Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett has answered a series of critical remarks made by Bully Ray regarding AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley. Speaking on an episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray questioned the presentation of the Death Riders faction, stating that they do not add value to the promotion. The WWE Hall of Famer heavily criticized faction leader Moxley, claiming that the champion is merely playing out personal professional wrestling fantasies. Bully Ray went on to label Moxley a fraud and stated that he could beat him up.
Barnett stepped in to support Moxley by issuing an open challenge to Bully Ray via social media.
“Interesting take here ‘Bully’. Mox can handle himself just fine, so he doesn’t need me to fight any battles for him, but if you ever have the itch to feel what it would be like to have your ass kicked so thoroughly to the point of epic humiliation, I can help you with that,” Barnett wrote on X. “I can not only ‘beat the s*** out of you’, but do so in a way as to make your ass kicking legendary. For you, any time. Just ask.”
Bully Ray quickly answered Barnett’s message by turning the conversation toward drawing power and commercial value in AEW.
“Josh, I too can handle myself fine, fight my battles,” Bully Ray replied. “If ya ever had the itch to feel what it’s like to be over so thoroughly that you can draw money, I can help you with that. Not only can I put you over but get you over in a way that would make ya ass legendary. For you anytime.”
Barnett countered by noting that the public response under the post indicated financial interest in seeing a legitimate contest between them.
“To be fair, just from the comments under your post alone, it’s clear you are correct here,” Barnett wrote back. “The amount of people that would pay to see me pull you apart in a wrestling ring/cage would definitely do good great business. I guess that ‘heat’ you’ve built over the years is pretty marketable as even your ‘fans’ truly want to see get your ass kicked for real LOL.”
The Death Riders leader is currently scheduled to put his AEW Continental Championship on the line against ROH World Champion Bandido this Sunday, June 28, 2026, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, for the annual Forbidden Door pay-per-view. The co-promoted event will air live on HBO Max and is also set to feature the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments.
To be fair, just from the comments under your post alone, it's clear you are correct here – the amount of people that would pay to see me pull you apart in a wrestling ring/cage would definitely do good great business.
I guess that "heat" you've built over the years is pretty… https://t.co/8GTWO4pLSC
— 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 (@JoshLBarnett) June 23, 2026
