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WWE: The tragic tale of Merick Rowan, Erick Rowan’s twin brother

By Josiah MacDonald

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 29: (L-R) WWE wrestlers Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan pose for a picture prior to ringing the New York Stock Exchange opening bell in honor of WrestleMania 32 at New York Stock Exchange at New York Stock Exchange on March 29, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 29: (L-R) WWE wrestlers Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan pose for a picture prior to ringing the New York Stock Exchange opening bell in honor of WrestleMania 32 at New York Stock Exchange at New York Stock Exchange on March 29, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage) /
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After the shocking reveal of Roman Reigns’ attacker on WWE SmackDown, our own “investigation” has uncovered a theory indicating the “true” identity of the attacker.

For long-time wrestling fans, they might remember the time that Daniel Bryan’s intelligent, silent friend was a member of The Wyatt Family. However, it wasn’t always this way. After extensive investigation and digging through records surrounding Rowan, I have discovered the true and tragic tale of his twin brother, Merick, and in doing so, have discovered the reasons for his attack on WWE Superstar Roman Reigns.

Erick and Merick Rowan were born November 28th, 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after an unusually long 14-month pregnancy, to Serick & Ericka Rowan. The young lads were inseparable, growing up playing, and getting into the usual trouble you’d find these young lads get into. However, when Erick turned 22, everything began to change.

Deciding to leave home upon an argument with his father about inheriting the family business of being a Vintner, Erick decided to become a pro wrestler. Erick trained with Eddie Sharkey and made his professional wrestling debut in 2003.

For several years, Erick was found wandering the independent scene under various names and was signed to a WWE contract in 2011, but upon arriving in Lafayette, Louisiana for a vacation in early 2012, Erick disappeared. All records of what happened to Rowan here point to one person – Bray Wyatt.

While the current WWE website has removed all references to Lafayette being the home of Bray, likely to hide this great conspiracy from us, I used my extensive investigative skills to pull up Bray Wyatt’s old NXT profile via the Internet Archive. The old NXT website clearly displays Wyatt’s hometown, all but confirming a coverup in this great conspiracy that led to the attacks on Roman Reigns. Wyatt kidnapped Rowan and indoctrinated him, becoming a father-like figure for the wayward youth.

Rowan disappeared in early 2012 but reappeared as a member of The Wyatt Family on December 12, 2012. For several years Rowan terrorized WWE with Bray and Luke Harper, feuding with the likes of John Cena, the Rhodes Brothers, and the Shield.

On September 29th, 2014, Bray Wyatt did something unusual and “freed” his men (though it was all just a plan to have each member take over different aspects of the WWE while still working under Wyatt’s instructions, as Rowan rejoined him in May of 2015).

It was upon his debut on his own, apart from Wyatt, that we were informed that Rowan was a Vintner in his spare time by Tom Philips (on the December 1, 2014 edition of WWE Raw). Tom also confirmed his IQ level made Rowan a genius, something that Daniel Bryan has confirmed for us on multiple occasions.

However, Tom failed in his investigative journalism. Tom, in referring to Rowan as a Vintner, accidentally mistook Erick for his brother, simply looking up pictures of Rowan & Son Vintner Enterprises. The son pictured in the business photos was none other than Merick Rowan, Eric Rowan’s twin brother.

Initially, this mistake by Tom caused a great boost to the business of Rowan & Son Vintner Enterprises, but upon his return to The Wyatt Family in 2015, something sinister happened. Maybe it was a plan by Bray and Rowan to hurt Erick’s former family (that clearly cut him off, as the business name doesn’t even acknowledge that there are two sons), or maybe it was just a coincidence, but Erick Rowan rejoined The Wyatt Family in May 2015, as noted before.

Upon rejoining the cult, rumors began to swirl in Minneapolis about the small-time family business. People walked in and thought that the red-bearded man working there was the one that joined the cult on TV. Despite protests, the rumors persisted that Rowan & Son Vintner Enterprises was involved with Bray, and the store was simply a front to fund Bray Wyatt’s cult.

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Business crashed, and despite an investigation into the business by authorities showing that there was no connection, the damage inadvertently caused by Tom Philips mistaking Merick for his brother Erick could not be undone. By 2016, Rowan & Son Vintner Enterprises had closed their doors forever.

Merick was in need of a new job, and he began seeking other places of employment, but Merick was unable to find a job as no one believed him that it was his brother that was a member of the cult they saw on TV. That was, until January 27, 2019 when Erick Rowan appeared to finally shed all of his connection to Bray Wyatt by joining up with Daniel Bryan. Bryan, while controversial for some of his methods, is seen as the planet’s champion.

Suddenly, for the first time in years, Merick was finally able to find a job as a Forklift Operator in WWE’s merchandise warehouse, using his extensive skills with one from his time in the warehouse at Rowan & Son Vintner Enterprises. In the years of his unemployment, Merick began to craft a plan to get back at his brother for ruining his life.

On July 30th, Merick did the unthinkable – he tried to murder Roman Reigns.

Soon after being hired, Merick worked his way up in the company to being one of the Forklift Operators on WWE live tours. Merick settled into the role in early July 2019, and this is when he decided to execute his plan.

Attempting to kill one of WWE’s top stars seems like a very public and drastic crime, however, given that Merick is the twin brother of Erick and no one seemed to know the difference between the two, it would have been easy for his brother to take the fall. Merick even made sure a witness was there to see him drive the Forklift – Buddy Murphy.

Murphy, like the rest of us at the time, thought it was Erick, because none of us knew he had a twin brother. However, Daniel Bryan, being the smart and kind man that he is, didn’t want his friend to be falsely accused. Upon asking Rowan about it, Bryan finally heard the story of Merick, and deduced that he had attempted to frame his brother for the attempted murder of Roman Reigns!

Merick blamed Erick for the family business falling apart and decided to exact revenge. Bryan, in an effort to exonerate his friend, who was victim of cult brainwashing, and now was accused of murder, has done the right thing and exposed this evil conspiracy. A conspiracy that WWE tried to erase by removing Bray Wyatt’s hometown from his profile so that Erick Rowan’s roots could be traced.

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In the end, Daniel Bryan is a hero. He not only exposed who tried to murder Roman Reigns, but he cleared the good name of Erick Rowan. Really, the only person to blame for these unfortunate attempts on Roman Reigns’ life comes down to one person: an announcer who couldn’t do his job as an investigative reporter.

Tom Philips, this is all your fault.

Editor’s Note: The previous article satirizes the ongoing storyline between Rowan, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns. It does not represent the truth as revealed by WWE, unless they somehow do announce all of this, in which case we knew it the whole time. 

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