The Undertaker’s chokeslam on Tony Hinchcliffe during WrestleMania weekend apparently wasn’t always the plan. The Wyatt Sicks were originally lined up for the Kill Tony crossover, and Joe Gacy says they were pulled from it at practically the last minute.
Speaking to Denise Salcedo, Gacy revealed that the Wyatt Sicks were supposed to appear during WWE’s Tony Hinchcliffe show in Las Vegas. Whatever WWE had planned remained in place until the Friday before the event.
“We were originally supposed to make an appearance, um, on the, uh, that Tony Hinchcliffe show in Vegas. Um, leading all the way up to—I think it was a Saturday night—leading all the way up to Friday, we were supposed to do it.”
Gacy doesn’t remember exactly what the finished angle was supposed to look like, but it apparently involved the Wyatt Sicks getting physical with Hinchcliffe.
“We were supposed to, I think, come out and kidnap him or beat him up or something. I don’t know what the idea was, but literally leading up to that Friday, everything was still happening.”
This had apparently gone considerably further than somebody simply pitching an idea backstage. Gacy says the group was still signing paperwork connected to the appearance on Thursday night.
“We even signed a bunch of papers Thursday night, um, for it.”
Then Friday came, and everything changed. The Wyatt Sicks were at WWE television when the members received a message telling them their services were no longer required for the Hinchcliffe show.
“And then Friday, while we’re at TV, we all get a text from TR that was essentially, ‘You guys are no longer needed for the Tony Hinchcliffe thing.’”
That was particularly disappointing for the group because they saw the appearance as a chance to finally do something different. Gacy said some members were Hinchcliffe fans, while the faction as a whole had grown tired of doing similar things repeatedly on WWE television.
“Some of us just wanted to do something different because we’ve been doing the same thing over and over again.”
They also thought putting the Wyatt Sicks into that environment could give them some exposure outside WWE’s usual audience and potentially get things moving again for the faction.
“We were like, ‘Oh, this could get us some mainstream attention and hopefully get, you know, things kind of rolling for us again.’”
The cancellation also became one of several moments that made Gacy and Dexter Lumis feel something wasn’t quite right behind the scenes. Gacy recalled people they normally spoke with acting differently toward the group during WrestleMania weekend, although he initially chalked that up to everyone simply being busy.
“We were treated a little weirdly. Like, I can’t really explain, like, in words exactly how we were treated a little differently that weekend.”
Then came the cancelled Kill Tony appearance. Fans ultimately saw a completely different WWE legend get involved. The Undertaker appeared during the show and chokeslammed Hinchcliffe through the Kill Tony table before his entrance music hit. Gacy certainly noticed how things played out.
“So that got cancelled and then it ended up being Undertaker choke-slamming him through a table.”
The Wyatt Sicks were released shortly after WrestleMania 42, giving that last-minute cancellation a very different meaning in hindsight. What they thought could help get the faction rolling again instead became another warning sign that their WWE run was nearing its end.
Would you have preferred the Wyatt Sicks kidnapping or attacking Tony Hinchcliffe instead of The Undertaker’s chokeslam? Let us know in the comments.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
