WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray believes WWE’s current working relationship with TNA Wrestling is providing more “real value” to TNA than AEW’s previous collaboration did. He pointed to the TNA World Championship match between Trick Williams and Mike Santana on the June 3rd WWE NXT as a prime example.
Speaking on Busted Open After Dark, Bully stated, “This was good for TNA. This was good for TNA tonight… This is considerably better, in my eyes, perception-wise, than the relationship that TNA had with AEW.” He contrasted this with the AEW-TNA angle where Kenny Omega won the TNA World Title but “did next to nothing for the brand after that,” and TNA stars “barely got shine on AEW programming.”
Bully praised the crowd investment in the Williams vs. Santana NXT match: “Did you listen to the people tonight?… They were into this match.” He also highlighted its character-driven nature: “…it was a good fight, good-spirited wrestling match.” Bully noted the emotional weight of Santana promising his daughter a win but failing (due to reported interference by AJ Francis and Casey Navarro), stressing the importance of follow-up on TNA television. “If creative is smart, they need to make sure… that they remind the world that they are the ones responsible for Mike Santana not keeping his promise… Because then the heat is on them,” he said. In Bully Ray’s view, this depth and meaningful integration is what sets the WWE-TNA collaboration apart.
H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription
