Bully Ray has suggested that AEW is being held back by a lack of stars who are “super over.”
Speaking on Busted Open Radio following the May 3rd episode of Dynamite, the WWE Hall of Famer cited the recent debuts of Jay White and Roderick Strong as examples of the company getting things wrong. While White had appeared in AEW before, he wasn’t under contract with the company at the time.
“Not enough people on that show last night are super over. There are people there that they don’t know whether they should cheer or boo, i.e. a Jay White. People want to love Jay White, but they’re booing him last night. He’s already a tweener, and he’s already in this same situation that most guys that get brought into AEW with lots of pomp and circumstances find themselves in.”
Bully Ray added that both White and Strong have followed the pattern of other big debuts. Talents arrive with great fanfare and then cool off immediately.
“You can cut this anyway you want, Jay White and Roderick Strong are on the same trajectory as everyone else that comes into AEW. Little bit of fanfare, and then immediately cooled off,”
Jay White signed with AEW in early April, making an appearance on April 5th, running in to help Juice Robinson. Since then the pair have joined forces as Bullet Club Gold. White had briefly appeared for the company in 2022 while under contract with NJPW in the lead-up to Forbidden Door.
Roderick Strong Reunited With Adam Cole In AEW
Roderick Strong became All Elite on April 26th, when he ran in to save Adam Cole from the Jerico Appreciation Society. The former NXT star made his in-ring debut a week later, teaming with Cole, Bandido, and Orange Cassidy to defeat Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, Daniel Garcia, and Jake Hager.
H/t to Wrestling Inc