10 Times WWE Tried (And Failed) To Be Edgy

4. Joe Gacy Is Woke

The Undertaker Tommy Dreamer
WWE.com

Today, Joe Gacy stands tall as the leader of NXT group Schism. Before that, WWE tried to capitalise on real world events by turning Gacy into the third brand's very own "woke superstar". No, they didn't actually utter those words on TV (not to this writer's knowledge anyway), but it was implied.

The idea was that Gacy viewed the wrestling ring as "a safe space", and encouraged others to join him in his fight against male privilege. His promos were crammed full of buzzwords with little care for context, and it wasn't long before some online were voicing their displeasure at what WWE were trying here.

FOX News bashed the promotion for "spouting some of the trademark rhetoric of the woke left" and trying to appear edgy by doing so. Over time, WWE de-emphasised those aspects of Joe's character and started turning him into a standard egotistical heel who thinks he knows better than everyone else instead.

That was for the best.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.