Was a former WWE Superstar's son losing in his AEW debut on Dynamite a mistake? Bully Ray's honest verdict
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray reflects on a wrestling legend's son losing his debut match against Swerve Strickland on AEW Dynamite this week.
On the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite, late former WWE wrestler Buddy Wayne's son Nick Wayne made his highly anticipated in-ring debut. The 18-year-old made fought his first ever All Elite match against Swerve Strickland.
After an amazing back-and-forth encounter, fans were stunned when Wayne failed to capture the victory in his debut match. Nonetheless, wrestling veteran Bully Ray defended the decision of the 18-year-old losing his first bout while speaking on the Busted Open podcast.
"But the part of the match that I loved the most was the finish, not the actual finishing maneuver but the finish of the one, two, three. Nick Wayne lost his first match, there's a line from an Aerosmith song, the name of the song is 'Dream on' that says, "you gotta learn how to lose before you learn how to win," and the same applies for pro wrestling. Lose, lose, lose, and lose again until it's the right time for that first victory, earn that first victory."
Ray explained how fans are emotionally invested in Wayne:
"We're already emotionally invested in Nick Wayne, he has one hell of a story, so he doesn't have to win and him losing every time he goes out there we're gonna get more and more behind him. So I thought it was a very wise decision on AEW's part to have Nick Wayne lose that first match," Bully Ray stated. [From 03:32 to 05:09]
Bully Ray has a lot of praises for the young Nick Wayne
Legendary WWE Tag Team Champion Bully Ray seems to be very fond of the young 18-year-old boy, as he described that the moment on Dynamite that stood out for him the most was Wayne's debut match and the vignette before the match to hype up his debut.
"I think I am gonna give the spotlight to the young, 18-year-old kid, Nick Wayne. We saw Nick Wayne in a video package, a vignette then we saw Nick Wayne's first match tonight against Swerve Strickland. I really liked the package that we saw, the story that he told, the very real-life story about his dad passing away, him wanting to follow in his dad's footsteps. He wants to walk in his footsteps and he wants to become a wrestling star. Later on, we got a good to great first match from Nick Wayne putting it there with Swerve helped him a lot Swerve familiar with a Nick Wayne-esque style." [From 02:21 to 03:31]
Moreover, there is a long road ahead for the 18-year-old as he has the opportunity to be in the ring with some of the best in the business during his time with Jacksonville-based promotion.
What are your thoughts on the debut of Nick Wayne? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit the Busted Open podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.