Three years ago today, we lost Windham Rotunda, known the world over as Bray Wyatt. Whether he was the Manson-like cult leader of the swamp, the horrific Jekyll and Hyde of his alter ego "The Fiend," or his final form balancing the man and the monster, his impact on the wrestling world will forever be the biggest "what if." As much as the debate can (and does) rage on about what WWE left on the table with him and his resulting Wyatt Sicks group, one thing that cannot be debated is that his two theme songs - "The Fiend" and his horrific "Let Me In," and his final theme "Shatter," also used by The Wyatt Sicks - were crucial to his presentation, and are very much nu metal.
When "The Fiend" made his first entrance at SummerSlam 2019, everything came together. His presentation of the pinstripe pants, the haunting mask, and the lantern that Wyatt had made famous being made out of the dismembered head of his former persona, was enough to make a statement. Add in the theme song done by Code Orange, who were just starting to blow up in the metal world following their 2017 studio album Forever, and the stars had aligned. After teases that dated back to the RAW after WrestleMania 35, this could have easily shat the bed had one or more things gone wrong, but thanks in no small part to "Let Me In," a grimier, horrifying take on Bray Wyatt's original theme, Mark Crozer and the Revs' "Live In Fear," the shock factor was there, and the Toronto crowd on hand that night were in awe.
As vocalist Jami Morgan recalled in an interview with Newsweek:
"I loved the old theme and [Bray] thought it would make sense to use the old theme, but we didn't know. We weren't sure exactly what was going to happen. So we decided to write our own stuff and we decided to do a new version. It's not meant to be a remix, it's more about using the vocals, because they are awesome, and the melody and make our own song based off of that."
WWE did not reach out to the band for the song. Instead, the band wrote the song and then sent it to a contact they had through Wyatt himself within the company. As Morgan remembered it:
"I told [Bray] that we are going to do it on our own and if [WWE] want to use it that's great. If they don't, then I don't want the reason for them not using it to be 'we don't have time' or blah blah blah so we kinda just completely did it on our own accord without no confirmation except for me and Bray wanting to make it happen."
Wyatt would use "Let Me In" as a theme until his release from WWE in the summer of 2022. Since then, the song has been removed from most major streaming services, save for YouTube.
When Wyatt returned in the fall of 2023, his comeback punctuated a generally well-received Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Soundtracked by a new Code Orange song "Shatter," this following the band's 2020 breakthrough Underneath, Bray Wyatt was warmly welcomed back into the fold, walking through the door as he did to the Firefly Fun House just four years prior under his old gimmick. The breakdown of the song also features a musical motif that throws back to the band's song "Underneath," which may indicate a throughline that runs even deeper than once thought.
The band posted the lyrics to the song shortly thereafter, referencing all manner of ramblings from the cult leader character and "The Fiend" in the process:
While Bray Wyatt is no longer with us, his creative vision remains one of the strongest in all of pro wrestling. His world was recreated for a Halloween Horror Nights attraction at Universal Studios, his real-life brother Taylor Rotunda, who performed as Uncle Howdy, continued the legacy with The Wyatt Sicks, who would use "Shatter" for their theme until their collective releases from WWE following this year's WrestleMania.
Code Orange have effectively split up, with guitarist Reba Meyers embarking on a solo career, while Jami Morgan and Eric "Shade" Balderose putting on the touring BLOODRAVE under the NOWHERE2RUN banner, but these two anthems alone have made their bones as far as sports-entertainment are concerned. Without "Let Me In" and "Shatter," Bray Wyatt would not have been remembered nearly as fondly as he is now. Yes, we can lament what could have been, both with WWE's mishandlings of the man and the fact that he's gone from this world, but let us take this moment to celebrate what we had in him.
Rest in peace, Bray Wyatt. Three years later, we are still letting you in.
