The Bully Ray opinion factory never stops
If you have spent any time listening to Busted Open Radio lately, you know the script. Bully Ray has one setting, and it is usually suggesting that the biggest babyfaces in the world should immediately pivot to being villains. He is currently hammering the drums for a Cody Rhodes heel turn, claiming it could be more significant than anything John Cena ever did. It is a bold take from a man who made a career out of putting people through tables, but I have some questions about the execution.
The argument for a heel Cody rests on the idea that the American Nightmare needs a fresh coat of paint to stay relevant. Bully Ray thinks the pieces need to align perfectly for it to work. That is an understatement. You are talking about someone who is arguably the most beloved figure in the company. Pulling the trigger on that switch requires a level of delicate booking that we rarely see in the modern game. If you screw it up, you lose the golden goose and you are left trying to fix a broken dynamic in a mid-level feud.
Seth Rollins and the art of the complaining promo
Bully Ray also turned his fire toward Seth Rollins after his recent promo on Raw. The core of the issue? Rollins spent the segment venting about Roman Reigns. Bully did not mince words, noting that nobody wants to hear him complain right now. He has a point. Fans want to see the Architect build, not sit in the corner and gripe about the guy who usually has the upper hand.
Nobody wants to hear him complain.
When you have a performer as talented as Rollins, burying him in a segment that feels more like a therapy session than a wrestling build-up is a wasted opportunity. We have seen Bully Ray call out the content of the promo specifically, suggesting that the focus on Reigns serves to diminish Rollins' current momentum. He wants to see Seth focused on his own path, not anchored to a past narrative that is currently occupying everyone else's headspace.
The Maxxine Dupri pivot
While the veterans are arguing about turns, we saw Maxxine Dupri actually follow through on one. She made it clear that her shift in attitude was about self-preservation. As she stated, "I chose me and I did what needed to be done." That is the kind of motivation that makes a heel turn stick. It is grounded in a character choice, not just because a radio personality thinks it sounds like a good idea.
Comparing her situation to these theoretical turns for Cody or even a Rollins shift is night and day. Dupri had the luxury of a slow burn, whereas turning a top-tier champion usually feels rushed. We have seen Bully Ray continue to push the Cody narrative, but I am not sold. There is a 0% chance that turning the top star heel right now results in anything other than a massive viewership dip. Audiences want heroes they can invest in, not just complex, angsty villains because it makes for good radio debating.
The booking reality check
Bully Ray’s logic feels like it belongs in the mid-2000s when every hero needed an edge. Today, the reality is different. We just saw Maxxine Dupri refresh her relevance without needing to betray a decades-long legacy. The constant chatter about turning names like Rhodes is performative. It gives the pundits something to clip for social media, but rarely offers a path that leads to actual growth.
If the writers follow his advice and turn Rhodes, they have exactly 10 minutes to justify it before the crowd turns on the decision. You cannot just flip that switch because someone on a podcast thinks it sounds edgy. I’m not saying he’s always wrong—his take on Rollins’ whining is spot on—but his obsession with heel turns is missing the mark on what makes modern wrestling work.
