The ROX-TV and IBW Family remember one of their own today. Honoring the dearly departed with heavy hearts: Royce “The Bug” Carney
Sometimes there are moments in life that cause a person to pause and the entire machine comes grinding to a halt. On good days, the news is happy and joyous, like the birth of a new member of the family. On the opposite end of that are the really heavy days, the moments that cause everyone to stop what they are doing and take notice, like the passing of a dear friend and colleague. I write this article today to let everyone know that the ROX-TV and IBW family have been dealt a very heavy blow to the heart and that is because one of “our own” has fallen.
The news came down yesterday that ROYCE “THE BUG” CARNEY has passed away, very unexpectedly and without advance warning. It was a shocking piece of information that caught everyone who loved “The Bug” off guard and sent friends and family reeling. Words can not describe the pain and the heartache that is felt for the loss of our friend, who was a great family man and an ICON in the Detroit Wrestling world and beyond.
Royce “The Bug” Carney was born on 8/31/1953 and from an early age, Royce wanted to become a professional wrestler. In the early seventies, long before “The Bug” would become an IBW Hall of Famer, he was just starting out to pursue his dream. This drive took him to approach “Sweet Daddy” Malcolm Monroe about becoming a wrestler. Royce said that he tried to convince the legendary wrestler Malcolm Monroe into teaching him how to become a professional athlete in the world of wrestling. “He just kept on pushing me away….pushing me away. Until one day he (Malcolm Monroe) took me on his porch and said “I’m going to show you a couple of moves”. Royce then explained the hilarious events that followed.
“He showed me some moves on the porch, and he saw a little bit in me, so he took me on the grass. Right there on the grass was a telephone pole…and he rammed my head into the pole. I start bleeding and the neighbors called the police, and I’m laying out on the ground. The police came and picked me up off the ground, and when they let me go…I fell back out” Royce remembered. In the confusion of the wrestling lesson, the neighbors had gotten the wrong idea about what had actually been transpiring.
Royce went on to say that the police were going to take “Sweet Daddy” Malcolm Monroe to jail, until he explained that he was an aspiring wrestler and that Monroe was showing him some moves in the front yard. From that day forward, Royce became a professional wrestler and began living his dream. After the wild training incident in Sweet Daddy’s front yard, the two men would become best friends. Royce had big dreams and through his hard work, in the coming years, he would be recognized not only in the Motor City for his amazing moves in the ring, but eventually caught the eye of Georgia Championship Wrestling.
“The Bug” remembered the day vividly in an interview with his long time friend and colleague Rudy “Rude Boy” Hill on an episode of “Shootin it Straight with Rudy” (Nov. 24th, 2020). “I was fighting in Cincinnati one day and this guy came up to me….he said Mr. Bug….I said yes, and he said that he had great news”. The Bug asked the man what his great news was and was told that “Georgia Championship Wrestling wanted him to wrestle” and presented him with a plane ticket. “That was back in 1984” Royce remembered during the interview with a smile on his face. A smile that was very familiar to the people that knew him well.
As “The Bug” talked about the experience, he told Rudy that when he arrived at G.C.W. he was given a cowboy hat and outfit to match, with a new performing name “JR” (which was a play off of the Dallas TV series popular at the time).
After Royce’s time with the Georgia Championship Wrestling organization, “The Bug” returned to Detroit and started managing one of Wrestling’s biggest personalities, the one and only “Sheik”. A little known fact is that prior to leaving for G.C.W., “The Bug” did manage the Sheik briefly for a few matches, but upon his return, he really hit the ground running and continued where he had left off.
“The Bug” was also working the night a riot kicked off during an incident that included wrestlers Muhammad Saad and Malcolm Monroe. During a plan to take “Sweet Daddy” to the top, Royce and Monroe decided to run out and jump Muhammad Saad in the ring. The crowd that night, which included many of Saad’s family members, erupted into a riot over the surprise attack by “The Bug and Sweet Daddy”. The memory brought a smile to Royce’s face and both he and Rudy had a good laugh over that (watch the full interview for more on the incident).
Later on in the interview (Nov. 2020) “The Bug” recalled how he began working with the Sheik. “I was working one night, when a guy was getting ready to hit the Sheik with a bottle” Royce explained and went on to say that he got in the way of the projectile, blocking the Sheik from the incoming threat. After the incident, “The Bug” told the Sheik that he always wanted to be his manager, and much to his surprise the Sheik told him “be at channel 62 next week” to start managing him. “I went all over the place with him” Royce proudly told Rudy, and rightly so.
As the years went by, “The Bug” would later get involved with Mid West Championship Wrestling, where he actually started to get more time in the ring. At one point, Rolls “The Bug” Royce had a bigtime match against Bobo Brazil Jr. Unlike many of the wrestlers of the time, “The Bug” was exceptional in that he was not only a manager but could also wrestle as well. This was one of the reasons they sought Royce out for Georgia Championship Wrestling years earlier. So the transition from manager to wrestler, later on in his career was something that suited Royce just fine. “It was something that I wanted to do” he told Rudy in that November 2020 interview. The more he managed, the more he had the urge to get in the ring, and we are glad he did. “Even at my age now, at 67…I still have that urge to wrestle” Royce proudly said on “The Fix”.
The IBW has always enjoyed the traditions of the past and honors the “Legends” that had come before. Royce had been honored as an IBW Legend and had been wrestling actively in the ring as of 2021. “Well…I tell you, being a Legend is great you know and you have to fulfill that spot. And that’s why today I still wrestle, because its still in me, its something that you just can’t get out of me, and I’m going to wrestle until, they wheel me up in a wheel chair…you know, wheel me back to my dressing room….THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO”.
Perhaps one of the proudest moments in recent memory for “The Bug” was that his grandson had followed in his foot steps and joined the profession in the ring. “Yes, my grandson RC3, the third generation of me. He went to the Truth Training School and he’s one of the upcoming superstars you are going to see. And I’m just so happy that I have somebody to follow my footsteps”.
Please take a moment today to remember our friend and colleague, the one and only Royce “The Bug” Carney. The amazing talented wrestler, manager, and family man will be missed dearly by the ones that he touched throughout his time on this earth. We will remember him for his character, class in the ring, the knowledge that he passed on, and above all, that smile. Go easy Bro….
