Partial Source: Pwinsider.com
UPDATE x 3: A source within TNA says that Bully Ray didn’t “quit” the company. Since he wasn’t under contract, he couldn’t quit. His storyline as the TNA GM was never meant to be long-term and the ending had already been planned and filmed before this week’s TV tapings.
UPDATE x 2: It appears that Bully Ray is gone from TNA again after his recent return. Bully Ray was recently brought in as the new General Manager of TNA by Dixie Carter.
Ray was not at any of the TV tapings currently being held in Orlando, Florida. When people started asking where Bully Ray was, the word was that he was gone from the company already. Per a source, Ray left after telling TNA he wasn’t happy with the current state of affairs with the company and believed it was better to distance himself from it. He was opening telling people the company was a “sinking ship” and he didn’t want to be a part of it.
Ray was working on a per appearance deal (as most TNA talents are these days) and was not under contract with the promotion. How TNA plans on addressing this on iMPACT! remains to be seen.
UPDATE: Here is another update on the Bully Ray/WWE relationship.
When NXT toured Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Albany, New York on May 15 and 16, WWE contacted Bully to work the shows. He was set to work the shows but suffered an ear drum injury before it happened. He said he couldn’t work the events because the injury affected his equilibrium and he didn’t want to have bad matches.
WWE understood the situation and appreciated the fact that he told them.
ORIGINAL: According to sources, Bully Ray was originally planned to make an appearance at the NXT house show that took place in Philadelphia on May 15th. According to source, WWE wanted him because they knew he would get a big pop from the crowd, but they nixed the idea after he appeared on the May 8th episode of TNA iMPACT! Wrestling as a referee in the match between Kurt Angle and Eric Young. Tommy Dreamer worked the show instead.
Bully has been pushing in interviews for a WWE return, despite the fact that he just returned to TNA as the new authority figure. While WWE did contact him to appear at several WWE NXT live events (Philadelphia, PA and Albany, NY), that was all he was offered. Several people close to Bully say he was excited about the possibility of returning to WWE full-time after his surprise Royal Rumble appearance but WWE had very little contact with him following that and it got to the point where he didn’t think they had any further interest in him, thus his recent return to TNA Wrestling.
