Bully Ray Urges AEW To Sign Zoey Stark Following WWE Release

Posted by admin on April 29th, 2026

Bully Ray believes AEW has a clear opportunity following the release of Zoey Stark and is encouraging Tony Khan to take advantage of it.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray laid out a direct plan for how AEW could introduce Stark if she signs with the company. He pointed to her recent injury and release as a ready-made story that could immediately connect with fans.

“If you’re Tony Khan, and you invite Zoey Stark in, what’s the first thing you allow her to do? Here you go sister, here’s a microphone, you’ve got five minutes. Go tell your story, go make people love you, and if you tell your real story, not only will they love you for your determination, and your passion, and your drive, but they will hate the WWE for letting you go. It’s right there on a silver platter for Tony. You don’t have to do any work. Wait 90 days, sign the girl to a contract, end of story. And Zoey is good in the ring, she’d be good for your women’s division,” Bully Ray said.

He also stressed that any initial reaction would need to be supported with consistent follow-up.

“If you’re gonna allow her to go out there, and give her five minutes, and in that five minutes people emotionally connect with Zoey, give her a standing ovation, ‘thank you Zoey,’ whatever it is, you’ve gotta follow it up. You’ve got to give Zoey time to prove that her knee is 1000%. She talked the talk, now she has to show you what she can do in the ring with her new knee, and let the world understand the WWE should have never released me,” he added.

Stark’s situation has drawn attention due to the timing of her release. She suffered a serious knee injury during a match involving Rhea Ripley and Kairi Sane on an episode of WWE RAW on May 19, 2025. The injury included a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus.

Reports indicated that Stark had recently been medically cleared to return to the ring before being released as part of WWE’s post-WrestleMania 42 roster cuts on April 24.

The possibility of Zoey Stark signing with AEW now centers on whether the company will act on the opportunity described. Her recovery story and in-ring ability position her as a potential addition, but any move would likely come after the standard waiting period tied to WWE releases.