Bully Ray Explains Who's To Blame For AEW's Officiating Issues

As AEW Dynasty came to a close this past Sunday, some fans thought they were watching a rerun. That's because, for the second straight PPV, Dynasty ended with a polarizing Jon Moxley AEW World Championship defense, with Moxley prevailing over Swerve Strickland after the Young Bucks made their return to lay Strickland out. The Bucks' interference came after 30+ minutes of Moxley and Strickland going toe to toe, with run-ins from the likes of Moxley's Death Riders, "Hangman" Adam Page, Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata.

This was a sore spot for many fans and pundits, who have grown tired of Moxley's title defenses ending with a cascade of interference, similar to matches involving the Bloodline in WWE, or the House of Torture in New Japan Pro Wrestling. But Bully Ray is more upset about another part of the main event; the usage of referee Paul Turner. On "Busted Open Radio," the two-time Hall of Famer lamented that Turner looked dumb for allowing Moxley and Strickland to brawl outside the ring without counting them out, or DQing them. He also signaled who's to blame.

"At the end of the day, the true root of the problem is Tony Khan," Bully said. "Tony Khan allows this to go on, because he doesn't care. He does not care about the referees, because referees don't affect your Cagematch ratings, and referees your five star match ratings. And referees don't affect your 'This is awesome!' chants. And that is what Tony Khan likes. 

"Tony Khan is the issue across the board when it comes to referees not adhering to the rules, things not making sense storyline wise, a main event not ending until 12:23 at night, blah blah blah. Now, other than Tony, it's the boys. The boys are putting referees in bad decisions."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription