How EC3 Can Benefit From Bully Ray’s New Power

I’ll be honest with you guys- I just haven’t wanted to discuss much about TNA recently. Frankly, I’ve had the same feelings regarding WWE (which is why we’ve had more “general” talks, or talks about Lucha Underground, or Ring of Honor), but the conditions for each are very, very different. With WWE, it’s simply from a spot of, while still watching the programming, not having much of anything that’s got me captivated. The whole “Give Divas a Chance!” thing, for example, feels artificial, like when they decide that the IC Title means something again, or that having a tag division is awesome.

Sure, it might lead to a few weeks (or months if we’re super lucky) of focus, but eventually, we just return to the norm with the same people being interchanged into the same positions forever and ever. Add to it that we have universally beloved Stephanie McMahon acting as the catalyst for this change, and everything just falls flat for me. I’m not hating WWE, but I’m certainly not super invested in much of anything they’re providing.

With TNA, however, the reason for the lack of enthusiasm is pretty freaking obvious: they’re seemingly on a death march, and it appears to be simply a matter of time before we’re saying our goodbyes. And that’s kinda shitty. On top of that, I’ve simply not wanted to deal with the usual suspects, with their hilarious “Who cares? TNA is dead soon anyways” comments. Viva the “realists,” they’re the masters of stating the obvious over and over.

However, while watching the last episode of Impact, I decided that was a weak rationale to fall back on. TNA, no matter what the future may hold, is currently still going, still running shows, and still doing things. Of course, there’s still plenty to make fun of – and really, that’s what we as fans do – but I can’t just not talk about TNA anymore. It’s not fair. I still watch it, and I still – no matter what the countdown clock may say – love it.

What I wanted to focus on first was the return of Bully Ray, now as “The Law” of TNA. The return was (for those of us who don’t read the spoilers) a bit of a surprise, but not a completely shocking move altogether. There had been whispers a couple months back that Bully Ray and Devon were both close to signing with WWE again. Some even considered it a hint of the impending return when Luke Harper and Erick Rowan reformed and started using the 3D as a finishing move.

Alas, somewhere along the way, the best laid plans did not come to fruition, and so we have Bully Ray returning to TNA. Look, let’s just skip the stupidity involving Dixie, her return, and the fact that getting powerbombed through a table and having everyone cheer it inspired her to change, instead of making her stupid fucking angry that every single one of her employees were happy to see her in pain. Let’s just skip that, because really, it’s Dixie, so it’s going to be stupid.

What I’m interested in, quite honestly, is where this goes. Is Bully Ray simply going to try and make life hell for MY BOY, Ethan Carter III? Is the new Champion going to be put through the metaphorical grinder to prove that he is worthy of being TNA Champion? Does this mean that we can stop having Dixie Carter on TV for a while again?

Completely speculating here (and admitting it), but I’m going to say that this ends up with EC3 as the face, and Bully Ray as the overreaching power monger. I mean, hell, we’ve already seen this with Dixie and even with MVP, so it’s not like this would be new ground for TNA to cover. What gets me excited is the idea that we could make EC3 a face.

The former Derrick Bateman has, up to this point, done fantastic work in the role of Dixie’s nephew. We’ve watched him progress from backup to Magnus to the Main Man on the heel side of things, and with each passing week, he has seemed to gain more fans along the way.

What was once a full arena booing and chanting “You can’t wrestle!” has become more of a split, where cheers are heard, and answers of “Yes he can!” ring back in unison. Could Carter actually work out as a babyface on this roster?

With the right push, yes, of course he could. And, much like MVP lost control of his power, I could see Bully Ray overstepping his rights, and eventually getting the crowd to turn against him with each move he makes. And, if Carter remains the highest level target of his rulings, this would immediately make Carter a sympathetic figure to the fans. That, in and of itself, would be an incredible achievement: making the nephew of the owner (and a rich, rich snob) someone we feel sympathy for.

Each week, as Bully Ray continues to attempt to stack the deck against Carter, Carter will continue to rise and win. Sure, at first, this comes because of Tyrus. After all, we can’t have EC3 win a match clean, right? Wrong. Eventually, we arrive to the match where Bully, thinking he’s finally got it all figured out, bans Tyrus from ringside. Anyone else who interferes will also catch hellfire. This leaves EC3 all alone, defending his title against someone who seemingly is going to destroy the champion.

Only this time… Carter wins. Clean, in the middle of the ring, after dropping his opponent on his head with the One Percenter. There is some shock in the audience, and Josh Matthews falls all over himself to get the right superlatives out. Bully Ray tries to play it cool, acting like he’s “happy” to see that Carter proved he could do it all on his own.

I know, I know… this is getting entirely too far into the fantasy booking realm. That’s never really been my thing, and it usually bothers me a bit. Ideas are one thing, but fully laying out the entire plan you’d like to see always hits me the wrong way. So I can admit that I’m getting into that zone here.

Basically, what I see for Bully Ray’s return, is him eventually going heel, and stepping up as the toughest challenge for EC3 to face. And he’ll have to do it on his own. By the time everything is lined up, and we’re actually hyping up “EC3 vs. Bully Ray for the TNA Title,” I honestly believe that we will have made EC3 a gigantic face, ready to step up against the Bully. The man who once tried to shut down TNA via his Aces and Eights group. The guy who powerbombed his beloved Aunt through a table. The guy that left TNA and almost signed with those mean jerks up north.

And that’s where I actually love my idea so much: this wraps up with EC3 standing up for TNA. The guy that WWE decided wasn’t worth investing into, the guy who took out legends like Sting and Kurt Angle, who did everything he could to help his Aunt grow her company, even if her methods weren’t sound… the guy who, since Day One, has done all he could to help TNA… that guy will be seen as the conquering hero. He’d be the closest thing to a modern day “home grown talent” that TNA has had. Sure, he has roots elsewhere, but they clearly weren’t strong enough to grow anything.

In TNA, he grew. He went from some hokey fake family member to the TNA World Heavyweight Champion. And yes, he’s a heel, so he’s had to cheat balls along the way. Still, he used this time to develop his skills, to simply get better in the ring. And now, with the perfect foil in his way, he has the chance to fully blossom.

We can’t assume that Bully Ray will suddenly like EC3 if Carter goes face. Instead, I’d rather see an irate Bully Ray instantly turn on the fans for daring to cheer him. And in that moment, the TNA fanbase can show it has a memory by immediately booing the man who tried so hard to take TNA out. To boo the man who attempted to make a mockery of the X Division. To boo the man who tried to take out two of TNA’s most beloved teams in America’s Most Wanted and Beer Money.

From the start, Bully Ray has seemingly been on a mission to render TNA into a joke. With Aces and Eights, he almost accomplished it. He may have thought that taking Dixie Carter out would accomplish the goal, but even that fell short. But if he could finally stop the EC3 juggernaut? If he could deliver that one crushing blow to bring the young upstart down in defeat, wouldn’t he finally achieve his goal?

Dixie made the fatal mistake of giving him the power. And, just like MVP did, I feel that Bully Ray will find himself abusing that power in no time flat. And at the moment, I hope that EC3 stands tall to defend the company that gave him an opportunity when nobody else would.

We saw a glimpse of it after he beat Rock Star Spud. We saw Carter cut a full blown face promo built on respect, honor, and more respect. We know he has it in him. The question remains: will Bully Ray be the one to bring it out of him?

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