Wednesday night's edition of "WWE NXT" emanated from the iconic 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for being the home for ECW, and the night marked Bully Ray's first match in a WWE ring since the summer of 2016. In the match, he joined forces with reigning NXT Champion Trick Williams in a losing effort against Ethan Page and Ridge Holland.
Advertisement
Speaking on "Busted Open Radio,"Ray shared his outlook on the show as a whole and working with the upcoming generation.
"That is the most important part: the shine to the younger talent," Ray said. "You know, I heard a lot of people commenting over the past, you know, day or so and even into this morning about, 'Oh, this guy should've been there last night or this girl or this ECW talent.' I completely disagree."
Ray emphasized that "NXT" was the focal point of Wednesday's show rather than ECW. He described his, D-Von Dudley, Rob Van Dam, and Francine's appearances on the show as being a "natural fit" given the venue and their histories in WWE, and further cited Dawn Marie serving as special guest referee in a Hardcore Match between Jaida Parker and Lola Vice, and Nunzio unsuccessfully challenging Tony D'Angelo for the North American Championship as examples of it.
Advertisement
"If you bring in all of these other names, now ECW casts a cloud over 'NXT,'" Ray said. "Now, ECW becomes the focus. ECW is no longer the focus. The fact that 'NXT' was in the ECW Arena and there were some ECW originals there to help give the rub or share the spotlight with 'NXT' talent is all that was needed."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
