Last year, Paul Heyman infamously claimed that we were only in the third inning of The Bloodline story. The quote, at the time, raised more than a few eyebrows regarding the slow-burning epic that had been captivating the WWE audience for three years. Of course, Roman Reigns’ Wiseman was performatively bloviating, but fast forward to the summer of 2024, and another family is both beginning their own story and continuing a legacy, but are doing so while starting from the bottom of the ninth.
Over the past two months, the newly formed Wyatt Sicks have crawled onto Monday Night Raw amid the usual smoke, mirrors and mysticism that shrouds everything in the Wyattverse. The months-long viral intrigue – an Easter Egg studded adventure through distorted found footage and QR codes – now come to life in the form of Bo ‘Uncle Howdy’ Dallas, Erick Rowan, Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis. The crowds, both in the arenas and online, have delighted in the approach to the story of Bo Dallas continuing his late brother Bray Wyatt’s legacy. And while the Sicks’ story represents a fresh start and renewed hope for the careers of all involved, it also represents the final chance for the Wyattverse to thrive within the WWE Universe.
For 11 years, Windham Rotunda entranced millions with his vivid, psychedelic interpretations of what pro wrestling could be. There were fingerprints of Foley, Undertaker and the late, great Kevin Sullivan smeared across his work as he evolved from a Bayou cult leader to a schizophrenic, Fiendish Mr.Rogers and, finally, a stripped-back Bray accompanied by his Uncle Howdy. Among all of these incarnations, of course, Wyatt was released from WWE and, even though the news sent shockwaves through the industry, there was a nagging suspicion that, despite Wyatt’s enormous popularity, it was a parting of the ways that suited everyone at the time.
By the summer of 2021, it felt as though the well had run dry for Wyatt within WWE. The Fiend character finished off in not so much a blaze of glory, but a damp whimper at WrestleMania 37, as we all wondered why Alexa Bliss’ skull was pouring with black ink and why that distracted Wyatt’s alter ego enough to be defeated by a solitary RKO when he had already survived….what’s that? Ah yes, being set on fire and devoured by flames only months earlier.
Image: WWE
When crowds returned to arenas in July 2021, Bliss was booed at Money In The Bank when she attempted to channel the supernatural shenanigans that WWE had leaned into so heavily with her and Wyatt during the COVID era. Audiences, for the most part, had tired of schlocky, B-movie horror stunts, which was why, when Wyatt made his triumphant return at Extreme Rules in October 2022 and appeared to be devoid of the paranormal activity that had been so derided in his previous push, it felt like a landmark moment for his on-air persona. The character was still dark, of course, with the newly introduced Uncle Howdy’s involvement providing a sinister sense of mystery to proceedings. But the honesty of the return promo, the acknowledgement of real life trauma, gave us Windham Rotunda in his rawest form. It felt like the balance between horror movie monster and pro-wrestler had been established but, as Triple H referenced in the ‘Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal’ documentary, there was still the issue of getting the gimmick into the ring.
The Fiend’s matches had notoriously been plagued by the unstoppable supernatural element of the character, most noticeably during his infamously absurd Hell In A Cell match against Seth Rollins in 2019. The red lights throughout made the action difficult to follow and served as a needless distraction while adding nothing to what was actually unfolding in the squared circle. It was a trend of over-the-top gimmickry that had failed during Wyatt’s initial run, when projections of various insects illuminated the ring during his WWE Title match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33, or when the same pairing faced off in the brutally bad House of Horrors match a few weeks later at Backlash.
And so we arrived at the Royal Rumble, and Wyatt’s first match back. A Mountain Dew sponsored ‘Pitch Black’ match against an LA Knight fresh off surviving his dreadful Max Dupri gimmick. And while Knight was a game opponent, eager to make the best out of a bad situation, the neon-lit no holds barred match sponsored by a soft drink did, unsurprisingly, not go over well with the live crowd or those watching at home. Once again, there was unnecessary lighting elements that detracted from the actual action itself. Then there was the post-match nonsense, which saw Wyatt transformed into another character under another mask, stalking Knight onto a platform to render the now-current United States champion unconscious with the mandible claw. On another platform some 15-20 feet above them stood Bo Dallas, now Uncle Howdy, dropping a flying elbow that missed by several feet, but triggered pyrotechnic explosions anyway.
