Just over a year ago, Bray Wyatt tragically passed away due to a heart issue at the age of just 36. The charismatic star surfaced on the main roster a decade prior to that with a multi-layered persona as a cult leader character. He had the late Brodie Lee, and Erik Rowan aligned with him. Given the gimmick by Dan Spivey, who played Waylon Mercy two decades prior to that, and further developed by Dusty Rhodes, Bray became one of the most captivating characters of the era. Unfortunately, the first portion of Bray’s career could be summarized by the fact that he could make his opponents look good while still staying strong through promos so more often than not, he was used to attempt to propel others, not get himself to the next level.
The fumbles of the booking of Bray Wyatt is a discussion on its own, but the point being, the second half of his WWE tenure was a rocky road of silly scenarios and over-the-top gimmick matches. With the original version of the Bray character beaten into powder to showcase his opponents, the attempt to repackage him as The Fiend often became cringe worthy or hokey. As talented as the late grappler was, the bell has to ring, and most of the time, the evolution of his character just didn’t translate to the in-ring presentation for an event. A wrestler that looks like a burnt marshmallow isn’t exactly being put in a position to draw money for the company. The office knew that they had damaged goods on their hands with The Fiend character when Wyatt was released from his deal in July of 2021, which was more or less the only way they could’ve rejuvenated his career. In many ways, Wyatt leaving the company built a demand for his return, particularly when the audience knew he was better than what he was given to do in the organization previously. Obviously, Wyatt deserved better, but the point being is that the reality was that he needed time away from the company to be able to return fresh.
Unfortunately, The Wyatt Sicks, a group formed nearly a year after his passing, with his real-life brother, Bo Dallas as the leader in the role of Uncle Howdy, might be on a similar path.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful that Bo Dallas and Erik Rowan want to continue the legacy of the real-life Windham Rotunda, but again, the bell has to ring, and as of right now, the faction seems to have a very limited use on Raw based on the way they’ve been positioned so far.
It should be mentioned with a stable like the Wyatt Sicks, it’s all or nothing in many respects, the office has to fully get behind the gimmick or perhaps it would’ve been better to bring Bo Dallas back as a solo act. With five members, there are only so many ways that management can showcase them, and to this point, they are being used only against other factions. They are only so many groups in the modern era, as the trend is usually for a group to spotlight a specific star for the future than rather the group as a whole.
Keep in mind, when the Wyatts debuted on Raw this past June, there was an entire takeover of the show, with several staff members and wrestlers beat down backstage as the show went off the air. It was a very impressive visual, but where was the substance to follow up the sizzle? Outside of a mid-card feud with the Alpha Academy and then The Final Testament last month, what exactly is the purpose of the Wyatt Sicks? As mentioned, they debuted with a big splash in June and then had their first match on television in August, but haven’t done much until this recent feud with The Final testament, a group that isn’t really spotlighted or emphasized on WWE programming. When the group went a few weeks without television exposure, probably because the writing team didn’t know what to do with them next, the vast majority of their momentum from the debut was diminished.
Obviously, there are a lot of pieces to work with for the Wyatts, but there really hasn’t been much development of the individual characters since the faction itself still seems to be trying to find a solid direction. More than anything, it seems like the entire gimmick is based on the past of Bray Wyatt rather than attempting to progress the narrative into something that can be built for the future. That’s not to attempt to discard Bray’s legacy in any way, shape, or form, he undoubtedly had an impact on the concepts that can be brought to television, but at the same time, the reality is that by nature, a tribute gimmick has a limited run.
Point blank, Bo Dallas isn’t Bray Wyatt and it would be unfair to expect him to be. Something that worked for Bray doesn’t automatically work for Bo, the same way that Wyatt couldn’t have been Dallas. Again, it can’t understated how truly wonderful it is that Bo wants to honor his late brother, but all things considered, it seems like he’s miscast as a Wyatt group leader. Again, with a gimmick of this type, in many ways, it’s all or nothing because there’s a very fine line between compelling and hokey content. The plastic Uncle Howdy mask is more silly than sinister and in some respects also hinders Dallas’ ability as a performer since it shields most of his face so the audience doesn’t see his facial expressions or mannerisms.
The segment with The Miz this past week on Raw more or less solidified the status of the Wyatt faction as a mid-card group that will exist as long as the writing team can piece something together for the five of them to do, but it appears that they don’t see them as a top act in the company. Given the way that they were introduced to Raw, for the faction to truly become a force, they would’ve needed something close to a full-scale takeover of the brand with a specific purpose or goal. Considering the other pieces in play among the WWE landscape, that wasn’t realistically in the cards for the stable. There was much bigger business to do with Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Drew McIntyre for what was sure to draw major money than to shift the spotlight of the brand to a faction that might or might not have gotten off the ground to a main event level.
Aside from the fact that they’ve only been associated with mid-card talent, the other major reason that there’s a ceiling on the level of success the group can have is that among the five members, Bo Dallas is the only one that has been given the chance to develop a backstory around his character. Sure, the audience knows Rowan, but how much has his character evolved with the new faction? What exactly led Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, or Nikki Cross to join the group? Outside of an artificial video package, nothing is explained so there’s very little for the audience to connect with or invest into the characters.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
