A ray of sunshine at TNA Towers

This week saw the second induction (or at least intended induction) into the TNA Hall of Fame. Kurt Angle declined to join the Hall of Fame this weekend but will surely go in at some point in the near future for real.

When he does, it will be well deserved, as there is no active wrestler who deserves the recognition more than Kurt. He has put his body on the line (and over it) on too many occasions to remember. He has been involved in some of the best matches ever in WWE and TNA.

Heel or face, he has always been a crowd favourite and been able to carry whatever wrestler he has faced. Highly decorated and supremely intense when called for, he is everything a pro wrestler should be and then a little more. However, where is the next Kurt Angle coming from?

Now I am not going to start this article with the bold statement that Bully Ray is that man. However, at the moment, there are few better than him at what he does and if TNA is still going in a few years’ time, I can’t imagine Bully Ray not being inducted.

Over the last 3 years, is there any wrestler who has progressively got better than Bully? If we rewind those 3 years, Bully was just really starting out on his singles journey. Up to that point, he was known as one half of the Dudley Boys, with his brother Devon.

His career as a tag team was about as good as it gets - he was in numerous high profile feuds (for example the Hardyz, Edge and Christian to name two) and is one of the most, if not the most, decorated tag champion of all time, having amassed Tag Championships in not only Japan but ECW, WCW, TNA and WWE.

Continued here - http://wrestletalk.tv/development/A_Ray_of_Sunshine_at_TNA_Towers/

Wow you've really put Ray on a pedestal there pal. Whilst I don't disagree that his rise to being a top main event heel has been impressive I'm not sure I agree with putting him in a bracket with someone of Kurt Angle's pedigree. He's only really peaked over the last 12 months, Kurt Angle has peaked for 12 years. If in 2 or 3 years time Bully has sustained his status as a top main eventer then your case may well be justified but as for now I think there are more deserving guys of the accolade.

AJ Styles and Samoa Joe would be my picks ahead of Ray.

Just for the record, I believe that Kurt Angle is the greatest ever pro wrestler.

I dont truly think that he is anywhere near that level but I do believe that he is the best heel in the business at the moment and the biggest asset that TNA has.

If he can continue his solo career like it has been, for at least another year, then I do believe that his run, combined with the tag champiosnhips he has accumulated, should put him in the elite bracket.

Tag wrestlers dont get the credit they deserve.

First off, I'm reliably informed that TNA have downsized their headquarters from TNA Towers to currently having to make do with a portacabin  

I think Bully Ray's been an absolute revelation since they split Team 3D but it's still too soon to be mentioning him in the same breath as someone like Kurt Angle. As Mr H said Kurt's been delivering for over 12 years now whilst Bully Ray has only really delivered (as a singles wrestler) in the last 12 - 18 months.

He's managed to carry the Aces & Eights storyline admirably despite his faction being lumbered with an uninspiring collection of wrestlers, although where he goes after his feud with AJ Styles and A & 8's have run their course is up for debate. Will he hang around the main event scene or drift back down the card? More to the point will he be able to rise above the chaos in TNA and avoid the nonsensical booking decisions that plague the company? Time will tell on that front.

Ray deserves credit for managing to reinvent himself at this stage of his career and becoming a player in TNA, and if he remains at the top of the card for another year or two then he deserves all the plaudits that will surely come his way.

How many good matches has Bully had in the last 12-18 months? Whilst he is a brilliant heel on the mic I can't remember many matches of his that I have actually enjoyed.

His pace is so slow that every match needs to have some sort of No-DQ stip just to try and make it interesting.

I may have forgotten one, but the last matches of his I genuinely enjoyed were the last man standing match with AJ and his match with Aries.

Enforcer wrote:How many good matches has Bully had in the last 12-18 months? Whilst he is a brilliant heel on the mic I can't remember many matches of his that I have actually enjoyed.

His pace is so slow that every match needs to have some sort of No-DQ stip just to try and make it interesting.

I may have forgotten one, but the last matches of his I genuinely enjoyed were the last man standing match with AJ and his match with Aries.

we talked about this on the podcast last night (plug) - I thought his match with Anderson was great and all the matches he had with Aries were very good too.

Nice article. As Jim Bowen used to say (and still says on Challenge) "You can't beat a bit of Bully".

I wouldn't say he's quite ready to become a Hall of Famer just yet, although age-wise he's probably next next in line to wind up his career in the ring.

Come to think of it, there aren't that many oldies in TNA's ranks. Maybe they should just leave the next induction until a few years down the line.

If and when he does join that hallowed elite, I think it'll be more for for the reasons Sting was inducted, for being an amazing and enduring character, rather than for his awesome wrestling skills.

Bully Ray is definitely Hall of Fame material, for me though at this moment in time it should be as one half of the Dudley's or Team 3D as known in TNA

I like Bully, like you say, he does what he does well, he doesn't worry about the big stuff (the wrestling matches) but he gets all the little things right. You can't fault his improvement in the last 3 years and he has excelled as a single Wrestler.

My problem with inducting him on his own would be I don't feel he has had a worthy single career that befits someone being inducted, look at the two guys they choose first, Sting, look at his single career, even if we just limit it to TNA, just look at it, same with Angle, look what he did for the company, still to this day the single biggest signing TNA ever made, compare and contrast, what would Bully Ray need to do in the next 3 years that takes him into that catagory? I think its quite fanciful to think he's either done enough or he's on the right road, I think Abyss, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, James Storm and Christopher Daniels may be higher up the priority list, not just because they are genuine TNA guys but because through their admittedly short history they are more identifiable with the product, they may not be the current flavour of the month but they have the quality and longevity to be seeded about Bully Ray and with his best days behind him (IMO) I can't see that changing.

What has Bully Ray brought to the table? I like him and think his transformation is admirable but what has he really done? He's helped himself no end but has anyone through association with him become more valuable to TNA? Has he improved ticket sales, has the ratings went up? What about PPV buy-rates? Who has went into the ring with him and came out better for it?

All these questions need to be asked and answered when talking about Hall of Fame inductions, particularly if TNA are keeping it so exclusive.

I'd not crap all over it but for me it'd single a major lowering of the bar

The one thing I wanted to say and forgot to on the podcast was that Bully or Bubba is not worthy of singles recognition. You could induct him as part of the Dudleys, especially in WWE considering their ECW allegiances now, but based on WWE work they would come after the Hardys and E&C.

Bully has done a fine job with TNA, but its nothing I dont think could have been replicated by most of their talent, and better in the ring.

Bully has had one big singles run. As leader of one of the worst factions to grace a main event. Feuding mainly with Brooke and Hulk Hogan. With barely a decent match. And TNA's business has got worse.

Hall of Fame? Not before Roode, Styles, Joe or Daniels. And if TNA are still going and havent produced anyone more worthwhile then its a depressing thought to the quality they'll offer.