With "Thursday Night iMPACT" making its debut on AMC tonight, TNA Wrestling has stacked it with appearances from its current champions, TNA Hall of Famer Bully Ray, WWE star AJ Styles, media personality Perez Hilton, and other potential surprise guests. As it specifically relates to Styles, Ray, who also hosts "Busted Open Radio," emphasizes the importance of not overusing him on the program.
"Not too little, but definitely not too much," Ray said on a recent edition of "Busted Open." "Going into this show, there's the working relationship that TNA has with [WWE] NXT. Now we hear that AJ is coming back for at the very least, one night, but TNA has to rely on TNA on Thursday night. This can't be a bunch of other things that we should be focusing on, because next week TNA will have to rely on solely TNA.
"Yes, there will be some NXT involvement, but I want to see TNA using TNA talent. I want to see TNA shining that spotlight on what got them there. I want to see a nice mix of NXT talent. I want AJ to be used in the proper amount. Pepper him in. Let's see what AJ has to say about this whole thing."
The manner in which Styles will appear on "Thursday Night iMPACT" currently remains unclear. From a fellow pro wrestler's perspective, though, Ray believes Styles is coming back with a mission to put TNA and its new era over.
The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion has already hyped up TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater, having personally praised him at the 2025 TNA Slammiversary event. Tonight's "Thursday Night iMPACT" episode will emanate from the Curtis Culwell Center in Dallas, Texas, airing live on AMC and AMC+ at 9pm ET.
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.
