 Dallas as Uncle Howdy in 2025 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Taylor Michael Rotunda[7] (1990-05-25)May 25, 1990 (age 35)[7] Brooksville, Florida, U.S. |
Spouse | |
| Parent | Mike Rotunda (father) |
| Relative(s) | Bray Wyatt (brother) Blackjack Mulligan (grandfather) Barry Windham (uncle) Kendall Windham (uncle) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bo Dallas[1] Bo Rotunda[2] Bo Rotundo[2] Mr. Florida[2] Mr. NXT[3] Tank Mulligan[2] Tank Rotunda[2] Tank Rotundo[2] Taylor Rotunda[2] Uncle Howdy[4] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[5] |
| Billed weight | 244 lb (111 kg)[5] |
| Billed from | Brooksville, Florida[5] |
| Trained by | Florida Championship Wrestling[2] |
| Debut | November 15, 2008[6] |
Taylor Michael Rotunda (born May 25, 1990) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. As of October 2022[update], he is signed toWWE where he performs on theSmackDown brand under thering namesBo Dallas and his alter egoUncle Howdy and is the leader ofThe Wyatt Sicks faction. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfatherBlackjack Mulligan, his fatherMike Rotunda, his unclesBarry andKendall Windham, and his brotherBray Wyatt were professional wrestlers.
While in WWE's then-developmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW), he became a three-timeFCW Florida Heavyweight Champion as well as a two-timeFCW Florida Tag Team Champion with his brother. FCW was rebranded asNXT in 2012 where Rotunda, repackaged as Bo Dallas, became aone-time and youngestNXT Champion. He was promoted to WWE's main roster in 2014, where he was mostly used as ajobber, and won theWWE Raw Tag Team Championship (withCurtis Axel as part ofThe B-Team) and theWWE 24/7 Championship once each. He was released from WWE in 2021 but returned in 2022, portraying a character named Uncle Howdy, an accomplice of his brother's. After his brother became ill in 2023, both men were removed from television. His brother Windham died unexpectedly that August, leaving Rotunda off television before he returned with his new faction in June 2024, portraying both Bo Dallas and Uncle Howdy.
Rotunda attendedHernando High School, and graduated in 2008.[6] During his final two years of high school, he qualified for the state wrestling championships.[6] He also playedfootball as adefensive tackle.[8] Originally, he was offered a football scholarship atWebber International University inBabson Park, Florida, but when the offer fell through, he decided to become a wrestler instead. Rotunda always had a naturally large build and bulky physique, he was already 5'11 and 220 lbs at the age of 15 which is why he chose to compete in sports like football and wrestling which include a lot of physical strength and power.[6][9]
In 2008, Rotunda signed a developmental contract withWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned toFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he debuted on November 15, 2008, by defeating Kaleb O'Neal.[6] On December 16, Rotunda, wrestling under his real name, teamed withKris Logan to defeatRyback and Jon Cutler in atag team match.[2] Throughout early 2009, Rotunda continued wrestling in tag team matches, and changed his name to Tank Rotunda in February.[10] In June, he began wrestling as Bo Rotunda and later Bo Rotundo, and the following month he began teaming with his brother,Duke Rotundo.[10] At theFCW television tapings on June 23, The Rotundo Brothers defeated The Dude Busters (Caylen Croft andTrent Barreta) to become the number one contenders to theFCW Florida Tag Team Championship.[10] That same night, they defeatedJustin Angel andKris Logan for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship.[6][10] They went on to successfully defend the championship against Dylan Klein andVance Archer and the team ofCurt Hawkins andHeath Slater.[10] At the FCW television tapings on November 19, the Rotundos lost the championship to The Dude Busters (Hawkins and Croft).[10] In early 2010, the Rotundos beganfeuding withThe Usos (Jimmy and Jey), and theirmanager,Sarona Snuka.[11] In April, they moved into a feud withJackson Andrews and Curt Hawkins, which began when Rotunda faced Andrews in a singles match and won bydisqualification when Hawkins interfered.[11]
Rotunda was then absent from FCW due to injury, making his return in June.[11] He moved into singles competition, defeating wrestlers includingDerrick Bateman, Hawkins,Tyler Reks, andBrodus Clay.[11] In August,FCW Florida Heavyweight ChampionMason Ryan issued an open challenge, which Rotundo accepted. He lost the subsequent championship match bysubmission.[11] On February 3, 2011, Rotundo defeated Ryan to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship for the first time, but lost the championship toLucky Cannon immediately afterward.[12][13] He regained the championship from Cannon three months later, on May 19.[12] In July and August, Rotundo appeared in multipleuntelevised matches beforeRaw andSmackDown.[14][15][16] On September 1, Rotundovacated the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship due to injury.[17] Later that month, it was reported that Rotundo had suffered a lacerated kidney, and was expected to be absent for several months to recuperate.[18]
