Bully Ray Comments On Fan Incident At ROH Live Event
Earlier today an individual tweeted out a story about his experience at a Ring of Honor event this past weekend that picked up traction online. According to the individual, he was booing The Allure (Velvet Sky, Angelina Love and Mandy Leon) and exchanging words with the group. At one point the fan said that he was having words with Velvet Sky, and Mandy Leon allegedly spit on him.
"Velvet and I exchange words along with the rest of the Allure. Nothing crazy. Mandy Leon spits on me from the side. Not preferable but I honestly don't care. Segment ends," the fan tweeted, who goes by "xIAMHOLLYWOODx" on Twitter. "Side note. I love and respect like 99% of all wrestlers. I honest to god never try to make the show ABOUT me, get myself over, etc. My rule of thumb is to boo the bad guys and cheer the good guys. It's rare that I'll flip the script but I always decide to go along with the show."
The group would come out again later in the show and another exchange would take place with the fan eventually being brought to the back and spoken to by Bully Ray.
"Suddenly BULLY RAY comes out from a back room. Full on gear since he was in the opening segment of the show and he looks PISSED," the fan continued on Twitter. "Much bigger than me so I'm kinda taking a step back on this here. Security backs off and it's just us two," he wrote. "He said 'hey. I heard there was incident tonight with you and some of the girls' 'Uh... yeah? I guess' *I'm so lost* 'So here's the deal. You're done talking down to them. You need to treat them with respect. Don't be saying anything you wouldn't say to your mom, you got it?!'
"I'm not trying to act tough. I was legit being intimidated with purpose and I wasn't about to get kicked out during match 3 so I just bit the bullet and said 'sure... yes sir... yeah, I understand... yup...' He said 'End of convo. Go be a fan.'"
We reached out to ROH regarding the incident. ROH General Manager Greg Gilleland provided Wrestling Inc. the following statement:
ROH has always taken fan-first approach, with fan experience being at the forefront of all of our live events. We consider this to be very serious and will be conducting an internal review over the next 48 hours to determine the appropriate actions.
Since then, Bully Ray commented on the situation, below is his full statement.
"And now the truth. I could not have been any nicer to said 'fan.' Yes, nice, hard to believe. I never threatened, intimidated or berated said 'fan.' I handled the situation the exact opposite way most would assume, with decorum. [The conversation] lasted less than 30 seconds. I even gave the fan a friendly pat on the back and told him to enjoy the show and 'go be a fan.' His response, 'Thanks Bully.' Fan version of story is embellished to make fan look like a 'victim.'
Many other fans who attended the shows in Kent and Portland have already confirmed on social media how said fan 'cross the line' with multiple talents, both men and women.
In retrospect, the 'fan' should have been ejected.
Unfortunately, it wasn't until after 'fan' was asked to not be 'so rude,' did we find out that severity of the vile comments and lewd sexual gestures made towards the women.
I think we can all agree that in 2019, this type of behavior towards women is unacceptable and goes far beyond the scope of, 'I paid for my seat, I should be able to do or say whatever I want.'
I live by the motto, 'Respectful fans always get what they want. Rude fans always get what they deserve.'
At the end of the day, I'm guilty of defending three women that needed a bit of defending. Not by being a bully, by being a man."
? Bully Ray (@bullyray5150) June 3, 2019