Summary

BJ Ray has addressed several of the talking points around his post-WWE stretch, including the timing of his release, his appearance at TNA Turning Point, and how he sees himself fitting into wrestling going forward.

Ray said his WWE departure caught him off guard after shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum. He also defended showing up at TNA while recovering, and said the criticism that followed does not bother him.

The former WWE LFG name went a step further when discussing his future, saying he sees himself as part of an effort to bring more edge and unpredictability back to wrestling.

Quote from BJ Ray

Discussing his WWE release, Ray said:

"Dude, it definitely came as a surprise. It’s one of those things like even when I first got there two and a half years ago, you didn’t really see that. But I think obviously with seeing who was released in the releases, that was definitely a factor. It could be a speculation there. Because, yeah, it was kind of out of nowhere. But that’s the name of the game. Gotta stay healthy."

Ray also addressed the backlash to his TNA appearance and said:

"Well, dude, to be honest with you, bro, like I think they're just a bunch of crying pansies if I'm being honest with you, Sean. Yeah, I think so because here's at the end of the day how I look at it. You know, people say, ‘Oh, well, you're not with this company, so don't do this here. You're not with this person or this party, so don't do this here.’"

Ray continued:

"But the way I look at it is, ‘Hey, if you're a wrestler and you're in the entertainment business, you're under the whole umbrella of entertainment and the whole umbrella of wrestling. What am I supposed to do? Just sit around twiddling my fingers unless you're signed with the big promotion just waiting for an opportunity?’"

Later in the conversation, Ray said:

"Exactly. I'm recovering from an injury and what's funny is like, dude, I mean, let's be honest, everybody knows who I am, right? So, like all it takes — and if you don't — it takes one click to my page to see who I am and what I'm about. So, if people actually get their pansies tangled up about it, like, you know, there's nothing I could do about that."

When the conversation turned to where he sees himself in wrestling, Ray said:

"I like to think of myself as the nicest guy in the world. I think I should start calling myself the Nice Guy, because I think I’m the biggest baby face. Oh, yeah, 100%. You know what’s crazy is, not to toot my own horn, I think that I’m the future of this business. I think what I’m trying to do is save the wrestling industry. Kind like Maxwell over there. I think he kind of laid the ground and he was doing it right and better than anybody’s doing it right now. I think that we’re in this weird time where they’re pulling back the curtain and kayfabe."

Ray later went on to say:

"You see it with LFG, you see it with the Netflix show and you see these things and it’s hard to make it as exciting as it was back in the 90s and Attitude Era and all those things because it was just so much more real. So I’m really trying to bring that back, and I want to bring back, and obviously there’s people in this industry that have egos, there’s people that actually get upset and they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s not the traditional route of how you do things,’ ‘Oh, you’re taking it too far,’ ‘Oh, you’re pissing this person off.’ Well, you know, F them. Like, you could cry about it, you could complain about it, that you’re not getting as much attention as me, but at the end of the day, I’m gonna do whatever it takes to make it to the top."

Ray's WWE exit and TNA appearance

BJ Ray tied the release and the TNA reaction together through one idea, he is trying to stay visible while he recovers instead of disappearing from the scene. That matters because his comments make clear he is not treating the end of his WWE run as a quiet reset.

His Turning Point appearance also shows that Ray wants to keep his name in the conversation even without a contract in place. For a wrestler whose public profile was built as much on personality as ring work, that approach could shape whatever his first real post-WWE opportunity looks like once he is healthy.

What BJ Ray says comes next

Ray's comments about kayfabe and attention fit the same image he pushed during WWE LFG, and they suggest he wants his next chapter to lean even harder into that presentation. Whether that lands in WWE again, on the independents, or in another promotion, he is making it clear that he does not plan to soften the act after his release.

That also gives fans a clearer read on how Ray wants to stand out. Instead of framing his future around a specific company, he framed it around being talked about, which is probably the biggest clue to how he intends to rebuild momentum after the injury and release.

Sources

BJ Ray while speaking with Sean Ross Sapp at WrestleCade