Bully Ray Says He Needs To See 'More Passion' From This WWE Star

As it stands, IYO SKY is slated to defend the WWE Women's World Championship against Bianca Belair, and only Belair, at WrestleMania 41. Still, that hasn't stopped Rhea Ripley, the former champion, from physically and noisily trying to insert herself into this title match. According to WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, this development has brought a spotlight to Belair and Ripley. Meanwhile, SKY appears to be on the outs.

"IYO has good matches, but I just need to see more out of IYO," Ray said on "Busted Open Radio." "I need to see more passion out of IYO. Need to see more fight out of IYO. And right now, IYO does feel like the third wheel here, despite being the champion. I have a lot of faith in these ladies that they're going to tear the house down at WrestleMania, but last week didn't do it for me, and this week I kind of found myself disinterested."

On the March 24 episode of "WWE Raw," SKY, Belair, and Ripley all confronted "Raw" General Manager Adam Pearce about their WrestleMania futures. Ultimately, Pearce ordered a rematch between Ripley and SKY for March 31, with Belair as the special guest referee and its winner putting the title on the line against her at WrestleMania.

In the eyes of Ray, this rematch, which resulted in a double disqualification, didn't quite spark the energy he had hoped for. Similarly, Ray felt the physical interactions between Ripley, SKY, and Belair on March 24 didn't live up to their potential. "Last week, the women had that three-way beatdown or battle [after the meeting with Pearce] with everything being so spotty and choreographed," he said. "I hate to have to say this, but it's just the truth, it doesn't come across as genuine and real to me."

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.