Tom Hannifan: Whether You’re Tuning In To Hate Him Or Love Him, Bully Ray Gets Eyeballs On IMPACT

Tom Hannifan discusses Bully Ray’s current run in IMPACT Wrestling.

The wrestling world was shocked when Bully Ray made his return to IMPACT Wrestling at the Bound For Glory pay-per-view in 2022. Ray quickly made an impact upon his return, as he won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match. Ray would go on to cash in his IMPACT World Championship opportunity at the recent Hard To Kill pay-per-view, where he lost to Josh Alexander in a Full Metal Mayhem bout.

Although many fans expected Ray to depart the promotion after his match with Alexander, the IMPACT/TNA Hall Of Famer is seemingly sticking around for the time being, as he filmed matches at the promotion’s most recent television tapings.

In a new interview with the Sports Guys Talking Wrestling podcast, IMPACT commentator Tom Hannifan noted that Ray does indeed bring viewers to the product, even though many fans view him as a negative.

“Yeah. What’s the line from the Joker, some people just want to watch the world burn. I think Bully Ray cares about Bully Ray and the success of Bully Ray, period. But it’s a double edged sword because Bully Ray is a legend, he’s a two time hall of famer in two different companies. He’s a two time IMPACT World Champion. There is so much that he’s done positively and negatively throughout the history of IMPACT Wrestling. Having him gets eyeballs, whether you’re tuning in to hate him or love him. There are positives, but there are certainly negatives when it comes to Bully. I got to use a lot of expletives to explain him at the beginning of Hard To Kill, thank you to Scott D’Amore for allowing me to do that and the beauty of pay-per-view. I think Bully Ray has earned every last one of them at this point, and to your point, he’s just like a bad penny. He keeps turning up.”

Ray recently commented on his extended stay with the company, noting that he has revenge on his mind. To learn more, click here.

Fans can see the lineup for Thursday’s episode of IMPACT Wrestling by clicking here.

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