During an interview with Out of Character, Joe Gacy discussed the initial concept he and Ava Raine had in mind for Schism, which they had conceived well before the debut of NXT 2.0.

"Funny story about Ava Raine. Before I debuted on TV, me and her got together and came up with this idea of a cult group. Originally, it was me, her and this other guy. We were pitching for us…the original idea was almost a House of 1000 Corpses type family with a culty edge. Things didn’t work out exactly and then [NXT] 2.0 started and that maybe changed some ideas. When 2.0 happened, I feel that idea went out the window because it was an overhaul repackaging of the brand itself. I guess the idea of her and me joining together was put on the backburner. When it was me, Rip, and Jagger, she came up to me at the PC and said, ‘Did you hear what is going to happen?’ ‘No.’ ‘I’m going to join you guys.’ ‘That’s awesome’ since originally it was going to be me and her trying to do something anyway. I’m glad it finally panned out on TV. She was a big part of the beginnings of the idea."