WWE legend reveals Triple H personally invited him to return
A WWE Hall of Famer has shared details of how Triple H texted him about making a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 40. Bully Ray revealed that he didn't need any convincing and that he was instantly impressed by what Hunter pitched to him.
Ray showed up as the Special Guest Referee to officiate the Philadelphia Street Fight between The Final Testament and The Pride. The WWE legend's association with the city goes back to his days in ECW, where he first tasted success.
As expected, the Philadelphia fans in attendance were overjoyed to see Bully Ray make an unannounced appearance. On a recent episode of the NotSam Wrestling podcast, Ray revealed how his WrestleMania 40 return came to be.
The 53-year-old veteran disclosed that he exchanged a few texts with Triple H and was immediately on board with what the company had in store for him.
"Me and Triple H had a brief texting conversation. 'Here's the idea. Love it. Done.' And it happened 48 hours before WrestleMania," Ray said. "I talk about on Busted Open so often about how in the wrestling business it can happen that quickly, and that happened that quickly. It was the brief — I still have the text, I saved it, it was so brief. It happened on Thursday evening at like 10. That was it; that's how quickly it happened. There's no like big story, it's not, 'Oh, we cultivated this idea and we came up with this a year ago, and then we did this and put into motion... Idea. Love it. Done.'" [H/T: WrestlingInc]
Bully Ray on Triple H giving a pep talk to Authors of Pain at WrestleMania 40
A few months back on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray recalled how The Game encouraged Akam and Rezar of The Final Testament before their match at WrestleMania 40. The WWE legend disclosed that Triple H advised the tag team duo to put their best foot forward and make best use of the opportunity.
"I watched [Paul Levesque] go up to AOP and give them one hell of a pep talk. Basically, [he was] telling them, 'Force me to push you!' I watched him go up to them and try to get into them, and basically say, 'Give me a reason. Go out there. Steal the show. Do something!'" Ray said.
Though the duo had an impressive showing at WrestleMania 40, they and Karrion Kross eventually fell short of defeating Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits.