Bully Ray Has Little Chance of Signing with WWE If He Leaves TNA

Bully Ray's run with TNA appears to be coming to a close, but don't start fantasy booking his WWE run just yet.

The former world champ is one of TNA's biggest success stories, a wrestler who has bloomed as a heel in recent years, but too many signs point to him not joining Vince McMahon's company. His age, that fact that his recent success came at TNA and a current focus on emerging stars will add up to WWE not seeking him out.

F4WOnline reported in August that Ray reportedly told folks backstage that "his contract was expiring and he didn't expect to be back." That followed him being central to a major angle where he powerbombed TNA head Dixie Carter through a table.

The latest word on Ray's status comes from Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com.

"Sources close to Bully Ray are indicating that he is close to signing a two-date deal with TNA that would allow him to return to close out the TNA Tag Team Series storyline this week," Johnson reports. 

Johnson adds that Ray's final contracted date would then be the Bound for Glory pay-per-view in October.

So it appears that the TNA chapter of his career is ending. The obvious next question is if WWE would pick him up after that.

He would be an intriguing asset as a brawler who has recently proved that he can be a top-tier singles star. It may be a good idea to have him reunite The Dudley Boyz with Devon or take on some up-and-comer on in a series of brutal battles.

Smart or not, it's not a move that WWE is likely to make.

In August, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required; h/t Bill Pritchard of Wrestle Zone) reported that WWE had no interest in signing him. 

The first strike against him is that he upped his stardom at a rival company. It's not as if WWE can or will promote him as the man who took down Dixie or a former TNA champion.

For the most part, WWE ignores the existence of the company Ray currently works for.

It also seems to balk at the idea of taking on TNA talent.  As he wrote for PWInsider.com, Dave Scherer believes that it "definitely" hurts wrestlers to come to prominence in TNA in terms of signing with WWE later on.

In fact, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t SportsKeeda), WWE actually has a policy about not hiring TNA workers.

That could explain why Matt Morgan and AJ Styles left TNA without getting a sniff from WWE. On the other hand, Sting has been working with WWE of late as a featured star of the WWE 2K15 video game and to promote his new WWE action figure.

Sting is a special case, though.

He is by far the biggest star who has never appeared for WWE. There is a novelty and a buzz about him because of that fact, something Ray doesn't have going for him.

Ray, though, has the advantage of having a previous history with WWE. But after one reaches a certain age, that doesn't seem to matter anymore.

WWE went as far as to reportedly blow off Kurt Angle when he inquired about a return. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com) reported in August that Triple H and McMahon essentially gave Angle the runaround. 

As big a star as Ray is, he's no Angle. So if WWE is willing to turn its nose up at a Hall of Famer, it's hard to imagine officials clamoring for the former tag team specialist. 

At 43, Ray is just two years younger than the well-traveled Angle. And WWE is all in on its own youth movement.

A pair of familiar faces in Brock Lesnar and John Cena sit at the top of the Night of Champions card. The rest of the pay-per-view highlights just how much the company is focusing on emerging stars who have yet to celebrate their 30th birthdays.

The Usos (both 29) look to extend their tag title reign, and Rusev (28) is colliding with a former world champ. Roman Reigns (29) is set to face Seth Rollins (28) in what has been a prominent feud, one that closed last week's Raw.

Add in the fact that Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze and Adrian Neville could soon make the jump from NXT to WWE, and there begins to be less room for big-name veterans to join the party.

Those prospects recently debuted on Raw, and according to Johnson, they are scheduled to work on the main roster for the next few weeks.

It's going to be hard to make room for all those up-and-comers as well as Dean Ambrose—when he returns—and WWE's already established main event players.

WWE would certainly set aside space for huge stars well past 30 years old to join the team on a short-term basis. If The Rock comes calling again, rest assured he's getting a spot at WrestleMania. Ray, though, occupies the spot on the stardom ladder below guys like The Rock, Angle and Batista but above men like Morgan.

As such, he's going to find that WWE has its eyes on the future, one that doesn't include a final hurrah from Ray.