Rikishi offered his assessment of WWE’s current booking of The Wyatt Sicks, expressing some criticisms during a recent installment of his “Off The Top” podcast. The WWE Hall of Famer discussed the faction’s recent return to WWE programming.
Initially, Rikishi acknowledged the positive emotional connection surrounding the group, particularly with Bo Dallas, Bray Wyatt’s real-life brother, leading the faction. “It was good to see them back a while ago, especially when the brother, who just lost his brother, Bray,” Rikishi stated. He added, “Because if it wasn’t the brother, then it wasn’t right to do with that person. But I think the momentum from that kind of lost its track.” Rikishi also recognized the immense pressure on Dallas, noting, “You can imagine the pressure on Bo. You can imagine the pressure. But I’m sure he was happy to be in that position… Because it was personal for him to carry on the legacy of his brother, the legacy of that character, the Bray Wyatt Family.”
Despite these sentiments, Rikishi questioned the handling of their re-emergence, pondering the timing. “Was it right to bring him back on Bray’s birthday? Was it right to take time off for a bit, especially when you had that big ovation the first time when they initially came through?” he asked.
Rikishi felt that WWE “kind of dropped the ball with that.” While he praised the faction’s promotional segments, calling them “probably the best promos we’ve ever seen,” he believed WWE could have managed the group’s trajectory more carefully. “I just feel like they could have protected the crew a lot better, and just been more protective of where they’re going to put them that doesn’t hurt them,” he explained. He observed that while people were glad to see them, the reaction wasn’t overwhelming: “it wasn’t that ‘holy s**t’ type of applause.”
Offering suggestions for a more impactful presentation, Rikishi described a more elaborate production. “I probably would have just cut into a segment or something. Boom, the lights go on. Here comes like — maybe show Bray Wyatt’s promo or something. And then boom, here comes the show,” he proposed. He further envisioned, “The lights go off on the screen, on the screen there’s Bray Wyatt. The lighters go off in the whole arena. From one exit, you see the big man, from the other exit, you see whoever.”
He likened this approach to the iconic entrances of The Undertaker, emphasizing the power of production. “Whenever we hear ‘Dong,’ do we give a s**t about the match? Hell no. We just want to watch Taker… that right there would have been the smart [decision],” Rikishi commented, stressing that it “should have been at that level, because we’re talking about Wyatt, we’re talking about the legend, Bray Wyatt.” He reiterated that these were his personal opinions.
The Wyatt Sicks, featuring Uncle Howdy (Bo Dallas), Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Nikki Cross, made their return to WWE television on the May 23, 2025, episode of SmackDown, which was also the late Bray Wyatt’s birthday. The group has been involved in several on-screen attacks since their reappearance.
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