Bully Ray Talks About His Character Change, Dixie And Magnus, WWE Network, Genesis, More
Bully Ray joined Doug Mortman and Dave Lagreca on Busted Open. You can hear Busted Open on SiriusXM 92 and on the SiriusXM app. Here are some highlights:
Being the glue that has been holding TNA together:
"Well I appreciate you guys thinking that I'm the glue that holds the company together. That's always nice to hear. Listen, I go out there–you guys know this damn well–whether you love me, whether you hate me, you gotta respect me just a little bit, cause every night I go out there to steal the show. And give the people exactly what they pay to see. And they pay to hate me. And that's what they get."
Where this new, more mysterious Bully is heading coming out of Aces and Eights:
"In wrestling, as you guys know, and in sports, in wrestling, in entertainment; you always have to evolve. So I'm giving the people the next level, the next chapter, the next evolution of Bully Ray. Some people might like it, some people might hate it. I really don't care what they think as long as they tune in. And that's all that matters."
On how he feels about the new Dixie Carter/Magnus regime:
"Listen. In business there is always going to be changes going on. You guys experience change there; working at Sirius XM; all the time. Whether it's McDonalds, or whether it's in a hospital or whether it's an auto body shop, whether it's pro wrestling. There's always going to be changes. Changes in talent, changes in personnel, changes in management, changes in direction, changes in theory on how the business should be run. So you always try to evolve. You always try to move forward and see what the next thing is that is going to hit. So you know wrestling is no different than any other business. You keep evolving, you keep changing. So we'll see what happens with this.
"Everybody wants to see TNA succeed. Everybody likes to sit back and whether it's bash TNA or bash the WWE; people will sit there and bash. They don't do anybody any good. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. You might not like something and that's cool. But to sit back there and bash a company for no fricking good reason when all of the wrestlers are trying to go out there every single week and do their absolute best. And all of the creative members are trying to do their absolute best in the best interest of the fans. Sometimes things don't always go the right way. Sometimes they go really great. You kind of gotta roll with the punches."
His turn at Lockdown in 2013 in San Antonio:
"OH! Well the first thing I got to say is this: whoever thought or came up with the delusion that those were plants in the audience; I would love to meet that person face to face and mafia kick them in their fricking jaw. That's first of all. Then I'll wish them a Happy New Year. That is the kind of hatred; that is the kind of emotional response that I strive on. That's the kind of emotional response that me and Devon (Dudley) used to get on a nightly basis in ECW. I was so proud of the response at Lockdown. I was so proud that I was able to pull off what I pulled off. I was proud of the fact of being the champion. I was proud of the fact of being able to pull the wool over the eyes of all of the smart wrestling fans all over the world. And people were pissed off. And that's what's going to make me memorable; things like that. The last time you saw an incident like that was in Daytona Beach, Florida when Hulk Hogan joined the nWo. And to be able to do it to him and his daughter (Brooke) and shove it up both of their asses at the same time? That was golden."
Having a crazy 2013:
"No doubt. World Titles; women; whiskey. Hanging out with Motley Crue in Vegas. Going crazy. My goal for 2014 is this: I want to get my World Title back. I want to piss off even more people and I want to see how many Knockouts I can get through in the locker room."
Facing Ken Anderson at Genesis this Thursday on Spike TV:
"Well you got to dig the fact that TNA does try to give away quality Pay Per View, main event matches on free TV. I think that's where you gotta really look at TNA–you gotta tip the hat to them and say Hey! You know they're trying. They're not trying to hang us out for 39.95 every single month for a PPV. They are doing some of the old school things. Some of the things to keep wrestling fans happy and interested. And Genesis is going to be a very interesting PPV.
"Just the fact alone that you got me and Anderson; the feud that has been going on for months and months. And whether you like it or hate it, me and Anderson always deliver in that ring. You know if I'm out there, you gotta keep that channel on. You know if I'm out there, something is going to happen. You know if I'm out there, I'm gonna say something or I'm gonna do something that's going to be totally unexpected. And at Genesis I plan on doing the same thing. And it started out with House of Hardcore a couple of months ago, followed up at Old School in Poughkeepsie, got Genesis right around the corner. If Bully Ray is out there, expect the unexpected."
His thoughts on the new WWE Network:
"I think it's great for wrestling fans. As a wrestling fan and personally I am a wrestling fan. There are a lot of things that I would like to see. If I know that I can go to the WWE Network and just order something up and check out a match from back in the day that I want to see; that's awesome. So I think it's good for all of wrestling. It keeps wrestling out there. It keeps wrestling in the public's eye. And now fans have access to whatever they want to see. It's all about entertainment, guys. KISS goes up there every night; plays the same songs; Gene spits the same blood; they do the same pyro and people pay to see them. Because people love KISS. People love rock and roll; drinking whiskey; naked girls and partying. And that's the same reason why people will always love pro wrestling. "