TNA: The Evolution Of Bully Ray
BULLY RAY - TNA, 2010 - Present http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8rzjAg0CiA When Bully Ray emerged from his feud with his ex tag team partner and half brother it was unclear how he'd be utilised by TNA. He was still somewhat overweight and getting on in year so it was unlikely he'd be used as a main eventer. Then something happened. Something nobody saw coming. LaMonaco hit the gym big time and got himself in fantastic physical shape - the best of his career and started to produce some of the best singles matches on TNA television. The Bully character was on the rise. Bully Ray continued to build himself as a top heel joining forces with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff's Immortal and feuding with the likes of Sting and AJ Styles on a weekly basis. As each week passed it became clear that Bully would make a welcomed addition to the TNA upper echelon and a main event run seemed obvious right up until late 2012 when his white hot heel run was derailed somewhat by the now notorious Aces & 8s angle which saw him in the awkward position of a default babyface for the first time since splitting with D-Von. After 'clearing his name' as a member of the rebel faction Ray again aligned with Hogan and battled the masked villains. When D-Von was revealed as a member it seemed odd to watch Bully and D-Von going to war in opposite roles - almost unbelievable in truth as Bully is the more natural and obvious choice for the heel role. In recent week's Bully has been watered down far too much now playing the role of TNA's Triple H as he becomes involved with Hogan's daughter Brooke and is now the top defender of TNA, quite the turnaround for the guy who should have been a top heel world champion. And then at last night's Lockdown PPV after months of building up his fan base as the loyal son in law of Hulk Hogan Bully finally turned heel. "You dumb bitch" he screamed at Hogan's daughter as his true colours came to light. Sure many of us called it from the of but for the fans in attendance who launched garbage towards the ring it came as a massive surprise to see Bully reunited with his brother as the leader of Aces & 8s. Now it's up to TNA to stick with perhaps the best heel in the business (with the exception maybe of CM Punk) and allow him to take the ball and run with it. Bully is more important to TNA than Jeff Hardy. If given the chance to shine he will draw more money than Hardy. And after 20 years in the business as a tag team wrestler longing to be a singles champion we're confident that Bully Ray will be sitting pretty as TNA World Champion for a very, very long time.