Joe Gacy has opened up about learning that Bray Wyatt had wanted to work with him long before the Wyatt Sicks became a reality.
Speaking with The FiveMarks (see video below), Gacy reflected on the early plans for what would eventually become the Wyatt Sicks, revealing that he had heard backstage rumblings about the group before anyone officially approached him. According to Gacy, the original vision was for Bray Wyatt to lead the faction before Wyatt’s passing in August 2023 changed those plans.
“I know there was always an idea for the Wyatt Sicks group,” Gacy said. “I had heard rumblings about it before I was ever even approached about it.”
He continued by explaining that Bray Wyatt was originally expected to be the group’s leader.
“I think the idea was that obviously Bray was going to be the leader at the time,” Gacy said. “Then unfortunately he passed away.”
Not long after Wyatt’s passing, Gacy said WWE character development executive Rob Fee reached out with news that caught him completely by surprise.
“It was shortly after he passed away that Rob Fee reached out to me,” Gacy recalled. “He basically told me, ‘Hey, Windham thought a lot of you. He really wanted to come down to NXT and work with you.’”
Gacy admitted hearing that for the first time was an emotional moment.
“This was the first time I was hearing any of this, and it blew me away,” he said. “I had no idea at the time he wanted to work with me at all.”
Looking back, Gacy wishes they could have shared the screen together, even if it had only been briefly.
“Selfishly, I wish we got to do even like a promo on NXT,” Gacy said. “Just to have a back-and-forth, something. It would have been an honor.”
Those conversations with Fee eventually shifted toward what would become the Wyatt Sicks project, with Gacy being given advance notice that his television time in NXT could be reduced while plans came together.
“It led to conversations between me and Rob,” Gacy explained. “He basically told me, ‘Hey, there’s an idea, so don’t get worried if you don’t do NXT TV as much.’”
Gacy admitted the warning helped ease concerns that often come when a talent suddenly disappears from television.
“I guess he was trying to prep me in case NXT stopped using me,” he continued. “If you get pulled off TV a little bit, there’s always that fear of, ‘Oh no, am I going to get fired?’”
He closed by revealing that Fee had already begun preparing him for the long-term creative direction.
“He prepped me a little bit,” Gacy said. “He basically told me there’s this idea. There’s this group idea.”
