Last year, on-screen WWE manager and former ECW booker Paul Heyman took his place into the WWE Hall of Fame surrounded by a number of current and former colleagues. In his induction speech, he notably shouted out WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Roman Reigns, his children, and of course, Extreme Championship Wrestling. And to those that thought the spirit of ECW died in 2001, Heyman asserted that they could "suck [his] f***ing d***." According to former ECW World Tag Team Champion Bully Ray, this is where he wishes he could have slightly altered his reaction as an audience member.
"I went to that Hall of Fame induction just to see Paul get inducted. You know what my regret was? That when he said what he said, when he said that vulgar thing, I wanted to hit the ring and hug him because that was truly the essence of what we were all about," Ray said on "Busted Open Radio," noting that he instead stood up and cheered loudly.
"I wanted to hug [Heyman] because that was the tip of the cap to yeah, we're in an arena and this is the WWE Hall of Fame, but don't ever forget who we are and where we came from and what we did," he added.
ECW disbanded in 2001 due to bankruptcy, with WWE later acquiring its assets, including its video library. Heyman initially joined WWE as a commentator before transitioning to other backstage and on-screen roles, such as a writer and manager. In ECW, Ray became an eight-time Tag Team Champion alongside D-Von Dudley.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
