The Busted Open crew stepped into a new era at SummerSlam, appearing on camera as part of WWE Radio after the two sides announced their partnership. Dave LaGreca, Tommy Dreamer, Mark Henry and Bully Ray were seated in the front row at U.S. Bank Stadium and even acknowledged during the broadcast, marking a rare moment for a wrestling media team.
After the show, they discussed their experience and shared details from a conversation with WWE President Nick Khan. According to the group, Khan didn’t want the partnership to soften their approach. He told them directly that he expects their coverage to remain honest, critical and unchanged.
Khan Encourages Them to Stay Critical
Bully Ray described how unusual the treatment was compared to other promotions.
“Freaking WWE rolled out the red carpet for us.”
LaGreca agreed.
“They really did.”
Bully then pointed out how LaGreca has supported every wrestling company over the years.
“Forget about the — yes, the partnership is what it is but — and I’ve said this on the air to you hundreds of times. You have overextended yourself to every wrestling company on the planet.”
LaGreca noted how some companies repaid that support.
“Some of those companies thanked me by putting me in section 313, row 24.”
Bully followed up.
“How did the WWE thank you and us?”
LaGreca answered:
“Putting us in the front row and identifying us during the broadcast.”
Bully continued:
“Has any other wrestling company ever put us on the front row and identified us?”
LaGreca replied:
“No.”
Bully asked:
“Should they have?”
LaGreca responded:
“Yes.”
Bully then praised WWE’s treatment and singled out Nick Khan.
“The WWE did so thank you to the WWE for the great, great treatment. Shout out to Nick Khan, who got up out of his front row seat to walk halfway around the stadium to come up to us, say hello, tell us how great he thought the partnership was going so far, asked us if we need anything, were we comfortable. Thank you Nick Khan for being a complete gentleman.”
LaGreca added:
“Showing us the appreciation of us with this partnership and how he wants nothing to change with the way that we talk about the WWE.”
Bully asked what Khan said exactly, and LaGreca repeated the message:
“He said how much he enjoys it, how much he loves it and he doesn’t want things to change, and then he pointed — he put his finger on my chest and pointed at me and said, ‘You, especially you. I don’t want you to change at all,’ and then he used an example of somebody that he really enjoyed listening to that gave a little bit of shill radio and he just stopped listening, because it’s not a product that you wanna listen to. The reason that they wanted to partner with us and the reason that they wanted to be a part of our (brand) is because they love what we do… I know people wanna say whatever they want and make any kind of opinions and judgments… What we do with our critical radio, it’s not gonna change, nor should it and it won’t.”
Bully closed the segment by reinforcing the message:
“That’s the specific of we’re not changing anything. We’re not gonna change. We’re gonna come out here and we’re gonna be just as critical as we ever were.”
Another part of the partnership saw NXT’s Vic Joseph and Booker T calling SummerSlam for radio listeners. Their work reached a blind wrestling fan, who sent Joseph a message thanking him for the coverage.
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