Bully Ray Gets Candid About The Impact Of The Rock's People's Champ Belt On WWE
While Cody Rhodes' story to claim the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns is over, his story with The Rock has only just begun. Just one day after Rhodes' victory over Reigns at Night Two of WrestleMania 40, and two days after Rock pinned Rhodes in a tag match at Night One, the two encountered each other again during the opening of "Raw," where Rock mysteriously handed something over to Rhodes, and the two had an exchange of title belts, with Rock holding the Universal Title, while Rhodes held Rock's "People's Championship" title.
The exchange was seen as a weird moment by many, including the fans in the building, who chanted "This is awkward." It's a sentiment that was echoed by Bully Ray Tuesday morning when the two-time Hall of Famer discussed the segment on "Busted Open Radio" and tried to wrap his head around what happened.
"I don't know why Cody gave up the belt," Bully said. "I don't know why Cody would care about the other belt. I don't know why Rock gives a s**t about carrying the other belt to the ring. It's a nice gift that was given to him at the Hall of Fame...Imagine you were a fan who tuned back in to 'Raw' last night, because you heard of all the hoopla surrounding WrestleMania. And now you're saying to yourself 'Well, what belt is that that Rock has?' To me, you're taking the focus off of Cody and his brand new Universal Championship."
Bully Ray Calls Rock's People's Championship A Distraction
As noted by Bully, Rock's "People's Championship" belt had been a gift that the "Great One" had received at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday from the widow of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Regardless of where it came from, Bully couldn't help but admit that it muddied the waters too much for him, especially when WWE was trying to establish Rhodes in his new position as the company's top champion.
"Even when I saw The Rock carrying it out at WrestleMania, to me, it's [a] distraction," Bully said. "With a babyface with Cody, I don't need any of the attention taken off of him...I don't need to see anybody else with a championship that can even be perceived, for a moment, as something more important than that Universal Champion. If The Rock wants to be backstage in a vignette or a promo holding it, I get it. But now walking to the ring, and then last night, what's The Rock holding? I don't know; Cody is the Universal Champion. I want every ounce of my attention on him."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription