Man Behind WWE’s Uncle Howdy Talks Honoring Brother Bray Wyatt After Death

Fans can visit the maze coast-to-coast at Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. An ultimate tribute to Bray’s evolution from backwoods cult-like leader to the terror of The Fiend, featured among other genre icons like Jason Voorhees and Art the Clown. Here Uncle Howdy opens up about the evolution of the Wyatt Sicks and how Bray’s vision was realized in more ways than one. 

I’ve gotten to go to the Wyatt Sicks house a few times during Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando. It’s incredible how much time and care went into it. Have you gotten a chance to experience the maze yet? 

Bo Dallas: I’m jealous you got to go to it. Unfortunately, I have not. I’ve worked on it for the past eight months knowing this was coming. I got to walk through it in VR. I have not been there in person yet. I will be there a bunch of times, but I’m jealous you got to go. I have a lot of friends and family who got a chance to see it. They are telling me about it. I just can’t wait to go. 

How much does this mean to you? A great tribute to Bray Wyatt and what you and everyone else involved with the Wyatt Sicks have created. 

Hearing the news about plans for this house was mind-blowing. When me and Windham were in WWE developmental in 2010 driving around Florida streets, we’d see billboards for Halloween Horror Nights Universal. Windham would say he would have a house there. This was before he even created the character Bray Wyatt or had any horror type character in WWE. This was one of his end goals, big dreams. For this to happen was unbelievable. Getting to talk to head Mike [ Aiello], and everyone I’ve gotten a chance to work with at Universal has been unbelievable. 

They are not only fans of WWE but love Bray and everything he stood for. We have a lot of the same likings. We are into the horror genre. So when we met, we really bonded well. The amount of detail and love that went into this, you’d have to go into the house a hundred times to pick up on all the Easter eggs and details they put into this. When they originally gave me the idea, I was happy to do this regardless. Then the house they told me they were creating, it was mind-blowing. It felt like they went into my brother’s mind and capitalized on a couple of ideas he already had. They didn’t change anything but made it bigger and put their twist and love on it. This has been unreal. 

When it comes to characters in pro wrestling, it is a lost art. So, the fact we have the Wyatt Sicks is nice to see. Beyond the house, has there been talk about adapting the characters and Bray’s world into a series or movie even? 

I’d say the sky is the limit. I’ve taken what has been given to me and built on that. What we have been doing recently has been mind-blowing, so I’m just trying to keep the train rolling. Windham had so many ideas. Just books on top of books of ideas. When we finally got a chance to work together, we had all these ideas we wanted to get done. Ideas where we wanted these characters to go. I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but pretty much everybody in the Wyatt Sicks was handpicked by Windham and had ideas going forward with each individual. 

A lot of the stuff we’re doing is building off of Windham’s original ideas. He is still a part of this. Every direction we go was something he had foresaw and wanted to get to, so we’re still telling his stories and putting our own twists on this. The ideas are endless. We could do this for years. I feel Windham is still with us with each step we take with these characters. I see movies and series and all of that as a possibility because there is so much story to be told. It is what keeps me going. This is my life to keep Windham’s legacy alive and thriving and still intriguing people. There is so much we can do in the future, and we will. 

How would you describe the bond between the Wyatt Sicks and how that has translated onscreen? 

It has been awesome. When we started this after losing my brother, I went through a period where I didn’t know if I wanted to or could carry this on until I did. In real life, I felt he was with me with every step. That’s what kept me going. All the people in the Wyatt Sicks were handpicked by Windham. They were just as grateful and honored to be involved in something of this magnitude. We all have the same goal in mind to keep Windham’s legacy alive. To have a group like that on the same page. With every page, we’ve grown and grown and have really come into our characters every time we put on the mask. It’s becoming a part of us. It’s under unfortunate events of losing my brother and then to get to start this has been a wild ride. Through it all, I think we’ve come out stronger and built a stronger team and have a bond that really can’t be explained. We all feel it. That’s what drives us and keeps us going.

Beyond the source material, where else would you say you’re pulling from in terms of inspiration? 

Inspiration for Howdy I think will come out eventually in the stories we tell. Windham and I grew up loving horror and anything from that genre. Anything weird and different. His character for a long time was that. Mine wasn’t, so a lot of the cool stuff I would draw inspiration from I’d tell him about. Then he could use it because he was in that position. What’s weird is when we finally got to work together, that was our dream. 

To be a team together and have a run, that was happening before we lost him. But when we were throwing out ideas, one thing that kept popping up was we were both heavily intrigued by [ Randall] Flagg from Stephen King’s The Stand. Both the character in the book and the 1990s miniseries was kind of a devil-like character. His interactions with people were smooth. We had all these ideas we were building off of Flagg. It was this specific character written and seen in the TV series in the 1990s. We both saw something in him for our characters. This is how it went with us and building on ideas on what would be best to him or me. It’s wild how similar our brains work. 

It’s also great that you have the buy-in from WWE creatives. They are seeing the vision and nurturing that. How is it having their support? 

It has been unbelievable to see since coming back as Uncle Howdy. Triple H [Paul Levesque] gave us the platform to be able to tell this story. They are letting us carry it on. Rob Fee, one of the writers I’ve worked with really closely at the beginning. If I didn’t work with him, I don’t know how it would have turned out. He is unbelievable and worked with my brother. He knew my brother’s mind. We were bouncing ideas off him before we lost him. Him coming in early on to work on the beginning stuff was magical to me. It got me through it to where it drives me. The whole team at WWE has been incredible since I came back to put this together. They’ve let me keep my brother’s legacy alive. 

What can you tease about what we’re going to see from the Wyatt Sicks in terms of storytelling? 

A lot is coming in the near future. Stories and character development being told out of the mind of my brother and coming to actual TV screens. Using actual stories we wanted to tell in the past and unfolding. Stuff in the works for years. Getting to get an intimate look of the characters in the Wyatt Sicks to understand them to a better degree. There are a lot of big things happening very soon. I just say keep your eyes open because there is a lot of really cool stuff. 

You mentioned he chose these performers for these characters. Are there any others planned to be added to the group based on Bray’s initial vision? 

Never say never. There are always possibilities of other people coming in the future, but right now the core and our direction and what we want to get done is going to stay as it is. That’s as far as I see, but never say never. There are a lot of untold stories out of my brother’s books and notes. Time will tell. It’s a possibility, but right now I think the Wyatt Sicks as it is that needs to get some stuff done. 

We’re getting into the spooky season. Do you have any memories of this time of year with Bray? 

I love Halloween. The whole season from the beginning to the end in October I’m watching a scary movie every single night. I get excited as it comes. Me and my brother loved Halloween growing up. We were addicted to horror, different or weird or something you shouldn’t like, that was probably what we were attracted to. We had a lot of fun growing up doing stuff. Probably stuff I shouldn’t say during an interview. Just being mischievous and kids stuff in a little town keeping yourself busy. We loved all that. 

WWE SmackDown, Fridays, 8/7c, USA Network 

The WWE Wyatt Sicks house is part of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, which runs on select nights through November 2.

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