Bully Ray Thinks TNA Did 'An Excellent Job' With Slammiversary 2026

The state of TNA Wrestling has been a major point of concern in recent months, especially as the list of talent and staff departures continues to grow. The events of Slammiversary, however, have given TNA Hall of Famer Bully Ray renewed hope that things can turn around for the company.

"We were talking about it last week that I believe that TNA needed to have a great Slammiversary to kind of wash away the bad taste that was lingering from a couple of weeks ago. I think TNA did an excellent job at Slammiversary," Ray said on "Busted Open Radio." "We talked about high-profile stuff. Well, the Hardys, arguably the greatest tag team in the history, other than the Road Warriors, of what we do, are your new tag team champions. Our very own Nic Nemeth is your TNA World Heavyweight Champion. The two most popular acts that TNA has at their disposal are now champions. I think that was a great move by TNA."

TNA hosted the 2026 Slammiversary pay-per-view last weekend from Boston, Massachusetts, with a TNA World Championship match between Mike Santana and Nic Nemeth (formerly known as WWE's Dolph Ziggler) positioned as the main event. As Ray alluded to, Nemeth unseated Santana as the world champion by dropping him with Danger Zone, then pinning him. In the semi-main event, Matt and Jeff Hardy regained the TNA World Tag Team Championships by climbing a ladder and retrieving the title belts that hung above. This Ladder Match pitted them against The Righteous, The System, and Order 4.

Elsewhere at the June 28 event, Xia Brookside dethroned Lei Ying Lee as TNA Knockouts Champion. Knockouts Tag Team Champions Heather and M By Elegance lost their respective titles to Allie and Rosemary.

Coming out of Slammiversary, Ray emphasized the need for TNA to capitalize on the momentum gained from it, specifically during the PPV fallout episode of "Impact" on July 2.

"For TNA, it's going to be all right, let's get this back on track. Let's get headed in the right direction. Let's get some strong stuff moving forward storyline wise. We have our two biggest acts, our two biggest stars as our champions. Let's start building around that now," Ray said.

"TNA needs to turn into some must-see TV. We always talk about must-see. We know that all wrestling companies want to have a product that's must-see every week. I want a wrestling company to make me sit in front of my TV at any given time, at any given night. I think it's very, very important this Thursday night, whatever the follow up is for TNA, that they really follow up strong. It's very important so people are starting to talk positive about TNA."

Whether Ray believes that TNA followed through on his advice has yet to be known as the particular episode of "Impact" just aired last night. Two-time TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth opened the show with a promo that celebrated his title win and reestablished him as heel. Within the Knockouts division, the Knockouts Television Championship tournament kicked off with two first round matches, which resulted in Mara Sade and Heather By Elegance advancing. A future TNA Knockouts Championship rematch between Lee and Brookside was also set up, as was a TNA World Tag Team Championship match between Order 4 (Jason Hotch and John Skyler) and The Hardys.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.