Former WWE writer Nick Manfredini recently opened up about his creative partnership with the late Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) and revealed that Wyatt’s original persona drew heavy inspiration from infamous cult leader Charles Manson.
Speaking on Freddie Prinze Jr.’s Wrestling with Freddie podcast, Manfredini explained that much of his research during the early development of Wyatt’s character centered on cult psychology and the eerie charisma of real-life leaders like Manson.
“So, he [Wyatt] was very Charles Manson-inspired, right? My YouTube search history back then was just Charles Manson and cult leader for anybody who looked it up,” Manfredini said. “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.”
Manfredini then shared a shocking story about how close Wyatt once came to meeting Manson in prison.
“To get off topic, Charles Manson — I don’t know if this story has ever been told — Windham’s teammate, former teammate in college football, became a prison guard at Charles Manson’s prison,” he revealed. “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 100 percent true.”
According to Manfredini, Wyatt’s father, WWE legend Mike Rotunda, was aware of the situation and mentioned it to company leadership.
“Mike Rotunda knew about it, and I think he brought it up to somebody. 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.”
While the idea was quickly shut down, Manfredini admitted that he briefly considered meeting Manson personally, though he quickly realized how dangerous and inappropriate that would have been.
“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 said. “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.”
Wyatt, who passed away in August 2023, remains one of the most creative and psychologically complex performers in WWE history. His characters, from The Wyatt Family leader to The Fiend, are still regarded as some of the most haunting and innovative personas ever seen in pro wrestling.
Charles Manson allegedly saw Bray Wyatt’s promos and immediately wanted to meet him but Vince McMahon squashed the idea.
(Wrestling with Freddie)
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) October 23, 2025
