WWE has pulled all references to the "woke" gimmick we saw Joe Gacy debut during Tuesday's night's NXT 2.0. Hitting the ring to cut a promo about how the ring is a safe space, he also talked about microaggressions, conflict resolution, and male privilege before taking a loss to Cameron Grimes.
Despite that, he offered Grimes a handshake and pulled him in for a hug. It was weird, but not something we expected to gain mainstream media attention.
Since Tuesday night, FOX News published an article with the headline, "WWE pins woke left with controversial new wrestler." Several other outlets followed, though a line on FOX News is bound to have hit WWE where it hurts. "Critics may argue WWE may be attempting to generate some headlines as rival promotion AEW (All Elite Wrestling) has created loads of buzz with critically acclaimed shows, ratings victories in the key 18-49 demographic and recent high-profile signings of a string of former WWE stars," it reads.
Now, WWE has removed all traces of the promo and match, including from YouTube and on their social media accounts. It's been pulled from the WWE website, while even Gacy has taken down any references to it on his own Instagram page. The only trace of that now is in the gallery of photos from Tuesday's NXT 2.0 on WWE.com.
While WWE's reaction is strange, it's possible the company simply didn't anticipate the sort of negative backlash their take on the "woke left" would generate among fans and media outlets.
It's not a good look for WWE, and time will tell what comes next for Grimes on NXT 2.0.