WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray was full of praise for the opening segment of the recent AEW Dynamite, particularly “Hangman” Adam Page’s performance, leading him to declare that Page should be the one to defeat Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship at All In. Speaking on the “Busted Open After Dark Podcast,” Bully Ray detailed why he felt Hangman’s promo resonated so strongly.
“I was really feeling Hangman in this segment,” Bully stated. “Hangman made me feel tonight. He was passionate. I believed in him. I believed him. He was speaking with just such realism.” He added, “It was so early in the promo, and I felt Hangman so much that I wrote down in my notes, should AEW wait on Darby Allin… or should they pull the trigger on Hangman right now, pull the trigger on Hangman at All In? Should Hangman Page be the guy to defeat Jon Moxley?” His conclusion after the promo: “Hangman should be the guy.”
Bully Ray highlighted Hangman’s symbolic gesture of taking off the Owen Hart Memorial Championship and handing it to Tony Schiavone, as Page declared his focus was now on the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. He also emphasized the power of Page making a “promise” to win the title: “Promise is as strong, if not stronger of a word than guarantee, because you don’t want to break your promise to wrestling fans… If somebody put those words in Hangman’s mouth, Hangman needs to know that the company is going to back him up.”
While praising Hangman, Bully also criticized the ongoing absence of the AEW World Heavyweight Championship from television. “You haven’t seen the championship in about seven months. I don’t even think I saw the briefcase tonight. Nothing, zero, not a zip, nilch,” he remarked. “I don’t like this whole thing of hiding the championship. It’s not a good idea. As a matter of fact, it’s been an awful idea.” However, he conceded, “But since it’s been hidden this long, whenever it does appear, it’s going to be a massive moment… By the time it comes out, people are going to be popping for it.”
The segment also involved Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay, with Bully Ray particularly impressed by Ospreay endorsing Hangman. Ospreay told Swerve that fans “are starting to believe in us again, and it’s because of him [Hangman].” Bully called this a significant “rub” and urged AEW to heavily promote that moment. “If AEW is going to strike again… now is the time. And I thought this was a really strong promo.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
