Why Bully Ray Hasn't Been Impressed With Zoey Stark On WWE Main Roster

Bully Ray has been one of Zoey Stark's most vocal supporters over the past year or so. In fact, when "WWE NXT" boss Shawn Michaels appeared on his podcast earlier this year, Ray and Michaels spoke glowingly of Stark's potential and predicted a bright future for the 29-year-old wrestler. 

While Stark has impressed a lot of fans since bursting onto the scene as Trish Stratus' protégé on "WWE Raw," Ray has been surprisingly critical of Stark's work thus far on the main roster.

"In NXT, I really enjoyed Zoey Stark. So far, on the main roster, not so much," Ray said on Busted Open Radio recently. "I feel that her promo and verbiage are extremely forced and that she's trying to memorize her lines. I didn't feel the same way about her in NXT — I felt she was a lot more relaxed and going out there and letting it flow. Now, is it because of the big spotlight of Monday Night Raw? Maybe she's not used to someone from Gorilla telling her to do things? Not sure."

Ray clarified that his criticism of Stark's promo stemmed not from "the exact verbiage" but the manner in which she was delivering her words. "I go by the way things make me feel — the tone, inflection, volume, energy, and personality. I'm actually looking in Zoey's eyes, and watching her memorize stuff." 

While Ray absolved WWE's writing team, he suspects Vince McMahon could be playing a part in her character progression.

"End of the match, when she's sitting atop the ladder – after Becky defeated Chelsea — she's got this mean, 'I'm gonna get you' pro wrestling face on. To me, all of that stuff screams Vince. I will defend Vince on a lot of the great things, but some of the stuff he wants is so over-the-top sometimes." 

Stark, Lynch, and four other women will vie for the women's Money in the Bank briefcase on July 1.