BJ Ray just threw gasoline on the Avery Styles controversy, and he didn’t hold back.
The former WWE LFG star jumped into the debate after A.J. Francis said he set up and broke down rings in NXT but never touched one on the indies. Ray backed that point and then went straight after the old-school wrestling mentality that says younger talent needs to “pay their dues” by doing whatever veterans expect. Ray said the real problem is the wrestling business itself. Then he really buried the whole “pay your dues” argument.
“The problem is the pro-wrestling industry is full of insecure children. It’s definitely a weird industry, where nerds that got picked on can ‘build a bear workshop’ themselves and pretend they are something they are not.”
“This whole ‘pay your dues’ is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I’m professional, hire me for a job, I do my job.”
Ray wasn’t done. He said a lot of this mentality comes from wrestlers who suffered coming up and now want the next generation to go through the same crap just because they did.
“It’s just a bunch of insecure weirdos who want to feel better about their suffering and struggles so they want people to have to do it too. Just a childish way of thinking.”
That puts Ray firmly in the same camp as Francis and Moose as the Avery Styles situation keeps getting bigger. What started with criticism over Avery not helping tear down a GCW ring has turned into a full-on argument about whether indie wrestling’s “pay your dues” culture is outdated nonsense or still part of earning respect. Ray clearly thinks it’s nonsense, and he basically called the people defending it insecure children while he was at it.
Do you agree with BJ Ray, or do younger wrestlers still need to do the extra work if they want respect on the indies? Let us know in the comments.
