Bully Ray has his eye on the Impact World Championship after winning the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound For Glory. That prize grants him the opportunity for a title shot at any time, much like WWE’s Money in the Bank briefcase. Bully intends on doing it the right way, but nobody believes him.
After Josh Alexander retained Impact’s top prize against Eddie Edwards in the PPV main event, Honor No More put a beatdown on the champ. Bully Ray entered the scene with Alexander ripe for the picking. Bully surprised everyone by not cashing in. Instead, he choose to fight Honor No More alongside Alexander.
Heading into Thursday’s edition of Impact Wrestling, the question was why. Why didn’t Bully Ray seize the opportunity to become Impact world champion for the third time?
Alexander asked that same question to open the show. Bully’s answer was about legacy. He’s a two-time TNA world champion, multi-time tag team champion across several companies, and two-time Hall of Famer. Along the way, Bully has stabbed so many people in the back to achieve his goals. Bully has done it all in his career. But now, he wants to do it right. Bully wants to win the Impact World Championship honorably.
Nobody has a good thing to say about Bully. He doesn’t want his legacy to end that way. Bully is going to cash-in without any tricks. He will do it straight up. Alexander will be able to see Bully coming a mile away.
The segment continued with Steve Maclin, Moose, and Bobby Fish all bashing Bully Ray’s scumbag tactics. The message was not to trust anything Bully says. They all had a motive in their criticism in angling for a title shot of their own. Scott D’Amore and Tommy Dreamer didn’t necessarily have a dog in this race, and they also criticized Bully’s past in separate backstage scenes. Even wrestlers Alexander never met have sent texts warning him not to trust Bully.
D’Amore advised Alexander not to get cozy with Bully. Impact brought Bully back, because the company believes in giving people a second and third chance. Giving opportunities is a guiding principle for Impact. That said, D’Amore warned Alexander to keep his head on a swivel to be ready for Bully.
Dreamer approached Bully looking for answers. Dreamer has Bully’s back as longtime friends, but he asked that Bully doesn’t make him look a fool. Dreamer knows that Bully changes when gold is on his mind. Bully assured Dreamer that his motives were legit. He never made Dreamer look like a fool, and he’s not going to start now. As a friend, don’t doubt Bully. Dreamer suggested a tag team bout for good times’ sake. Bully accepted with an amusing team name, the fat and the furious.
Dreamer and Bully already have opponents for next week. Bullet Club’s Ace Austin and Chris Bey, with Juice Robinson by their side, want a piece of the extreme icons.
Bully Ray has a very dirty history in Impact. Credit to Impact for not brushing that under the rug and acknowledging the past. Bully’s desire to shed his scumbag image is an interesting wrinkle to this story. This is a man who pulled a long con to mastermind the infamous Aces & Eights motorcycle gang. That’s not even the worst of Bully’s dastardly deeds perpetrated throughout his career. People tend to reflect on their own past differently as the years pass, so Bully’s redemption is a believable path. It is appearing that this road will be a hard walk. With everyone doubting him straight to his face, it would be tempting for Bully to take the easy way out and screw Alexander. Time will tell if Bully is sincere in rehabbing his image.
Do you trust Bully Ray?
