According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer claims that Ring of Honor has chosen to let Bully Ray‘s contract expire and have not offered a renewal due to the pandemic. Under the current situation, according to the report, any lapsed contracts will not be renewed until ROH can re-assess following the COVID pandemic’s impact on the company and industry.
The Wrestler Formerly Known as Bubba Ray Dudley joined ROH in 2017 following a two-year return to WWE that saw The Dudley Boyz return to the WWE Universe in 2015 after 10 years away from the company. During that decade away, both Dudleyz worked for TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, with Bubba becoming Brother Ray while he and Brother Devon became Team 3D. Team 3D won the NWA World Tag Team Titles and were 2x IMPACT World Tag Team Champions during their decade with TNA, which also saw them work NJPW as part of an alliance in the mid-to-late 2000s. During this time, Team 3D also became 2x IWGP Tag Team Champions. In 2010, he embarked on a singles career in TNA, know renamed to Bully Ray, and over the next few years became a main event player and 2x TNA World Heavyweight Champion, while leading his own faction, Aces & Eights. Both Bully and Devon left TNA following Bound for Glory in October of 2014, returning to WWE the following summer.
Bully Ray returned as a character in ROH in early 2017, initially as an ally of The Briscoes, but behind the scenes, over the years, he rose to a position of prominence in the company, working as a producer and in creative, as well as being head of the ROH Women of Honor division. This past January, Bully Ray lost his position as head of the women’s division to Jonathan Gresham, and last appeared for ROH on-camera at ROH Gateway to Honor this past February.
Speaking of IMPACT Wrestling, Bully Ray’s picture was heavily seen in the last update of the free agents video package hyping Slammiversary on July 18, and recently IMPACT – and D’Lo Brown – have been teasing the return of Aces & Eights, particularly with former member Luke Gallows potentially returning with longtime tag team partner Karl Anderson. Will Bully Ray return to the company where he was formerly World Champion and bring back his gang? We’ll have to wait until July 18 to find out!
Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
