Steve Carrier on April 24, 2026
BJ Ray isn’t backing down after stirring trouble at TNA Turning Point — and now he’s firing back at the backlash in a big way.
The former WWE LFG standout showed up front row at the TNA Countdown pre-show and took shots at the wrestlers in the ring. He posted a clip from ringside and mocked the match with a caption that got people talking fast.
“POV: I would clap these dorks easy lmao.”
That didn’t sit well with Steph De Lander, who wasted no time clapping back and reminding Ray exactly where he was sitting.
“You paid a ticket to come and watch us lol. Stay on that side of the barricade where you belong.”
Ray tried to brush it off with a playful response instead of escalating things right away.
“You are my new celebrity crush 😩.”
But things got real when Mance Warner — who wrestled in that same pre-show match and is married to De Lander — jumped into the situation and delivered a brutal message aimed straight at Ray. Like De Lander, Warner is also no longer with TNA Wrestling.
“Bought a ticket
Sat in the crowd
Freshly shit canned
Trying to clown on talent who are getting paid to fight
Good luck on the indie run the business ain’t for everyone.”
Ray has been sidelined since being released by WWE on October 10 while dealing with a torn rotator cuff and labrum. He wrestled through the injuries for two seasons before finally having surgery, and his Turning Point appearance marked one of his first public appearances around wrestling since the release.
Ray addressed the backlash directly while speaking with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful — and he didn’t apologize or soften his stance at all. After being asked how the TNA roster reacted to his comments and presence, Ray doubled down and made it clear he doesn’t care who got upset.
“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 kept going and explained why he thinks showing up around other companies shouldn’t be treated like a problem.
“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?’”
He also made it clear that being injured hasn’t stopped him from staying visible, saying the backlash doesn’t bother him at all.
“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.”
Ray clearly isn’t trying to smooth things over after Turning Point. If anything, his latest comments show he’s leaning straight into the controversy and letting everyone know he’s not backing down.
Do you think BJ Ray took things too far with his comments, or is he just playing the role and getting people talking? Drop your thoughts below and let us know what you think.
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