Bully Ray Assesses 'Real Tears' & Validation He Saw From CM Punk On WWE SmackDown

Friday's edition of "WWE SmackDown" continued the build-up to WWE WrestleMania 41 with a contract signing between CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins, including confirmation that their Triple Threat will serve as the main event of one show. Upon being told that news by Paul Heyman, Punk grew visibly emotional, and a recent "Busted Open Radio" featured Bully Ray sharing his thoughts on the exchange.

"You really think the welling up [of] tears in his eyes is because CM Punk is some great actor?" Bully asked. "Him and Paul Heyman are very close, alright? ... Whether it was discussed beforehand or not, [he had] Paul on his knees right next to him, saying basically, 'You did it. You did it your way.'"

Bully then stated that he relates to Punk's rebellious attitude and can appreciate that the wrestler wanted to work his way up to the WrestleMania main event on his own terms. For that reason, he believes that Punk's emotion was genuine.

"Those are real tears," Bully said. "Those are his validation tears, meaning, 'Holy s**t. I know this is predetermined sports entertainment, we're out here to do our thing, but yeah. I'm in the main event of WrestleMania.'"

Although Bully stated that he almost always ensures he doesn't get emotional when it comes to wrestling, the importance of the WrestleMania main event is one of the few topics that can stir something up inside of him. He believes that Punk sees it as validation for his career, and it resulted in a moment of reality amid all the theater and spectacle of pro wrestling.

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.