51-year-old legend says he refused to re-sign with WWE after Vince McMahon turned him into an enhancement talent
Vince McMahon had the power to make or break a superstar's career. While, he didn't exactly break anybody, he arguably tarnished the legacy of an all-time great tag team, The Dudley Boyz. Bully Ray recounted his conversation with Vince McMahon and what was asked of him. The former Tag Team Champion even spoke about why he didn't re-sign with WWE in 2016.
The Dudley Boyz returned to feud with The New Day on the RAW after SummerSlam 2015 and said goodbye a year later on the RAW after SummerSlam 2016 - ending their legendary run together for good. While D-Von Dudley has stepped away from his in-ring career, Bully Ray continues to perform at a high level. He recently fell short of grabbing the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship from Josh Alexander in a Full Metal Mayhem Match.
On the latest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Bully Ray recalled a conversation with Vince McMahon. The Boss essentially asked Ray to put over everybody he faced. He admitted to being burned out after becoming an enhancement talent and explained that it caused him to part ways with WWE and D-Von Dudley:
"I told Vince I couldn't do the Dudley thing the way he wanted it. We did it for a year. Vince sat me and D-Von and said, 'Here's what I want you to do. Work with The New Day, help them get over. Work with The Usos, help them get over. Work with Wyatts, help them get over. And then whoever else we throw at you'. Okay, you got it, no problem. The boss sat us down. This is how much he's paying us. This is what he needs. You got it, but after a year of doing it – okay, I'm burned out on The Dudleys and I know I got Bully Ray in my back pocket."
Bully Ray also spoke about the conversation he had with D-Von:
"I told D-Von upfront – 'I don't think I'm going to re-sign'. So we knew all this. He re-signed and became a producer with the company, an employee with the company. And just recently, they parted ways and D-Von had a great career there as a producer and did very well there."(32:09-33:00)
Bully Ray admitted that Vince McMahon was difficult to work with creatively
The chair poke of doom courtesy of @bullyray5150 . @IMPACTWRESTLING #NoSurrender captured perfectly by @Beezzzzy https://t.co/xRnKgoYOO1
Bully Ray never gave the impression of somebody who was intimidated by Vince McMahon. However, he admitted on Busted Open Radio in 2021 about why he couldn't work with Vince McMahon creatively:
"I have to let people know it's a very difficult job being a part of WWE creative because answering to Vince can be very difficult at times. And doing things the way Vince wants to do – listen, it's still his bat, his ball, his company and his vision. But I don't have that same vision."
This doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility and certainly sounds like a fair reason why Bully Ray hasn't returned to WWE.
If you take any quotes from this article, please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling, Busted Open Radio, and Insight with Chris Van Vliet .