Mike Rotunda, a WWE legend known as IRS and father of the late wrestler Bray Wyatt, has entered hospice at 67, according to his loved ones.
Barry Windham, a retired professional wrestler and Rotunda’s brother-in-law, revealed the news in a recent interview with Bill Apter at the Glory Days Grapple Con 3 wrestling fan convention on Saturday.
“It’s kinda tough right now. Mike is in hospice right now,” Windham told Apter without providing further details. “So anyway, that family, I love that family, but you know, it just is so tragic.”
Fellow WWE legend Leilani Kai also shared the news on her Twitter account.
WWE via Getty
“It breaks my heart to share that my friend Mike Rotunda has been placed under hospice care,” she wrote, next to a picture of her hugging Rotunda. “This photo was from earlier this year — a moment I’ll treasure. Please keep Mike and the Rotunda family in your prayers. We love you, Mike.”
Rotunda rose to fame in the ‘80s and ’90s by winning titles in World Wrestling Federation (now the WWE) and World Championship Wrestling. Though he had many ring names, his most well known was that of Irwin R. Schyster, or IRS. As IRS, Rotunda would taunt those he faced in the ring, calling them tax cheaters, while dressed in a white button-down shirt, tie, and suspenders.
Some of the championships Rotunda won include the NWA World Tag Team Championship, NWA World Television Championship, and WWF World Tag Team Championship. He and his brother-in-law were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame together in April 2024 as the duo The U.S. Express. Rotunda famously competed against the likes of the late Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake in his heyday.
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
Rotunda’s son, Bray Wyatt, died from a heart attack in 2023 at the age of 36. The star, whose birth name was Windham Rotunda, was himself a third-generation wrestler, as the son of Mike and the grandson of Blackjack Mulligan. Other wrestlers in the family include his brother Bo Dallas and uncles Barry and Kendall Windham.
During the interview with Apter at Glory Days/Grapple Con 3, Windham’s uncle, Barry, got emotional thinking about the late wrestler.
“He was just a good boy,” he said of his late nephew. “He was such a good person. Never got in trouble at all his whole life. He’s a good boy.”
WWE alum Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was among the many wrestling stars who publicly mourned Windham’s death in 2023.
“Im heartbroken over the news of Bray Wyatt’s passing,” Johnson wrote on social media. “Always had tremendous respect and love for him and the Rotunda family. Loved his presence, promos, in ring work and connection with @wweuniverse. Very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy world of pro wrestling.”
