Which two non-WWE stars almost joined The Wyatt Family? Original scrapped plans for Bray Wyatt’s debut revealed

The Wyatt Family made its debut on WWE's main roster on July 8, 2013, with the late Bray Wyatt as the leader and Erick Rowan and the late Luke Harper, also known as Brodie Lee, being the other two members of the group. The group performed on the main roster for more than four years and was then disbanded on May 9, 2017. Based on recent reports, though, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper were not supposed to be part of The Wyatt Family.

Instead, the original plan was for WWE to sign The Briscoe Brothers and have them work alongside the late Bray Wyatt. Mark Briscoe recently revealed that he and his late brother, Jay Briscoe, who passed away in January 2023, were expected to sign with WWE and debut with The Wyatt Family back in 2013.

However, Jay Briscoe made some homophobic comments on X/Twitter, and WWE decided to end negotiations with The Briscoe Brothers. Two years later, the two sides engaged in talks again, but Mark and Jay decided to remain with Ring of Honor (ROH).

Going forward, The Briscoe Brothers eventually signed with AEW. As mentioned above, Jay Briscoe passed away in a car crash in January 2023, while Mark Briscoe is the reigning ROH World Champion.

As for The Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper are not with us anymore, while Erick Rowan recently returned to WWE as a member of The Wyatt Sicks, a faction that was created by Uncle Howdy to honor the legacy of The New Face of Fear.

---

WWE star CM Punk says Bray Wyatt and Brodie Lee's tragic demise "still stings"

WWE fans were shocked to their core after the tragic demise of Bray Wyatt and Brodie Lee, also known as Luke Harper. Lee died in December 2020, while Wyatt passed away in August 2023.

Both superstars had a lot of friends in the wrestling business, and CM Punk being one of them, said that their death "still stings."

"I feel wrestling is notorious for that, right? Like, we are constantly losing wrestlers and it always seems to be way too early … When Bray died… Brodie - Luke Harper - when he died, I remember where I was, when I was told, and I remember like, you get hit with that thunderbolt where you’re just like, ‘Oh?’ And you got to sit down and you’re just like, ‘What? Like he’s young…I think Bray and Brodie were the two ones because they’re so young, and they got little babies, and it’s just like one of those things that it just stings. Just talking about it now, it still stings, and it’s truly like unfair," CM Punk said during an appearance on the No Contest Wrestling podcast, via Wrestling Headlines.

WWE has paid homage to the late Bray Wyatt many times since The Wyatt Sicks' debut in the Stamford-based company.