Bully Ray Claims We Are Living A ‘Yes Man Era’ Of Pro Wrestling
Are we in a 'yes-man' era of pro wrestling? Bully Ray believes so, and the WWE Hall of Famer provided his thoughts on the newest episode of "83 Weeks." In a show that rarely has guests, the legendary Dudley joined Eric Bischoff and co-host Conrad Thompson to talk about the legacy of the Aces & Eights faction of TNA, but the subject of conviction was brought up and the three steered onto a side path.
"What I feel, sometimes, there aren't enough people that believe enough in what they're doing that are surrounded by people that will argue with them, and push them, and make the idea better," Bischoff said. "I see a lot of stuff that makes me think that they're just slapping this stuff together or it's just getting rubber-stamped. I'm not seeing magic like I've seen in the past. Maybe that's just me, that's just my perspective.
"We're very much in a 'yes-man' era in pro wrestling," Ray added, who then asked for Thompson's perspective. Thompson said that while the business (and the world in general) are full of 'yes-men', we have seen stars recently walk out on their promotions.
"There's a lot of 'yes people' in this industry, and taking your bat and ball and going home has never been okay in my book. Never," Ray said. "I just look at that as unprofessional. There's always something that can be done and can be worked out.
"I do believe that we have a lot of 'yes men.' I think we have a lot of people in positions of power who like to be told that their ideas are the best or people are fearful to speak up," Ray added
"Well, there you go. I think that's different, but I hear ya," Thompson said. When asking Bischoff for more perspective, the former WCW President made it clear he's not behind the scenes, but it's all about presentation.
"I think the proof is in what we see. We're not seeing really great ideas percolate to the top and that's the product of a Stone Cold Steve Austin, or a Bully, or a Hulk Hogan, or a Ric Flair, or a whoever it is fighting for their character and wanting to make sure that if they're going to do something that it's really well thought out and it's going somewhere or it has a specific goal.
"I know what I see is a path of least resistance more often than not. I don't see greatness when it comes to storytelling and it doesn't mean that there is not some good stuff out there occasionally, but I'm not seeing anything that makes me go 'holy shit.'" The last time Bischoff saw that was with MJF and we're not sure if it's a work or a shoot. If it's the former, that's good, but the latter will lead to the intrigue fizzling out.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "83 Weeks" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.