Bully Ray has reflected on the time a WWE Enhancement Talent took his money for training, but only told him what he wanted to hear, leaving him feeling short-changed.
Throughout his three-decade career, Bully Ray has been seen as no-nonsense both in the ring and outside of it. It is an attitude he also brings to his wrestling school, 3D Academy, where he is brutally honest about the business with his students, even if it might chase them away.
Speaking on Busted Open, he explained that this is because he never wants to have a student who will turn around and say he was just telling them what they wanted to hear rather than offering honest criticism.
“I say things to guys and gals day one that actually might chase them away. I want to give them full disclosure upfront. I don’t want them to turn around after three months, six months, a year and say ‘Bubba never told me that, he just told me what I wanted to hear.”
The WWE Hall of Famer says that he does this because of a time early in his career when a WWE enhancement talent once told him what he wanted to hear during training, and he has felt cheated ever since.
“I had somebody tell me what I wanted to hear the first day I ever signed up for wrestling school. They just took my money. I felt very cheated. To this day, I still hold a little bit of a grudge against that person who stole my money.”
Despite the rocky start, Bully Ray went on to have a hugely successful career, most notably as part of The Dudley Boyz tag team alongside D-Von Dudley. Over the course of their career, the two became one of the most decorated tag teams in wrestling history, winning tag titles all over the world including in WWE, TNA, ECW, and NJPW.
Bully Ray also won several singles titles, most notably the TNA World Heavyweight Championship which he held on two ocassions.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Busted Open and give an H/T to Inside The Ropes for the transcription.