Report: TNA Creative Considering Bully Ray Title Run?

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http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/253021-bully-ray-getting-a-title-run-even-more-on-wmania-28-buys

It's being reported that TNA's creative team feels that Bully Ray is one of the best heels in pro wrestling right now, and have contemplated giving him a World Title run at some point.

Source: The Wrestling Observer

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Honestly, is there a more deserving wrestler in the industry right now besides Bully Ray for a World Title run? I'd have a very tough time believing otherwise. How can you not be impressed with what he's been able to do since the 3-D split? If we went back in time, I'm fairly certain 99.9% of this forum that commented on it would have been echoing the same thing — "keep him and Devon away from a singles push!"

My how the tables have turned...

When you consider the total lack of top-end main event heels in the company right now, why the hell not?
 
I was skiddish in the beginning of the Bully Ray days but I most admit that he has grown on me. But as far as the report goes saying they think he's one of the best heels in wrestling, I won't go that far. He is a good enough heel to carry the strap in TNA, why not give him a shot at it. What they are doing now, in the mindset of ratings and PPV buys is not working so change it up and see if maybe Bully Ray can interest people. There's been worse Champions and they will be more down the road, you have to try different things to get different results. So I am in favor of this title change.
 
When Team 3D first split up the last thing I wanted to see was either men as singles wrestlers, but I have to admit that Bully Ray has vastly improved since his rather turgid fued with Brother Devon.

I think Bully Ray is a credible future TNA world heavyweight champion so long as he remains a brutal arrogant and dellusional heel.

However as is the case, appearing to be a credible future world champion and actually being a credible world champion are different things. Robert Roode is a classic example of how a good idea can go horribly wrong, ad that's not so much down to the wrestler as it is the people who decide how that wrestler will keep his title.

Time will tell if or when Bully Ray wins the big one. I believe he'll be the heel to take the belt off of James Storm not long after Lockdown, maybe Slammiversary, before dropping it back to the Cowboy or a newly face turned Robert Roode at Bound For Glory - but with TNA's annoying nepotism he could well drop it to Garrett Bischoff!
 
Bully Ray with the world title was honestly one of the last things I ever expected to see but his heel run has made me think otherwise. He's been brilliant in his role and if Storm doesn't win the title at Lockdown, Ray seems to be the only viable alternative I can think of (besides Hardy). The history is already set between Roode and Ray with Ray always taking bullets for Roode. It's not exactly far-fetched for them to feud over the belt. Ray with the title belt would be pretty interesting. As you said, IDR. Not much main event talent at the moment, so why not?
 
TNA has finally gotten something 100% right...Bully Ray is the best heel working pro wrestling today. When Devon and Ray first split in TNA, i never would have thought that either was going to be successful as a singles competitor. But once Brother Ray became Bully Ray, you could see he knew it was his big chance, maybe last big chance, to make it as a singles competitor. He created a great heel persona, and really cut his teeth as TNA"s best heel in his feud with AJ Styles. All the while, you could see him getting in the best shape of his life. Long gone is the overweight, out of breath Bully Ray, replaced by Calfzilla.

I honestly think one of the reasons Bobby Roode was able to get over as a heel is that TNA was smart enough to pair him Bully Ray. Ray can get heat in almost any feud, any environment, and anybody they pair him with is going to get the rub.

For that alone, in helping to establish Roode, someone TNA obviously was desperate to try and get over as their next big thing, he deserves a run with the title. Just please, no World Title feuds with Devon...
 
im very happy to hear this bully ray is 1 of the hardest working men right now in impact wrestling and hes improved a ton in ring wise sense going solo looks like this might be james storm's first fued after he beats bobby roode sunday and then beats him in there rematch whenever that takes place.
 
When team 3-D first broke up I figured both would fail as singles stars and fast, but damn Bully Ray proved me wrong. He is consistently the most entertaining part of impact each week, and is up there with the top heels in the business if not the number one. I would love to see him as TNA world champ and I think he deserves it as well.
 
I really hope they do this. Even if only for a short time to test the waters. He is best heel they have in the whole company. No matter what they do I just can't get into Bobby Roode as a heel champion. Best move is for Ray to get fed up with being Roode's lackey and go after the title, perhaps teasing a face turn but doing something really heinous to Storm or AJ to make it all happen. Then you could have the ex fourtune guys all after the belt but also fighting each other along the way.
 
When team 3-D first broke up I figured both would fail as singles stars and fast, but damn Bully Ray proved me wrong. He is consistently the most entertaining part of impact each week, and is up there with the top heels in the business if not the number one. I would love to see him as TNA world champ and I think he deserves it as well.

I agree. I actually find him more entertaining on the mic than Roode.

I haven't really watched a TNA show from start to finish over the last few months, but a Bully Ray title win will definitely make me tune in again.
 
How it has taken a report like that, this long to surface is baffling. Could have told you he was one of the best heels in wrestling back after he finished feuding with AJ Styles.

Bubba Dudley was known as the guy who would shout, "get the tables!" He was known as the large man in one of the worlds greatest and most accomplished tag teams. Very rarely do teams that have been together as long as The Dudley's split up and derive any success, but one of the biggest success stories of the past ten months is Bully Ray, because that's what he is known as now, Bubba Dudley is a forgotten thing of the past.