Rotundo returned at the tapings of the January 29, 2012, episode of FCW television, declaring his intentions to reclaim the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.[19] On February 2, Rotundo and his brother, renamed Husky Harris, defeatedBrad Maddox and Eli Cottonwood to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship for the second time.[12][20] The brothers held the championship until March 15, when they lost it toCorey Graves andJake Carter.[12] In May 2012, Rotundo made several appearances at WWEhouse shows, defeatingDrew McIntyre.[21][22] At an FCW live event on June 16 Rotundo defeatedRick Victor to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship for the third time, right after Victor had just defeatedSeth Rollins for the title.[23] He re lost the title to Victor at another FCW live event on July 13, 2012.[24]
In 2012, WWErebranded FCW asNXT, Rotunda made hisNXT television debut in the June 20 episode ofNXT, portraying a happy-go-lucky and resilient character under the ring name Bo Dallas, where he defeated Rick Victor.[1][25][26] In August, Dallas competed in a tournament for the newly establishedNXT Championship; he was eliminated byJinder Mahal in the quarter-finals.[27] On the November 7 episode ofNXT, Dallas competed in a number one contenders fatal four-way elimination match against Mahal, Drew McIntyre, andJustin Gabriel; despite eliminating McIntyre and Gabriel, Dallas succumbed to Mahal.[28]
On January 26, 2013, at WWE'sRoyal Rumble Fanfest, Dallas participated in an eight-man NXT tournament for a place in theRoyal Rumble match; he defeatedLuke Harper,Conor O'Brian, andLeo Kruger to win the tournament.[29] The next day, Dallas entered the Rumble match at number 16, where he lasted over 20 minutes and eliminated theWWE Intercontinental Champion,Wade Barrett, who returned to the ring and eliminated Dallas.[30] This provoked a brief feud, with Barrett challenging Dallas to a non-title match the next night onRaw, in which Dallas earned an upset victory.[31] On the February 11 episode ofRaw, Dallas appeared, attacking Barrett before Barrett's match againstKofi Kingston. Dallas later challenged Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship in a losing effort.[32]
Simultaneously with his feud with Barrett, Dallas entered the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament alongsideMichael McGillicutty. The pair defeatedPrimo & Epico to advance to the semi-finals, but lost tothe Wyatt Family (Luke HarperandErick Rowan) due toBray Wyatt's interference.[33][34] In an NXT Championship number one contender's three-way match against Conor O'Brian and Corey Graves, Dallas was prevented from winning by Wyatt, due to Dallas's earlier refusal to join The Wyatt Family.[35] This resulted in a match between Dallas and Wyatt, which Dallas won.[36] Starting in late April 2013, the NXT audience began to turn against Dallas (despite Dallas not changing his character) and started booing him.[37][38] NXT Tag Team ChampionAdrian Neville chose Dallas to replace his injured partner,Oliver Grey, but on May 8, they lost the title to The Wyatt Family.[39][40] Soon after, Dallas's character began showing subtlevillainous traits of beingdisingenuous.[41][42][43]
On the May 29 episode ofNXT, Dallas won abattle royal to become the number one contender to the NXT Championship.[42] On the June 12NXT (taped on May 23), Dallas defeatedBig E Langston to win the title.[44][45] He successfully defended the championship againstAntonio Cesaro and Leo Kruger during mid-2013.[46][47] By then, the NXT audience'sdislike of Dallas had grown to the point of the crowd literally turning their backs on him while cheering all his opponents, regardless of who he faced, thus turning himheel in the process.[46][48][49] In September, Dallas held an open challenge to determine his next title contender but bannedSami Zayn from competing,[50] so Zayn masqueraded as the masked El Local and defeated Dallas to earn his title shot.[51] The match occurred on the October 16 episode ofNXT, and Dallas retained his title by sending Zayn into an exposed turnbuckle.[52] Dallas then faced Adrian Neville in December and lost by countout to retain his title.[53]
In a rematch atNXT Arrival in February 2014, Dallas lost the title to Neville, and failed to regain it in a rematch onNXT on March 27. The following month, Dallas attempted to "Occupy NXT", but the crowd turned their backs on him, and he was forced into a match against Justin Gabriel, which he won.[54] Beginning to throw tantrums after failing to get his own way, he was put in a match against Big E on May 22. Dallas subsequently lost the match and was forced to leave NXT as a result. In June, he attempted to return to NXT by appearing as the masked character "Mr. NXT" but was exposed by Zayn and forced to leave.