What had felt so promising in October 2022 now felt like a return to the cycle of Wyatt’s previous incarnations. Huge early hype that eventually dissipates into disinterest amid over-elaborate stunts and storylines. Weeks later, out of nowhere, Wyatt was demanding a WrestleMania match with the winner of an upcoming rubber match between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. With The Beast pursuing zero interest in a WrestleMania outing with Wyatt, he dropped the bout to Lashley via disqualification, leaving the two time WWE Champion laid out and ready for a heatless programme with Wyatt with zero backstory, nor rhyme or reason.
Tragically, of course, we would not see how the programme would pan out, nor would we see Bray Wyatt in a WWE ring again, as a bout of COVID-19 exacerbated an existing heart condition, leading to him sadly suffering a heart attack in August of last year and passing away at the age of just 36.
The cruelly premature passing of Windham Rotunda remains an unspeakably painful tragedy, breaking the hearts of the entire wrestling community, whether you were a fan of his work or not. And so, his legacy was to be continued by his younger brother, Taylor Rotunda aka Bo Dallas aka Uncle Howdy.
And so, beginning on the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania 40, the Easter Eggs began. Cryptic codes began appearing and the piecing together of another Wyatt reimagining was afoot. Creatively, the process was handled impeccably, just like Wyatt’s reintroduction had been in 2022. But there felt as though there was much more pressure than ever before. This was, after all, the fourth attempt at a new Wyattverse chapter. Only this time it was happening without the man who made the three chapters before it possible. History tells us that a white hot start is par for the course. The Wyatt Family were instantly one of the most over acts in the company upon their main roster debut in 2013. The Firefly Funhouse and in-ring debut of The Fiend at SummerSlam 2019 electrified the WWE audience, while Wyatt’s 2022 return emotionally bound the crowds to him in a way none of his work had previously resonated.
Image: WWE
But what history also tells us is that, after the initial shock and awe comes a lot of creative meandering. A lot of lost matches and unfulfilled promise. So what does that mean for the members of the newfound Wyatt Sicks?
Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, Erick Rowan and Dallas himself have never been positioned as marquee main event acts in WWE. Now they’re being tasked with anchoring one of the most hyped new factions in recent memory and doing so in an effort to maintain the memory of one of the most beloved stars of a generation. No pressure, then.
The group’s blood smeared debut on the July 17 episode of Raw was a phenomenal start. Their handling ever since has also been, crucially, meticulous and not overwhelming. Perhaps most importantly, the gimmick has gotten to the ring and got over at the same time, with Lumis, Gacy and Rowan triumphing over Chad Gable and the Creed brothers on the August 5 Raw. There were no occultist gimmicks or reality warping distractions. The match played out as an entertaining main event that further established three workers who needed legitimizing to the WWE fanbase.
This softly, softly approach to the Sicks’ on-air time has been for the best, especially given how robust Raw’s main event scene is right now. Maintaining the Wyatts as an attraction rather than have the mystique wear off too early has been a wise move. Keeping their humanity as opposed to presenting them as unstoppable beings will also go a long way to keeping the fans onside. Make no mistake, however, this is still a faction in its embryonic stages and while the initial couple of months have been executed not far from flawlessly, there are more feuds to be booked and characters that need to be handled with care, especially as their own stories are fleshed out over the coming weeks and months.
Image: WWE
Should the Sicks end up in the same territory as The Fiend, the Firefly Funhouse and the Eater of Worlds/New Face of Fear, however, it is nigh on impossible to imagine them being gifted a second opportunity to reinvent themselves. As much adulation will forever remain for Bray Wyatt and everything he gave to the wrestling business, should the Wyatt Sicks lose steam, they will be a difficult act to fire back up in the eyes of a fanbase who have seen that exact arc several times before, over the past 11 years. Reviving the Wyattverse once again, no matter how creative the Easter egg hunt along the way, will be a tough sell to even the most ardent diehard fans.
There is a sense that this is a potential eventuality not lost on anybody involved with the faction’s progress. Triple H knows he could spin out multiple major stars with plenty of mileage from the Sicks. He will also realise how much money there is to be made from their existence as a prime attraction that are smartly booked rather than simply steamrollering their way through feuds. As for the Sicks themselves, Dallas and Rowan have already been deemed surplus to requirements once before by WWE, Lumis’ main roster move stagnated not long after it began in 2022, Nikki Cross is now on her third character and Joe Gacy is only just getting his first taste of WWE life outside of NXT with the Sicks. Paul Levesque will be hoping some diamonds are formed under all that pressure.
Featured Image Credit: WWE