He took his strengths and applied them. He is big, he's mean, he's angry and most of all, he is one of the best talkers on the stick you can find in wrestling today. Determined and loud the dude has blazed his way up the ranks in TNA, right now, alongside Bobby Roode no heel in the industry comes to mind that is as good as those two. Bully Ray needs the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, if TNA were to do anything they need to give him a reign, even if it is to simply cap off what in essence is a great story, just give the dude the belt. Deserves it, ten-fold.
 
Who would have thought this was possible the last year or so? Not this guy, that's for sure. Bully Ray has done an absolute stellar job in perfecting his character and becoming something special in TNA. I questioned him as a singles star when it first got start and I'm certainly glad I was wrong. Bully Ray has been one of my favorite things in TNA behind Aries, Storm, and EY. I find myself enjoying his segments each week and who doesn't love Calfzilla. I'd love for a Storm/Ray feud post Lockdown once the Storm/Roode feud cools down. I tend to agree that he is the best heel in the business today and I'd be a-ok with him getting a run with the championship. He is certainly deserving, that's for sure.
 
Poor Bobby Roode! His failure to catch on isn't even his own fault. It's the effects of TNA rushing his build-up to main event status. Rather than immediately pushing him into the main event, he should have spent a year carrying the TV title, working some angles there with James Storm, and THEN moved with his former partner into the main event scene, ultimately feuding over the World heavyweight championship.

Unfortunately, that's not the route they took, and it's worked against him. He's had what will ultimately be recalled as a lackluster tenure as TNA World Heavyweight champion. Ideally, he'll have a future opportunity to prove himself. He's certainly deserving. Sometimes, it just takes a while for audiences to warm up to and accept a performer as both credible and championship worthy.

See, for example, the evolution of Bully Ray. Whereas TNA rushed Roode into the title scene, dropping the big strap on him far too quickly, the company has allowed Bully a slow build to a full boil. And, boy, is he ever!

One great match, amazing promo and shady victory at a time, he's moved slowly up the TNA totem pole. For some who saw his potential shortly after the split of Team 3D, it might seem to have taken an infuriately long time, but I believe it is quite possibly the only thing TNA has done perfectly in the last year!

A legendary tag team doesn't generally break up and immediately give way to a tremendous solo superstar. People have to reacquaint themselves with the performer, shift their perspective and begin to believe he can make it on his own. (This is what TNA did not allow to happen with Roode!)

Look how long it took Bret "The Hitman" Hart to move from one-half of The Hart Foundation into being a bona fide singles mega star and believable World Heavyweight contender and, eventually, Champion. That is that exact blueprint TNA should have followed for Roode. Instead, they rushed him quickly into the main event, and people are rejecting him.

On the other hand, Bully Ray has been able to formulate a solid, believable character. He's amassed enough solo success that people have started to not just accept him as a World title contender but demand it. Rather than forcing the idea onto audiences, audiences are forcing it onto the company!

When the time comes, Bully Ray is more than up to the challenge! He is an outstanding worker, ridiculously over with the crowd and delivers a fantastic promo. It's not whether a run with the gold is warranted, it's how best to transition him into that spot without losing the momentum he's built -- basically through his own efforts -- over the last year.

As I said, he's nearly the only thing I think TNA's done "just right" in a long time. I'd hate for them to fumble the ball at the most crucial of times!
 
With all of the "TNA is full of WWE midcarders who phone it in" stuff (a lot of which i agree with) Bubba decided that he would work REALLY hard to both develop his character, become a better worker (he was never the best wrestler, but he's worked out hard and gotten in good shape, and really got down the Power wrestling/Brawling stuff down) and for the most part put over the up and comers/TNA main stays, with people like Anderson/Hardy etc Bubba has been a fucking god send in that company and is still a REAL joy to watch.

So yeah, as long as it doesn't fuck up he Roode/Storm Story line, he deserves the belt tbh.
 
I actually disagree with what some people have said about not liking Roode's run with the belt. I think it's gathered momentum and, with the help of Bully Ray, he's now a really good heel. People want to see him get his arse kicked and that's the way it should be. I'd rather him have the belt than Storm. I find Storm a lot less interesting than Roode. "The price of gas is too high", "I drink a lot of beer", "Where I come from (insert male working class statement here)", "Well let me tell you something Bobby Roooo".

Anyways, on topic, I've been saying Bully Ray was one of the best heels around for a long time now. I didn't want him to have a singles push but he's proved myself and a lot of other people wrong. Being a Heyman guy, he was always going to be able to pull off this loud ******** gimmick on the mic. But it's his physical condition that surprised me. He's actually worked hard. There's people less successful and younger than him who just phone it in every night (hello Mr Anderson) but he actually worked hard to get himself in shape. Much harder than James Storm worked anyway for his big singles push. He's supposed to be a deserving, hungry young guy but he looks like fat Shawn Michaels in speedos and gets winded after 3 minutes. Anyway, Bully's match with Aj Styles from last year was great, and he's done some other decent in-ring stuff too. I like Bully Ray and he could be a good person to take the title from Storm (if he wins at the PPV) and hold it for a short period of time before dropping it to Storm again or some other face.

