Joe Gacy believes he knows exactly where things started falling apart for the Wyatt Sicks in WWE. The group came out of the gate looking dangerous, but Bo Dallas’ absence exposed a creative problem that WWE never managed to solve.
During a conversation with Denise Salcedo, Gacy explained that the Wyatt Sicks initially felt untouchable. He considered the group’s run from its debut through the street fight with Chad Gable, the Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile to be its strongest stretch.
Things began changing during the Wyatt Sicks’ rivalry with Karrion Kross and the Final Testament. Gacy had no issue with the group suffering its first loss because they were supposed to be babyfaces and needed to generate some sympathy. The bigger problem came when Dallas stepped away.
“Then, jumping into the next angle with Karrion Kross and his group, again, it started strong. Then it got to a point where we had our first loss against them, which was fine. I know there was a little bit of worry about us getting a loss for whatever reason, but we needed, as babyfaces—because that is what we were supposed to be—to get a little sympathy. We couldn’t just be dominant all the time.”
Gacy said WWE creative stopped developing the Wyatt Sicks once Dallas was unavailable. In his view, the company saw them as one complete act instead of individual performers capable of keeping the story alive without their leader.
“From there, that was when, unfortunately, Bo took some time off. I think right there, for some reason, creative didn’t want to allow us to develop while he was out. I think they saw us as one act rather than individuals, which I think alone is really where it happened.”
The group didn’t sit around without ideas. Gacy revealed that they pitched a series of short weekly videos explaining why each character joined the Wyatt Sicks. That would have given Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis and the other members individual identities while keeping the faction on WWE television.
“I don’t think they saw us as individuals, so they didn’t allow us to continue without Bo being there. I’ve said this before—we were pitching this. We were saying, ‘Well, if we’re not going to be on TV, give us 30 seconds a week. One week, you could do a 30-second little video on why Nikki Cross is in the group. Explain why she joined the Wyatt 6, and then the next week, do one for Dexter Lumis, and so on.’ That’s a month’s worth of TV right there, just to have little vignettes every week.”
Gacy also revealed another pitch that could have turned Dallas’ absence into part of the storyline. The Final Testament could have destroyed the Wyatt Sicks while their leader was gone, setting the stage for Uncle Howdy to make a major return.
“If Bo wasn’t ready to come back yet, then we could still do something without him. Maybe Final Testament destroys us because we don’t have our leader, and then it leads to something where Bo—finally, Uncle Howdy—returns, which could have been a big moment. I think we would have come back strong again.”
Instead, Gacy felt WWE lost faith in using the group whenever Dallas wasn’t available. He acknowledged that Dallas was the centerpiece, but argued that every member could cut a promo and continue carrying out the Wyatt Sicks’ mission.
“I think right there was kind of the start of it, where they didn’t really see us as individuals. They saw the act as one act, and when a piece of the act wasn’t there, they just didn’t have faith in putting it on TV for one reason or another. I do understand that Bo was the centerpiece of the group, but in my opinion, I feel like we could have done a little bit more there to develop us individually. In case something were to happen again, we could continue on.”
“If the idea was supposed to be that we’re a family, then we should all be able to be a part of that and put forward our mission. Everyone in the group had the ability to cut a promo, so if, unfortunately, Bo wasn’t there, we could have easily done that.”
For Gacy, that decision marked the beginning of the Wyatt Sicks’ downward slide. WWE built the faction around the idea of a family, but never gave its members enough room to prove they could survive as individual characters when one member was missing.
Do you think WWE should have kept the Wyatt Sicks on television without Bo Dallas and developed each member separately? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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