Bully Ray Talks “Royal Rumble” Return, Lasting Impressions

JourneyOfAFrontMan.com recently sat down with former TNA and WWE star Bully Ray, prominently known as Bubba Ray Dudley for his time in ECW and WWE. Within the interview, the eight-time World Tag Team Champion hit on his WWE return in the 2015 Royal Rumble match, in addition to many other professional wrestling topics.

The man most-recognized as Bubba Ray Dudley for his days in WWE discussed his appearance at the 2015 “Royal Rumble.” He opened up on how secretive his appearance was, and getting to work with two towering stars of the future in Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt:

“Well the Royal Rumble is a lot of fun. As far as the reaction was concerned, it was awesome. To be able to come back to Philadelphia ten years after I had left the WWE to that type of reception, you really can’t put any words to it. I kind of knew in the back of my head that I was gonna get a warm reception from the Philly crowd. Some people might of been shocked just how big the reaction was. It was overwhelmingly positive. If that was my last time that you ever saw me in a WWE ring again, not that I’m saying that I want it to be, but if that was the last time that you ever saw me, that’s a hell of a way to go out!”

“I’m a big fan of those guys. I’m a big fan of most guys in the WWE, they’re all extremely passionate about what they do. You can tell that they whenever they go out there, they always strive to be the best and steal the show and do the absolute best that they can. The Wyatt Family is kind of reminiscent of the old Dudley clan back in the day. Big fan of Bray. Big fan of Luke and Erick Rowan. They’re doing a great job. It was fun to be in there with The Miz. It was fun to be in there with R-Truth doing the What’s Up and the 3D. It was all good, lots of fun.”

“I was kept under wraps until about 9:30 that night. Nobody knew that I was around and that I was a surprise. Once I did get to the backstage area, it was really cool because all the younger guys were totally cool. They were coming up and introducing themselves and saying how cool it was to see me. And then getting to see all my old buddies from around there, hugging me and saying, “Hey man, welcome back!” The one question everybody kept asking me is when am I coming back, it was a one-shot deal for right then and there. We’ll see what goes on in the future.”

The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion also reflected on his wrestling career, should his “Royal Rumble” appearance have been his last:

“If that was my last appearance, all I can say to my fellow wrestlers in the back and the fans in Philly and all around the world that watched…thank you. Thank you for the warm welcome backstage. Thank you for the warm welcome in the arena. Thank you for everything. People always ask me about the Hall of Fame, whether it’s TNA or WWE. “Do you think you’re gonna go into the Hall of Fame?” I tell them, “I get inducted into the Hall of Fame every night I go through that curtain.” When you go through that curtain and you can hear the response of the fans, that’s being inducted into the Hall of Fame every night. As long as they are booing me as loud as they can or cheering me as loud as they can, that’s the only Hall of Fame I will ever need in my career.”

Be sure to read the interview in its entirety, here. Many other wrestling topics are discussed. Among them are Rey Mysterio’s WWE departure and Samoa Joe potentially coming to WWE.