What I was disappointed about is that they seem to have just dropped this Bully Ray/Austin Aries feud they had going. I was hoping it would lead to a one on one match in the cage. Although they are on opposing teams in the stupid Bitchoff thing so maybe it'll be picked up there.
 
I think Bully Ray is gonna get the title at some point this year. He's neck and neck as the top heel in TNA next to Roode, but better on the mic. In fact, if James Storm gets the belt at Lockdown, you can bet that Bully is gonna be gunning for him. Take into account how in previous weeks Storm has beaten him at least twice in #1 contender matches and flat out embarrassed him (i.e. Brandon Jacobs incident). I can see Bully stealing a victory against Storm and hold the title for a few months. I say give it to him.
 
Can you say, "BULLY RAY TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION" 10x fast? Not a bad choice for a title run, would be an enjoyment to against the likes of Styles, Storm, Roode, and maybe even the recent return of RVD. That can expand through a course of a year and there after.

Not bad TNA. Not bad at all.

TNA presents: LOCKDOWN LIVE THIS SUNDAY IN NASHVILLE,TN.
 
Poor Bobby Roode! His failure to catch on isn't even his own fault. It's the effects of TNA rushing his build-up to main event status. Rather than immediately pushing him into the main event, he should have spent a year carrying the TV title, working some angles there with James Storm, and THEN moved with his former partner into the main event scene, ultimately feuding over the World heavyweight championship.

Unfortunately, that's not the route they took, and it's worked against him. He's had what will ultimately be recalled as a lackluster tenure as TNA World Heavyweight champion. Ideally, he'll have a future opportunity to prove himself. He's certainly deserving. Sometimes, it just takes a while for audiences to warm up to and accept a performer as both credible and championship worthy.

See, for example, the evolution of Bully Ray. Whereas TNA rushed Roode into the title scene, dropping the big strap on him far too quickly, the company has allowed Bully a slow build to a full boil. And, boy, is he ever!

One great match, amazing promo and shady victory at a time, he's moved slowly up the TNA totem pole. For some who saw his potential shortly after the split of Team 3D, it might seem to have taken an infuriately long time, but I believe it is quite possibly the only thing TNA has done perfectly in the last year!

A legendary tag team doesn't generally break up and immediately give way to a tremendous solo superstar. People have to reacquaint themselves with the performer, shift their perspective and begin to believe he can make it on his own. (This is what TNA did not allow to happen with Roode!)

Look how long it took Bret "The Hitman" Hart to move from one-half of The Hart Foundation into being a bona fide singles mega star and believable World Heavyweight contender and, eventually, Champion. That is that exact blueprint TNA should have followed for Roode. Instead, they rushed him quickly into the main event, and people are rejecting him.

On the other hand, Bully Ray has been able to formulate a solid, believable character. He's amassed enough solo success that people have started to not just accept him as a World title contender but demand it. Rather than forcing the idea onto audiences, audiences are forcing it onto the company!

When the time comes, Bully Ray is more than up to the challenge! He is an outstanding worker, ridiculously over with the crowd and delivers a fantastic promo. It's not whether a run with the gold is warranted, it's how best to transition him into that spot without losing the momentum he's built -- basically through his own efforts -- over the last year.

As I said, he's nearly the only thing I think TNA's done "just right" in a long time. I'd hate for them to fumble the ball at the most crucial of times!

What are you talking about? Bobby Roode has been the best World champion of the last 5 years and that includes all wrestling feds. The WWF made Bret Hart champ when he won the belt in a house show! If anything some would say that is the reason Bret was not more successful as champ.

TNA is considering Bully Ray champ not because Roode failed but because Bully has been good in his role and you have to think a contengency plan if Storm fails as babyface champ.

But Bully Ray, sure he's a great heel but he can't wrestle for shit. He's got a boring moveset and that can't be sustainable for a long run. Roode has been a great heel but people have been able to accept him as champ because they kind of admire him, he delivers great matchs. Sort of like when Ric Flair was champ in the 80s. But Bully Ray other than the crowd hating him, there nothing more to it. They could have find creative ways to have beat people with chains but that would get old. The only way they could make it work would be if he's a transitional champ like JBL was in the WWE.
 
Calfzilla, The Bully of TNA, Bully Ray as the next TNA World Heavyweight Champion, I love it, at least with Bully holding the title he will make a credible heel champion especially as a monster heel champion
 
I think down the line he should get a 2-3 month run. Reward him for all the work he has done for TNA and the wrestling business. Hated his character at first but then it just started to click.

My only hope is they wait a little while. I really like Roode as the top heel champion right now. I think he is the most capable at the moment. I would really enjoy a nice long Roode/Storm feud, since its been months in the making just haven't quite got there until lockdown. But I think after a few PPV's id have Storm win the title then defend against Roode again then maybe feud with one other guy like Crimson or idk some heel besides Ray. Then finally have Ray beat Storm after Storm has a credible reign this time around.
 

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