How Mattel Is Handling Future Bray Wyatt Action Figures
Mattel has announced that late wrestler Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) is being removed from its two upcoming action figure lines – WWE Elite Collection Greatest Hits 3 and WWE Ultimate Edition Wave 20. According to an update provided by Ringside Collectibles on X, the toy manufacturer is giving the Rotunda family space following his tragic passing but does have plans to celebrate his legacy in the form of future action figure lines.
"We'll be offering the performer's family some space at this time, but in partnership with WWE, we look forward to celebrating this amazing Superstar and his legacy in future lines to come," Mattel wrote in a statement.
The Mattel update further confirmed that customers who pre-ordered the new Wyatt figures will be issued refunds. While the WWE Ultimate Edition Wave 20 originally included a figure of Wyatt in his attire from the Pitch Black Match against LA Knight at the Royal Rumble earlier this year, the WWE Elite Collection Greatest Hits 3 featured a figure of Wyatt from his Ultimate Deletion Match against Matt Hardy.
According to fans on social media, a lot of them had already pre-ordered the two figures which were due to be released around December 2023. Now, those same fans are excited about Mattel starting a new line for Wyatt down the road, as was implied in the aforementioned update.
We just received the following Bray Wyatt WWE Figure update from Mattel.
We've had to adjust two waves of upcoming WWE Figures due to the unfortunate passing of WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt.
We'll be offering the performer's family some space at this time, but in partnership with... pic.twitter.com/ahztKohqsF
— Ringside Collectibles (@RingsideC) September 19, 2023
During his years as an active wrestler, Wyatt was regularly one of WWE's top merchandise sellers and even surpassed the likes of Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch as the top merchandise mover in 2019. In the aftermath of his passing, WWE announced that all proceeds from his merchandise sales were being donated to his widow, Jojo Offerman, and his children. Wyatt passed away at the age of 36 on August 24, a day after the wrestling world lost another legend in Terry Funk.