On the April 7 episode ofRaw, WWE started airing motivational-style introductory vignettes for Dallas.[55] On the May 23 episode ofSmackDown, Dallas made his official main roster debut by defeatingSin Cara. This was the start of a winning streak, which reached a third victory with the defeat ofXavier Woods on the May 30 episode ofSmackDown. Dallas made his first pay-per-view appearance atPayback, where he was scheduled to faceKofi Kingston. The match never happened due to interference fromKane. Dallas would defeat Kingston the following night onRaw for his fourth victory. Dallas continued his streak with wins overSantino Marella, Xavier Woods,R-Truth,Fandango andTitus O'Neil. Dallas attackedEl Torito after his eleventh victory overDiego on the July 4 episode ofSmackDown. He would go on to defeat El Torito for his twelfth victory[56] and then defeated both Diego and Torito in a handicap match as his thirteenth and fourteenth victories.[57] WWE released a video of Bo highlighting the "14-Bo" streak he acknowledged.[58] He continued his streak againstThe Great Khali,[59]Damien Sandow,[60] andDolph Ziggler.[61] AtBattleground, Dallas participated in the 19-man battle royal for the vacantIntercontinental Championship; he managed to eliminate Sin Cara and Titus O'Neil before being the 16th person eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. Dallas's undefeated streak was ended by R-Truth[62] on the July 28 episode ofRaw, prompting a small feud between the two.
In late August, Dallas began tormentingJack Swagger about his loss toRusev atSummerSlam after Swagger's matches.[63][64] Dallas began feuding withMark Henry after defeating him on the September 29 episode ofRaw, tormenting him like he did Swagger following Henry's losses to Rusev atNight of Champions. On the October 7 episode ofMain Event, Dallas unsuccessfully challenged Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship.[65] Dallas then scored three wins over Henry in both singles and tag team matches, before being quickly defeated by Henry in a match on theHell in a Cell pre-show, ending their feud.[66]
After a four-month absence due to a foot injury, Dallas made his televised return on theWrestleMania 31 pre-show in March 2015, competing in theAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he was eliminated byHideo Itami.[67] The next night on Raw, Dallas came out and interruptedSting, telling him to Bo-lieve before receiving aScorpion Death drop. On the May 18 episode ofRaw, Dallas reignited his rivalry withNeville, attacking him before and after his match withKing Barrett.[68] AtElimination Chamber, Dallas faced Neville in a losing effort.[69] On the August 24 episode ofRaw, Dallas interruptedBrock Lesnar and brought up Lesnar's loss toThe Undertaker atSummerSlam, before Lesnar attacked him.[70]On theSurvivor Series pre-show, Dallas competed in a five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match where Dallas, The Cosmic Wasteland (Stardust,KonnorandViktor) andThe Miz lost toGoldust,The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley), Neville and Titus O'Neil.[71] AtTribute to the Troops, Bo Dallas, dressed asUncle Sam, lost to Mark Henry.[72]
