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SiriusXM's Dave LaGreca and Bully Ray returned to The Gramercy Theatre in NYC last night for a raucous live event that saw a lot of discussion about the passion they and so many others have for professional wrestling, the growth of The Busted Open SiriusXM series and more.
The night opened with LaGreca's wife Violetta opening the night with some funny lines, including a great line about how after 15 years of the show, everyone should now speak Polish (her native tongue) instead of her speaking English.
Comedian Jim Florentine then did a set of stand up, including a so insane it has to be true story about befriending a 40 year old man at pro wrestling shows when he was 14, only to have the man attempt to groom him by offering him photos of pro wrestlers. Florentine has used the material in the past in a one-man show he's been developing and there are some funny bits in it I don't want to spoil but it all ends up with the man visiting his family and Florentine's brothers, upon learning what he's attempting, deal with him in a way that's deserved and justified physically.
Musician Josh Villalta then did a hell of a drum solo set, performing the percussion for lots of iconic pro wrestling themes and rock songs. It was a pretty damn impressive sight to see and incorporated lots of wrestling footage from WWE, WCW and ECW, including the Terry Funk-Cactus Jack-Public Enemy chair throwing insanity.
LaGreca and Bully then took the stage, telling stories from Bully's career as well as their friendship. LaGreca talked about Tommy Rich being the first pro wrestler he ever met and when he finally had a chance to interview him years later, was extremely nervous and pacing because Rich sparked it all.
Bully and LaGreca talked about how their on-air relationship began after LaGreca tweeted that Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi match was the best match he'd ever seen after their Tokyo Dome encounter. Bully called him questioning him as someone who saw Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat and after 45 minutes on the phone, Bully remarked this would make a good on-air conversation, which sparked everything for Ray coming on board on Busted Open.
Ray talked about being in the front row for Jimmy Snuka coming off the cage against Bob Backlund in Madison Square Garden and where fans could see him if they watched the bout. He called it the greatest WWE moment before a Wrestlemania and noted he, Mick Foley, Nunzio and Tommy Dreamer were all there that night, sparking their careers.
Ray knew he wanted to be a wrestler the second he saw The Wild Samoans on television, which was his first exposure to pro wrestling. He declared he was going to be a pro wrestler when he, his father and Uncle were leaving a closed-circuit showing of Wrestlemania III at the Nassau Coliseum, to which his Uncle responded, "Get in the F***ing car." His Uncle was in attendance at the show and Ray told the story of how they once shared a room and his Uncle still had an old Ultimate Warrior Wrestling Buddy that was used as a pillow.
Ray noted when he wrestled Sabu for the first time, he was nervous because of Sabu's aura and mystique but when they locked up for the first time, Ray realized how much smaller he was and that Ray could snap him if he wanted as a 405 lb. wrestler at the time.
Ray said the only grudge he holds in wrestling is the person who took his money and stole it when he promised to train Ray instead of Ray going to Johnny Rodz. Ray said he won't name him and that the wrestling business trained him.
LaGreca told a great story about being on the road and being intimate with his wife, only to have Ric Flair call him in the middle of the proceedings demanding he come down to the bar. Luckily for LaGreca, they weren't in the same hotel or even city. LaGreca admitted he would have gone downstairs for the drink. This led to a funny moment where he tried to call Ric Flair on the phone and Flair's voicemail had a "Woo."
LaGreca also recounted his love for Cody Rhodes and knocked The Rock, playing off of the events from earlier this year in a hilarious expletive filled rant.
Lots of luminaries in attendance including Keith Elliot Greenberg, George Napolitano, George Tahinos, Dan Maff, IPWHOF patriarch Seth Turner, Vladimir The Superfan (who got a massive reaction when pointed out from the stage), and Ringside Charlie.
The night ended with LaGreca announcing his wife had made pierogies for everyone. When Bully asked what could be better than that, "Enter Sandman" played and The Sandman appeared, doing his grand entrance for a big sing-along to close the show.
A truly wonderful and fun few hours with those who love pro wrestling discussing, laughing and enjoying this strange realm we all adore.
Thanks to LaGreca and Bully for a fun night.
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