The new Wyatt group debuted on Raw to huge buzz after months of anticipation.
Teases for the group started in early April, when Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp reported that the end of Bray Wyatt's documentary was a tease for the impending return of Bo Dallas, who is still portraying the Uncle Howdy character. Dallas has been under contract since 2022, when his brother Bray Wyatt was also signed by the company.
Thus far, the group has not been officially named on WWE TV, social media or the website nor have the members outside of Uncle Howdy, which we're told is by design. If you had any doubts, Bo Dallas is Uncle Howdy, Nikki Cross played the Abigail inspired character, Dexter Lumis as the Mercy The Buzzard inspired character, Joe Gacy in the gas mask, and Erick Rowan in the rabbit-inspired character. Rowan was specifically signed for the role, and several others were kept off of WWE TV for months in preparation of it.
The group has already been acknowledged on WWE programming by Jey Uso, which we're told will continue. Even though the group isn't likely to interact with every program on Raw, it's expected within the company that the ramifications will be widespread across various programs, with a domino effect on stories that are happening up and down the show. Those we spoke to said that the wide array of talent and people attacked in the story, and the characters who "left" before the show were calculated, planned, and designed for specific reasons.
Fightful Select had reported this past weekend that there were no supernatural elements planned for the group, which as of Tuesday morning we're told is still the case. One person in WWE noted that "you can't beat ghosts with wrestling moves," indicating that it would be too hard to pay that off.
The Wyatt group was not listed on rundowns, but all of the hints and QR codes pointed to June 17, and the roster was aware that the group was coming in. There were some graphic and promo shots that had made their way internally that accurately reflected the look of the group, but were kept pretty close to the vest.
As the main event happened, the stage was quickly set up to show the reveal of Nikki Cross' character, which was impossible to hide from the audience. WWE was happy with the camera shot and reveal that went backstage, then followed Uncle Howdy back out to the entrance way.
WWE sources that Fightful spoke to were also over the moon about the crowd reaction from Corpus Christi in general, which has long held a reputation as a dead crowd. As far as production, buzz, and the feedback that was received from the segment, we're told that WWE was very happy with how all of that worked out.
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