On the January 4, 2016 episode ofRaw, Dallas, along withHeath Slater,Curtis Axel andAdam Rose, debuted as a new stable and went on to assist Slater in defeatingDolph Ziggler, calling themselves "Social Outcasts".[73] They would remain as a stable for seven months, including all of them competing in theAndré the GiantMemorial Battle Royal atWrestleMania 32, which was won byBaron Corbin.[74] In May, The Social Outcasts began filmingThe Marine 5: Battleground, taking them out of action.[75]
On July 19 at the2016 WWE draft, Dallas was drafted toRaw in the 10th round (50th overall).[76] Dallas then returned on the September 5 episode ofRaw, carrying a sign saying "Bo-lieve in Bo", speaking in rhymes and displaying a more vicious style as he defeated a local competitor.[77] Dallas would continue defeating local competitors the following weeks. On the October 10 episode ofRaw, Bo Dallas teamed with Curtis Axel in a losing effort to Sami Zayn and Neville.[78] The following week onRaw, Dallas defeated Neville with Axel in his corner, and after the match, attacked Axel.[79] The following week, Dallas defeated Axel by pinning him while grabbing Axel's tights.[80] On April 2, 2017, atWrestleMania 33, Dallas was part of the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, from which he was eliminated by the eventual winnerMojo Rawley.[81]
On the June 19 episode ofRaw, Intercontinental Champion The Miz approached Dallas and Curtis Axel, offering to make them "the stars they deserve to be" if they become his entourage, and later that night, Dallas and Axel appeared in bear costumes during an in ring segment between Miz and his wifeMaryse, attackingDean Ambrose.[82] Dallas and Axel, now dubbedThe Miztourage, began helping Miz in his matches and occasionally teamed him with him, including winning efforts against Dean Ambrose,Heath Slater andRhyno on June 26 episode ofRaw[83] andJason Jordan andThe Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy andMatt Hardy) atSummerSlam.[84][85] AtNo Mercy, they also helped Miz to defeat Jason Jordan to retain his title.[86][87] AtWrestleMania 34 on April 8, 2018, Dallas participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but he failed to win.[88] As part of theSuperstar Shake-Up, Miz was moved to theSmackDown brand, while Dallas and Axel remained on Raw.[89] On the April 16 episode ofRaw, during a tag team match, Dallas and Axel turned on Miz, ending their alliance.[90]
On the May 14 episode ofRaw, the duo adopted the new team name "The B-Team" and defeated Breezango (Tyler Breeze andFandango), their first win as a team since August 2017.[91] On the June 4 episode ofRaw, The B-Team won a tag team battle royal to determine the number one contenders for theRaw Tag Team Championships.[92] AtExtreme Rules, The B-Team defeatedBray Wyatt and Matt Hardy to win the Raw Tag Team Championship.[93] On the July 23 episode ofRaw, they successfully retained their title against Wyatt and Hardy.[94] In the following weeks, The B-Team transitioned intofaces and adopted a new entrance theme and mannerisms, this would be Dallas' first time as a face since 2013. AtSummerSlam on August 19, The B-Team successfully retained their title againstThe Revival (Dash Wilder andScott Dawson).[95] On the September 3 episode ofRaw, The B-Team lost the championships to Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, ending their reign at 50 days.[96] The following week onRaw, they received a rematch for the titles, but they were unsuccessful.
