WWE Rumors: Big Name Cancelled For NXT Appearance After Showing Up On TNA Television
One of the biggest events of the year for NXT so far was back in the middle of May when they traveled to Philadelphia. The NXT Live Event was huge and took place in front of a gigantic crowd that loved the action, but rumors kept flying that an ECW Original would show up for an appearance. It was set to be Bully Ray, but his showing up on TNA television ended up having WWE cancel that whole idea.
Joey Styles was there for the NXT events and actually had started a bit of a feud with Baron Corbin. That was when all of the rumors began swirling since Styles needed help and defense against Corbin.
To recap, last night @BaronCorbinWWE beat @Rhyno313 and challenged me to find another #ECW Original for night 2 of #NXTPhilly tonight. Help!
— Joey Styles (@JoeyStyles) May 15, 2015
That was when Tommy Dreamer showed up and helped Styles out, but still ended up losing to Corbin. Still, the Philly fans loved seeing him back, but it was originally supposed to be another ECW Original by the name of Bully Ray.
According to WrestleZone, Bully Ray was the chosen one by WWE to show up at the NXT Live Event and take on Baron Corbin in Philadelphia. WWE knew he would get a huge pop from the crowd, but something happened that caused the appearance to be cancelled.
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UPDATE: On Thursday, a different report came out saying that Bully Ray didn’t appear at the NXT event due to injury. Bully Ray had apparently contacted WWE officials before the event in Philly and advised them he had an ear injury which was causing him equilibrium problems. Not wanting to have a bad match, Bully Ray told officials he wouldn’t be able to perform.
WWE officials were said to have appreciated his honesty. His appearance on TNA Impact was not in a wrestling capacity, but just as a guest referee.
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The NXT Live event was on May 15, but on May 8, Bully Ray appeared back on TNA television.
He showed up on Impact to be the guest referee for a match between Eric Young and Kurt Angle. WWE was not very happy with that appearance, and it ended up in them not inviting him to wrestle at the NXT Philly event.
That was why Dreamer was chosen to face off with Corbin.
Bully Ray just recently returned to TNA television to become the new “authority figure” for Impact, but that hasn’t stopped him from wanting to have a last run in WWE. A recent interview with him and longtime tag partner Devon spoke on how they would love to head back to WWE for one final run and to help the tag division.
Back in January, Bully Ray made a one-time WWE return in the Royal Rumble, and the fan response was huge. It still seems possible that the Dudley Boyz could get one more run, but that TNA appearance certainly took away Bully Ray’s chance to thrill the NXT fans in Philly.
[Image via TNA]
