Bully Ray (@BullyRay5150) is a professional wrestler known for his time in WWE, ECW, NWA and IMPACT Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018 as part of the Dudley Boyz tag team with his partner D-Von Dudley. He joins Chris Van Vliet at Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to talk about his career that has spanned 30+ years in professional wrestling, how he is currently working as a hell in Impact Wrestling and as a babyface in NWA, his thoughts on Roman Reigns in WWE, why MJF is the biggest heel in the business, how Mae Young being powerbombed through a table helped to put the Dudleyz over, what the idea of “heel heat” means to him, why he likes to keep people on their toes, his goals in Impact Wrestling and much more!
On a possible Dudley Boyz reunion:
“Physically I don’t think so because I don’t think that D-Von can do it anymore, we’ve had the conversation. And for the world to know, because people on social media take things out of context and run with sh*t, it’s ridiculous. [Crosses fingers] Me and Devon have been like this since day 1. There has never been an issue with me and Devon. All this sh*t that you like to run with, these clickbait headlines, f*ck off!”
On D-Von wanting to re-sign with WWE and Bully Ray did not:
“That’s true though, but it didn’t cause a divide. I told Vince that I can’t do the Dudley thing anymore. I can’t do this Dudley thing the way that you want to do it, did it for a year. Vince sat me and D-Von down and said here’s what I want you to do. Work with The New Day, help them get over. Work with The Usos, help them get over. Work with The Wyatts, help them get over, and then whoever else we throw at you. You got it, no problem. The boss sat us down, this is how much he is paying us, this is what he needs. Ok, no problem. But after a year of doing it, I’m like ok, I am burnt on The Dudleys, I know I’ve got Bully Ray in the back pocket. I told D-Von upfront, I said listen, I don’t think I am going to re-sign. So we knew all of this. He re-signed and became a producer in the company, an employee in the company. Just recently they parted ways, but he had a great career there as a producer, did very well. It was never any animosity with D-Von, we talk all the time, we have done shows together. We are doing an autograph session in England, we got something coming up at the arena soon. It’s all good.”
On reported heat with D-Von Dudley:
“Zero, Zero, there’s nothing! D-Von said that Bubba has got his school and I’ve got my school. Well yeah, I moved out of Florida. D-Von wanted to do a school on his own, this is just normal stuff that went on. There’s zero heat.”
On MJF:
“People want to talk about Max like oh he is the best heel, but people love to hate Max. When Max comes out for his entrance, there’s a lot of smiling, there’s a lot of people like oh my God, what is he going to say? I can’t wait for the zinger! When Bully comes out, nobody is smiling, there is worry. I love Max to death, I am his biggest supporter and biggest fan, and he knows it. But it would be very easy for Max to go out there to a sea of boos, but also to a standing ovation. If they love you that much then they can’t hate you that much in that moment.”
On not being a good wrestler:
“I am very much a perfectionist when it comes to my business, my livelihood, wrestling, I’ve always been that way. When I say that I am not a very good wrestler, I’m not kidding. So I don’t, a lot of stuff that the guys today do, or the great mat wrestlers, when you think of guys like a Malenko, like a Guerrero, I never had that ability, I never had that skill. What I was good at was the storytelling and the character and the smoke and mirrors and the use of everything else at my disposal to create something that might be more interesting than just a regular wrestling match. So I play to my strengths, I know what my weaknesses are, I try to keep them by my side. That is the beauty of this business, you don’t have to do what you are not good at doing.”
On being one of the best heels in the industry today:
“It goes back to giving my all and investing in what I am doing. If you’re going to hate me, I’m going to be the most hated guy in the entire industry. I don’t think there is another guy, maybe there are 3 or 4 really good heels in wrestling right now, and I would put my name in that group. When I am on my game, I don’t think that there is anyone who can elicit that emotion of hatred, of pure disdain, like I can. You know, some guys go out and the fans “love to hate” them. If people are loving to hate you, then there’s an emotion of joy. When I go out there, nobody loves to hate me, they just f*cking hate me.”
On knowing if the What’s Up spot would get over:
“I knew [it would], D-Von didn’t. D-Von was adamant about not doing it. He was like it is stupid, I’m not doing it. I’m like yes you will. We used to do the diving headbutt into the balls, that was part of our repertoire. Then the Budweiser advert came out with the wazzup, I just said to D-Von when you go up just wait, I’ll do the wazzup, you do it back to me. It’s stupid sh*t that gets over in this business, but it works, and it still works today.”
On putting Mae Young through a table:
“I was very hesitant, because it was an 80 year old woman. But after that first thing and I saw her attitude and everything, I’ve told the story a million times, but I was raring to go. I remember when Vince came to me and he was like I got it, I’ve got how we are going to get people to hate you. You’re going to put a woman through a table. Yeah that’s gonna f*cking work [shakes head]. They love us for it!”
On the Meltzer Driver finisher:
“I would never name a finishing move after a f*cking dirtsheet guy. I’m not kidding about naming the move, Dave is not a dirtsheet guy, I love Dave. I take little shots at the star rankings, but Dave is a bigger worker than any wrestler I know.”
On wanting to be the IMPACT World Champion again:
“If you put the character under a microscope then yes, the goal is to be the champion. But when you look at it from a business point of view, the goal is to utilize the character for everyone and anyone in the company. I look at the entire locker room and I can honestly tell you, Bully Ray can work with anyone in that locker room. Any babyface, I can make that babyface in 5 minutes. You give me 5 minutes with that babyface and they will be made. It’s because of the way that Paul Heyman made me and D-Von. Me and D-Von lost all the time, but he handed me the microphone the next night and said go and get your heat back. Give me this [a microphone], and let me do what I do with this. No matter what, whoever walks out there is going to get a huge pop, because they are just wanting to see them punch me in the mouth and shut me up.”
What is Bully Ray grateful for:
“My friends, my family and the wrestling business.”
