Source: Poughkeepsie Journal
TNA Wrestling star Bully Ray recently was interviewed by Phil Strum of the Poughkeepsie Journal tp promote next Monday, Dec. 30’s TNA: One Night Only Old School PPV. You can check out some highlights below and the full interview at the link:
PS: To you, what was the feeling like to be able to shock everyone and come out to the ring at HOH 3?
BR: It was great. I came up in a company, ECW, that was really good at shocking people. I think wrestling, across the board, needs that shock and awe feel. I do shock really well as I did in TNA in the last year as the president of Aces and Eights. What I did at House of Hardcore, people were buzzing, the wrestling world was buzzing, the internet was buzzing. It got a ton of hits on YouTube. It’s good for wrestling.
PS: How important is it for companies like TNA to do think outside the box a bit and do things like this. I was talking to Tommy Dreamer about how moments like that really don’t happen anymore.
BR: It’s very important for companies to do things like that. It keeps it interesting for people and it keeps people into wrestling across the board. Nobody really, in wrestling, is knocking them dead right now and selling out every arena. Wrestling is where it is right now. There’s a demographic that will always tune in and always buy merchandise and always buy the shows. But whenever you do something like I did at House of Hardcore, and people go, ‘hey HOH and TNA are working together,’ it’s lightning in a bottle. It’s a spark. TNA is also putting on a loaded card that night that people are going to want to be there in person for.
PS: What were your impressions of HOH as a show? How much of a blast from the past was it to be able to go to that show?
BR: It’s always nice to see the guys you came up with in ECW back in the day. House of Hardcore has been extremely successful so far. Tommy runs a tight ship and knows how to put on a quality show. HOH is a great alternative right now, and I say alternative because it’s something else to watch. There’s not enough different pro wrestling shows out there. In no way, shape or form, is HOH intended to be ECW, but it’s reminiscent.
PS: Why should people come out to see TNA’s pay-per-view in Poughkeepsie?
BR: It’s being filmed for pay-per-view and whenever it’s pay-per-view, the wrestlers perform at a much higher level and the show is that much more important. It’s a stacked card. It’s not your traditional wrestling live event. These aren’t regular wrestling matches. We’ve got Jeff Hardy and Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match. We’ve got Bobby Roode and Cowboy James Storm in a Last Man Standing match, and of course, you’ve got me and Dreamer in a falls-count-anywhere, old-school, street fight. If I am a fan, Mid-Hudson Civic Center is a great place for wrestling and is a great environment. TNA is a fan-friendly company, so you know you’re going to show up and get your autographs. Tickets are not that expensive. Besides, what other wrestling are you going to watch on a Monday night?