AtSurvivor Series, The B-Team made up part of Team Raw as they took on Team SmackDown in a10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match, and Team Raw would go on to lose the match.[97] AtWrestleMania 35 on April 7, 2019, Dallas competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but failed to win the match.[98] As part of theSuperstar Shake-up, both Dallas and Axel were moved to the SmackDown brand.[99] On the April 30 episode ofSmackDown Live, The B-Team formed a brief alliance withShane McMahon, thus turning heel once again. On the September 3 episode ofSmackDown, Dallas became theWWE 24/7 Champion by pinningDrake Maverick on the backstage area thanks to the help of Axel, only to lose it to Maverick again some minutes later.[100] Dallas' final televised match was atCrown Jewel in October, where he and Axel failed to win thetag team turmoil match.[101] On the November 15, 2019 episode ofSmackDown, Dallas and Axel were attacked byBraun Strowman, in what would be Dallas's final appearance in WWE under his original tenure.[102]
In December 2019, Rotunda asked WWE for time off, which was granted. He also suffered a neck injury which prevented him from working in the ring. On April 30, 2020, his tag team partner Curtis Axel was released by WWE.[103] Rotunda was released almost one year later, on April 15, 2021, after over a year of absence, ending his 13-year tenure with the company.[104]
AtExtreme Rules, on October 8, 2022, Rotunda's brother Windham, known by his ring nameBray Wyatt, made his return to WWE.[105] Soon after, a new character named Uncle Howdy began haunting Wyatt.[106] Rotunda would then make his return to WWE and portray Howdy, first appearing as Howdy in December and allied with Wyatt in his feuds againstLA Knight andBobby Lashley. However, as Wyatt was then taken off television due to an illness, Howdy was also taken off as a result. Wyatt unexpectedly died from a heart attack in August 2023, leaving Rotunda's future as Howdy and in WWE in general unknown at the time.[107] In April 2024, amid his in-ring hiatus, Rotunda appeared in thePeacock documentary,Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal, a biopic about his brother. Days later on April 5, Rotunda, along with his sister Mika, appeared at the2024 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to induct the tag team of their father and uncle,The U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda andBarry Windham), into theWWE Hall of Fame.[108]
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Starting on theRaw afterWrestleMania XL, WWE began to tease the return of Rotunda as the Uncle Howdy character by playing ominous music during episodes ofRaw andSmackDown during commercial breaks, as well as showingQR codes on screen for viewers at home, similar to the buildup to Wyatt's return in 2022.[109] He made his official return as Uncle Howdy on the June 17 episode ofRaw, appearing alongside real-life versions of Wyatt's "Firefly Fun House" puppet charactersRambling Rabbit,Mercy the Buzzard,Huskus the Pig Boy, andAbby the Witch.[110] The group was dubbedThe Wyatt Sicks.[111] The following week, he was seen unmasked in a vignette, where he was interviewed by hisalter ego Howdy, with lamenting his brother's death.[112] Howdy made his in-ring debut on the August 26 episode ofRaw, defeatingChad Gable. It was also his first match in five years.[113] The stable's next feud was againstThe Miz andThe Final Testament, facing each other on the December 9 episode ofRaw, whereThe Wyatt Sicks suffered their first loss as a stable in an eight-man tag team match.[114] The stable was drafted to the SmackDown brand, but they didn't appear on television due to Bo Dallas suffering a shoulder injury.[115] The stable returned to television on the May 23 episode ofSmackDown.
Howdy and his faction began a feud with theMFT. He then returned on the go-homeSurvivor Series WarGames November 28 episode ofSmackDown (taped November 21) taking outSolo Sikoa after eliminatingSami Zayn in a traditional Survivor Series match.[116]
Rotunda, as Bo Dallas, made hisvideo game debut as a playable character inWWE 2K15, and has since appeared inWWE 2K16,WWE 2K17,WWE 2K18,WWE 2K19,WWE 2K20, andWWE 2K Battlegrounds. Rotunda, as Uncle Howdy, returned as a playable character inWWE 2K23 as DLC,WWE 2K24 andWWE 2K25. He also appears in the mobile gamesWWE Tap Mania,WWE Universe, andWWE SuperCard as Dallas.[117]
On February 19, 2012, Rotunda was arrested fordriving under the influence inTampa, Florida, with blood-alcohol levels of 0.166 and 0.178 according to twobreathalyser tests, above the legal limit of 0.08.[118][119] He was released later that day on a $500 bond.[120]
In August 2016, Rotunda was arrested forpublic intoxication inDallas, Texas after being ejected from a flight fromDallas/Fort Worth International Airport toMexico City.[121]
Rotunda was married to Swedish arm wrestling championSarah Bäckman from 2014 until their divorce in 2019.[122][123]
Rotunda's older brother,Windham, was also a professional wrestler and was best known for performing under the ring name Bray Wyatt until his death in August 2023 at the age of 36 due to a heart attack.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Marine 5: Battleground | Alonzo | |
| 2024 | Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal | Himself | Documentary of his late brother,Bray Wyatt. |
,Cagematch,Internet Wrestling Database