Bully Ray Says AEW All Out Plastic Bag Spot Reminded Him Of Two Wrestling Legends

AEW took things to uncomfortable levels at All Out in Chicago. One moment saw Jon Moxley choke Bryan Danielson with a plastic bag, recycling a 35-year-old spot so controversial that most assumed it would never be seen again. 

On "Busted Open Radio," Bully Ray shared what was going through his mind as he watched Moxley betray his friend after the AEW World Championship match.

"The first thing that came to mind was Terry Funk and Ric Flair," Bully said. "How do you not think about that? Because Terry Funk and Ric Flair, to my knowledge, were the first and only people to do it. The implication was very violent."

The original plastic bag incident took place at Clash of the Champions VIII, airing on September 12, 1989, during a tag team match featuring Sting and Ric Flair against Dick Slater and the Great Muta. Funk ambushed Flair mid-match, suffocating him with the plastic bag. The backlash was fierce, and Funk was briefly fired, with TBS reportedly considering nixing WCW from its broadcast lineup altogether. 

AEW's more casual approach to violence, particularly in contrast to WWE, led Ray to reflect on Vince McMahon's edict on weapon usage in the WWE.

"Vince did not want any weapons used that could be deemed regular household items. Vince didn't want a child to be able to watch 'Monday Night Raw' or 'Smackdown' or any WWE programming and see them use a weapon they could find in their house and go use on their little brother, their little sister, or somebody at school. So I could see somebody who may be allowed their children to watch AEW who'd be like, 'I'm upset because my 10-year-old saw the plastic bag spot and then immediately went into the kitchen and took a plastic bag and put it over his brother's head,'" recalled Ray.