Bully Ray Gets Candid About AEW All In Backstage Footage
This past Wednesday on "AEW Dynamite," the company aired security footage of a backstage altercation between former AEW star CM Punk and Jack Perry, who is still on the promotion's roster. The decision was a controversial one, and speaking on "Busted Open Radio," Bully Ray shared his belief that it was a mistake.
"All this build-up for this backstage footage," Bully started. "I'm gonna get something out of the way first — anything I say on tonight's show has absolutely zero to do with the locker room and the talent in AEW, unless it was the talent who decided it was a good idea to run this footage. Even [Tony] Schiavone looked disgusted."
After seeing Wednesday's episode of "Dynamite," Bully said that he still isn't sure what playing the footage accomplished for AEW. The events seem to line up with Punk's version of the altercation as told last week, though the lack of audio adds some ambiguity to the situation. Despite that, Bully said that it was clear there was no need for Tony Khan to fear for his life, as he claimed on TV last year following Punk's termination.
'This Company Needs Help'
The WWE Hall of Famer stated that he hoped, at the very least, that the promotion was able to improve the TV rating for this week's "Dynamite." Bully's hopes wound up coming true, with "Dynamite" rising to 819,000 total viewers on average and a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
"This company needs help," Bully continued. "At this point, I hope even you diehards realize that. There are lots of people who want to help. I've gone on record to say I would help for free, and if you think that's me politicking for a job when I just performed in front of 72,000 people as a special guest referee, you're out of your f***ing mind."
Bully then said that the wrestling industry has been very good to him over the years, and he is always happy to give back by offering his advice. When all is said and done, the former ECW star wants to see AEW succeed, as it's in the best interests of all professional wrestlers to have another significant platform to perform on.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.