Tonight’s WWE SmackDown was all about Clash at the Castle, but there were still two key moments where the attention was instead on what was happening after Clash, and it involved the always mysterious Uncle Howdy. WWE has been teasing Howdy’s return for a while now, and as more teases have happened fans are getting a better sense of the faction that Howdy is apparently leading. That all culminated with two teases during tonight’s SmackDown, which gave us our first looks at the masks they will be wearing, as well as a date that they are set to debut (via @SkytzoBeatz). As for the big day, it’s June 17th, which is next week’s Monday Night Raw.
After fans tracked down a website with various folders, it was revealed that each of the folders had different images, including drawings of what are presumably the masks the faction will be wearing. There were other creepy drawings and writings as well, like the one that said “When the circle was broken, they were let loose. No direction. Lost and Confused”, or the one that says “Do you want to meet them?” With a smiley face.
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The big one though is in the middle, which says “You will behold what we have become” with the date 6.17.24 written in red above it. The faction is said to include Howdy (Bo Dallas), Nikki Cross, Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumia, and Joe Gacy. The group has been teased for a while, but tonight’s episode included two different teases, and once Clash is done, the group will certainly have everyone’s attention.
The group is set to debut on Monday Night Raw, but the teases have been happening on both Raw and SmackDown, so it’s not known if they will be central to any one particular show or be utilized across all shows. Howdy initially debuted on SmackDown, as that was the late Bray Wyatt’s home show, but if WWE wants to maximize their TV time and effect, they very well may not have a home show for the foreseeable future.
Howdy was previously used in Wyatt’s storyline, and the last time we saw Howdy on TV was during the match between Wyatt and LA Knight. We’ll have to wait and see if anything from that previous run will be mentioned with this new group, but it’s hard to imagine that not being the case.
CLASH AT THE CASTLE CARD:
World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles (“I Quit” Match)
WWE Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Piper Niven
Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
What do you think of the new faction? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
