Is the WWE now a horror franchise?
Whether you wish to debate that question or not, the pro wrestling brand this year becomes part of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks will be one of the haunted houses at this year's event at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood.
Creative Director John Murdy today shared some of the reasoning why Universal has partnered with the WWE for this haunted house experience.
"This genre of horror is continually evolving and changing. Let's bring things into our world that might not be explicitly horror, but have horror aspects to them," Murdy said. "And that's something I think the WWE, for me personally, really falls into."
Murdy's counterparts in Orlando made the initial connection with the WWE. Orlando Creative Director Mike Aiello - a lifelong wrestling fan - sent Murdy a video of The Wyatt Sick's first appearance on Raw, asking if Murdy thought the concept would work for Halloween Horror Nights. The Wyatt Sicks are a collection of wrestling characters inspired by the late Bray Wyatt, a WWE star who died at the age of 36 in 2023.
If you want to see why Aiello and his crew thought that this pro wrestling scene might fit with HHN, just watch it.
"So I said, actually, this presents a really interesting, creative dynamic," Murdy said. "You guys [in Orlando] are the experts. I'm going to take the position of, I'm a fan of Halloween Horror Nights who knows nothing about this, and I'm going to come at it from that perspective.
"And then I'm going to become an expert. I had to do all of that research - literally, every match, every promo, everything from Bray Wyatt's entire journey, all the way through what his brothers have taken on with The Wyatt Sicks. But coming through that research, what I really gained an appreciation for is what a talent Bray Wyatt was."
"He came at it like a horror movie filmmaker. I know he wanted to be part of Horror Nights because he was talking to Mike before he passed. So when this came back around and we were able to get together with Rob Fee at WWE [the WWE's Director of Character Development], I really wanted to create something that was a tribute to Bray," Murdy said.
"It has a weird emotional part to it, but I wanted to create it like the horror movie he never got to make, or the haunted house that he never got to experience," Murdy said of Bray Wyatt.
"By the time I was done with it, I was like, wow, I have a totally different appreciation for all of it," Murdy said. "If you go down the rabbit hole of details and what means what in the WWE, it's insane. Every stitch on his themed mask means something. It's incredible. So we just wanted to honor that legacy."
"I'm really curious to see how it plays for fans and non-fans alike."
Halloween Horror Nights starts this Friday, August 29, at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando and on Thursday, September 4, at Universal Studios Hollywood. Click here for tickets to the Universal Studios Hollywood event, from our ticket partner.
Oh, I'll give a reason why - money.
I think the house has great potential to be successful even if the IP is not universally (see what I did there) known. The Sicks have a very striking “Devil’s Rejects” aura to them that I think can make for an unsettling house if done effectively, pro wrestling affiliation be damned.
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I still feel like walking through this house would elicit more pure sadness at the loss of Bray than the other emotions you typically feel walking through an HHN house. I am curious to see how this plays to "marks" and others people who have never watched WWE in their life. I do think the Wyatt Sicks are relatable (as most WWE characters are), but there really aren't any clear narratives to drive a story that would create a cohesive experience.
This is one of those IPs that could be a massive hit or a terrible flop with very little chance for something in between.