"I've always been a big Mick Foley fan" - WWE Superstar on inspiration for character

Hall of Famer Mick Foley has often been cited as an influential figure to many current superstars in the industry. NXT Superstar Joe Gacy recently cited the The Hardcore Legend as his inspiration for coming up with his dark character.

Foley is known for his hardcore matches and notable rivalries during his tenure with WWE. His most iconic match was the Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker in 1998, under his Mankind persona. In addition to Mankind, the former WWE Champion had two other personas - Dude Love, a peace-loving hippie, and Cactus Jack, a brawler who would shove a sock down his opponents' throat.

Joe Gacy is set to face Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship at In Your House on June 4. He cites a dark character and is accompanied to the ring by two mysterious hooded figures who have assaulted Breakker on his command.

In a recent interaction with Denise Salcedo, Gacy stated how he took inspiration from Mick Foley for his twisted, dark character on NXT 2.0.

"I probably couldn't put my finger on anything specific, but I grew up huge movie buff, and you know, I've watched WWE since I was a kid so I came up watching guys like Mick Foley. I've always been a big Mick Foley fan, so I don't know if that's something that's a part of me. It might be, I can't say yes or no, definitely." (4:35 - 4:58)

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In addition to Mick Foley, the atmosphere at NXT inspired Gacy

Joe Gacy signed with NXT in August 2020 and trained at the Performance Center.

In a the same interaction with Denise Salcedo, Gacy talked about the creation of his character and how he wanted it to be different from the other superstars. He added he observed the environment and other characters before creating his own.

“I think coming up before my time here in WWE I went about things one way, and then coming here, seeing how things were, and eventually knowing NXT 2.0 was coming, I think it was time to be different. What better way to be different than to completely change the way I look? So I guess that’s kind of what went into that.” [H/T Wrestling News]

Check out the entire interview below:

A couple of weeks ago on the developmental brand, Gacy added a stipulation to his match with Breakker that if he got himself disqualified he would lose his NXT Championship.

While using quotes from this article, please add a H/T to Sportskeeda and credit Denise Salcedo