The Tragic Side Of The Wyatt Sicks' Real Life

The Wyatt Sicks have arrived in WWE, and have gotten the world talking with their striking presentation, violent debut, and their apparent love for discontinued forms of physical media (welcome back, VHS tapes). But one thing that has set the group apart from previous incarnations of things associated with the Wyatt name is that there is a real sense of tragedy linked to them.

As many people know, Bray Wyatt tragically passed away in August 2023 after suffering a heart attack in his sleep, so having the group named after him will always produce a sense of mourning whenever the Wyatt Sicks appear onscreen, given that their original intended leader is no longer with us. This sense of tragedy has led the group to be rooted more in reality than the supernatural, which isn't to say they aren't spooky, but you probably won't be seeing Uncle Howdy burnt to a crisp and still perform at a WrestleMania like what fans saw with The Fiend.

With that in mind, let's take a look at each individual member of The Wyatt Sicks to see what low points they have had to deal with in their own lives that could, in turn, motivate their current characters in WWE.

Let's start with the easiest, the leader of the Wyatt Sicks, Bo "Uncle Howdy" Dallas. No one in the group knew Wyatt more than his own brother, so the fact that he is now leading a faction to essentially finish what his older brother started will certainly come with its own baggage.

In the first VHS tape that was played on the June 24 "WWE Raw," despite the presentation being rooted in the context of the show, Dallas would open up about how difficult life has been since his brother's passing. Dallas explained that he felt like the most important thing in his entire life was taken away from him, and that no one in the world will ever understand the pain he has gone through due to how much he looked up to Wyatt during his childhood and his wrestling career.

Dallas portrayed the Uncle Howdy character in WWE while Wyatt was alive, during his final complete feud in the company against LA Knight. He explained that himself and Wyatt were there, they were finally going to have the run that they had always dreamed of as brothers, but that was tragically taken away from him. These feelings of hurt, grief, and loss have manifested themselves into a sense of frustration, as Dallas has proclaimed that he thought people were simply going to forget what Wyatt fought and stood for. This motivation for starting the Wyatt Sicks is only in its infancy, but it is clear as day that the group's foundation is built on tragedy, and no one has gone through more tragedy in the past year than Dallas.

Outside of Uncle Howdy, the one member of the Wyatt Sicks who knew Wyatt best was Erick Rowan. The "second son" of the original Wyatt Family has been involved in all incarnations of the group, from the backwoods cult that formed in "NXT," to the main roster where they would do battle with the likes of The Shield in a feud that many fans saw as a true sign WWE's main event scene was going to be strong for many years to come. However, Wyatt isn't the only person in Rowan's life that he has lost over the past few years.

Despite being part of The Wyatt Family, the man Rowan is most connected to is Luke Harper, the "first son" of the original Wyatt Family who many wrestling fans will also know as Mr. Brodie Lee. Rowan and Lee were the brutish duo of The Wyatt Family that essentially did Wyatt's dirty work for him, and would continue to team together long after the family disbanded. However, after a critically acclaimed run in AEW as the leader of The Dark Order, Lee would pass away in December 2020 from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Rowan would appear in AEW at the "Brodie Lee: A Celebration of Life" tribute show at the end of 2020 to help The Dark Order in their match against The Inner Circle, holding up a sign that read "Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down the road." He would continue to make sporadic appearances for AEW in the following years, but is now back in WWE as the only surviving member of the original Wyatt Family, meaning Uncle Howdy might be the tortured brain behind the operation, but Rowan is the tortured heart and soul of The Wyatt Sicks.

Moving away from members of the group that had a long-standing personal connection to Bray Wyatt, Abby The Witch, or as most people will know her, Nikki Cross. Cross has had a fascinating WWE career of late. Before she began creeping out Michael Cole by delivering VHS tapes to him from under the ring, Cross was a member of the just as spooky, and often times more maniacal SAnitY stable in "NXT" alongside Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, Sawyer Fulton, and Killian Dain (who is in fact Cross' real-life husband). After a lengthy spell of teaming with Alexa Bliss before Bliss chose to side with The Fiend, arguably the closest connection Cross has to the late Wyatt, she almost became a superhero, going by the name Nikki A.S.H., and even won the Raw Women's Championship in 2021 before becoming deranged once more, leading to her current role as Abby The Witch.

While she might seem creepy and deranged onscreen, Cross has been open about her very real struggles with her mental health. Cross posted a picture of herself on her X account in 2023 that was originally taken in 2014, accompanying it with a personal message. The message stated that while she looked good on the surface, she was miserable at the time the photo was taken, citing a bad relationship with food and an even worse relationship with herself for feeling so miserable.

Cross admitted that while she had chose to go to therapy to deal with her issues, she was actually afraid of telling people she was seeking help, as it might be perceived as weak to some people. However, she has since regretted having that mindset, as there is no problem with admitting that you need help, and now she feels happier and healthier than ever.

Ever since he arrived in WWE in 2020, there has always been a dark side to Joe Gacy that some people can't quite put their finger on. Whether it's the terrifying grin he has (as pictured in the photo above), or whether he sees nothing wrong in literally kidnapping people like he did to Rick Steiner in 2022, Gacy has always felt like the perfect fit for The Wyatt Sicks given his dark track record.

Gacy was essentially forged by fire on the independent scene in the 2010s, making his name in Combat Zone Wrestling by holding the CZW Wired and CZW World Championships each on three occasions, meaning that he has been wrapped in barbed wire, thrown onto thumbtacks, and dragged through broken glass to the point where what his body has been through prior to WWE could warrant a tag of 'tragic.'

However, Gacy did have some tragic news to share in February 2024, as he revealed on his social media accounts that his beloved cat had passed away. Numerous members of the WWE roster including Natalya, Chelsea Green, and Thea Hail all sent their condolences to Gacy, who proceeded to take a few weeks away from "WWE NXT" before returning at the beginning of March to start building his match with Shawn Spears at NXT Stand and Deliver in April.

Outside of the fact he had to work for TNA in the early 2010s, a fate that no wrestler really deserved, Dexter Lumis is the hardest member of The Wyatt Sicks to nail down information on. So much so that when he got married to Indi Hartwell on the premiere episode of "NXT 2.0" in September 2021, some fans were actually shocked to find out that the two performers weren't actually married in real life.

The only real tragic part of Lumis' career up to this point is really his initial release from WWE in 2022. The reason why it could be seen as tragic is that by the time Lumis was let go in April 2022, WWE fans around the world, and probably the wrestlers as well, had grown sick and tired of the constant mass releases the company made in the early 2020s. While Lumis hadn't really been on TV that much leading up to his release, it was yet another sign that WWE simply had no idea what to do with a lot of their roster members both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic began to fade.

Lumis hasn't exactly lit the world on fire with his main roster run since returning to the promotion, and many people began to wonder in 2023 why WWE had actually brought Lumis back in the first place. However, that seems to be what The Wyatt Sicks is all about, making people remember who these performers are. Seeking revenge on those who wronged them by following the path carved for them by a man who was wronged himself many times in his career. All members of The Wyatt Sicks have suffered tragedy in their own lives, and are ready to inflict some of that pain on the WWE roster.