WWE NXT's Joe Gacy Addresses Bray Wyatt Comparisons

WWE Joe Gacy currently leads NXT's cult-like group known as Schism, and Gacy has been the glue that keeps the group together since day one. The character he plays has always been a bit eccentric and darker than other characters on the show, and that led to frequent comparisons to Bray Wyatt's time as the leader of the Wyatt Family. In a new interview with Ryan Satin on the Out of Character podcast, Gacy spoke about the comparisons to Wyatt, and Gacy feels the two are "very different".

"I think a lot of the WWE fans, they only know what they see on TV. So when they see something, to try to understand it, they have to link it to something they already know," Gacy said (H/T Wrestling News). "When I debuted, I had long hair, I had a beard, I have tattoos, and I was a slightly darker character, and let's be honest, I'm heavyset. So they just, 'Oh, this is like Bray Wyatt. This guy's like Bray Wyatt.' Then I debut a new character, which is, you know, pretty much currently what I'm doing and then there's like a darkness to the character so automatically everyone just associates it with 'Oh, he's a dark character. He has a beard, he's heavyset, and he has tattoos. He's just like Bray Wyatt.' My opinion, me and Bray Wyatt are very, very different. I don't think we're similar."

"Like, maybe the fact that we're two gimmicks that are darker, I think that's kind of where I see it. I mean, I understand years ago, Bray did a cult leader type thing. I guess you could say maybe, that aspect of Bray is similar with what I'm doing, but I believe what I'm doing now is very different than what Bray has done," Gacy said.

Gacy also highlighted that Wyatt isn't the only wrestler to use this type of character or persona. "Also, Bray is not, you know, the first person to do this thing. So I don't know why people have to just go right to Bray. Like nobody brings up Kevin Sullivan. Nobody brings up Waylon Mercy," Gacy said.

Gacy also discussed his partnership with Ava Raine, who has become a prominent member of Schism since joining the group. Gacy revealed that the partnership was actually pitched before Schism made it to TV, but it didn't end up happening until much later.

"Funny story about Ava Raine. Before I even debuted on TV, me and her got together and came up kind of with this idea of like a cult type group. Originally, it was me, her, and this other guy. We were basically pitching for us to be, the original idea was almost like a House of 1000 Corpses type family group with like a culty edge, but then things didn't I guess work out exactly, and then 2.0 started, so I think that maybe changed some of the ideas. When 2.0 happened, I feel like some of that idea maybe kind of went out the window because it was like an overhaul repackaging of the brand itself," Gacy said.

"So she kind of like, I guess the idea of her and me joining together was kind of put on the back burner. Then when it was just me, Rip, and Jagger, she actually came up to me at the PC one day and said, 'So did you hear what's going to happen', and I said, 'No.' She was like, 'So I'm gonna join you guys', and I said, 'That's awesome', because originally it was going to be me and her trying to do something anyway. So I'm glad it finally panned out on TV," Gacy said.

What do you hope to see next for Gacy and Schism? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!