history back then was just Charles Manson and cult leaders… We were trying to take little pieces from each one.”
Manfredini also says that he pitched Wyatt the idea of just the two of them going to visit Manson in prison before he thought better of it:
“I was like, let’s just go. Next time we’re in northern California, me and you, just put on a hat or something. Nobody will know it’s you. Let’s just go meet him, you know?
I thought more about it and obviously it was a terrible, terrible idea. Would have been a good story, but a bad idea.”
The full interview is available below.
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