Warning: Spoilers for the September 30, 2024 episode of Monday Night Raw!Despite the obvious appeal of seeing two 350-pound monsters destroy each other and the arena in a Last monster standing matchOne Wow Hall of Famer expressed disappointment in Raw’s last main event. On the September 30 episode of Monday Night Raw, no storyline got hotter than the one between Braun Strowman and “Big” Bronson Reed. Rightfully so, their main event in a recent monster standing match was treated as one of the most eagerly anticipated televised wrestling contests in recent memory.
As heard on a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray, known to WWE audiences as Bubba Ray Dudley – inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Dudley Boyz, along with D-Von – expressed the idea that The latest monster standing “fell a little short” of expectations. Bully Ray is not alone in his attitude, as the last Monster Standing match seemed to divide the audience overall. Still, many people also enjoyed the match, but a Hall of Famer’s perspective is always interesting to those looking to understand the inner workings of the pro wrestling world.
Bully Ray has valid criticism for the last Monster Standing match
The last monster standing match had some glaring issues
Since August, Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman have been intertwined in an unknown feud where, no matter where they went, they found themselves brawling across every arena in Raw. Fling fans at each otherThe action between the pair was over the top, and thus, the finale of their feud demanded an over-the-top stipulation: last man standing. Reviewing the show in its entirety, Bubba sat down with Dave LaGreca during the record-breaking Sirius XM show, Busted Open, and had this to say about the main event:
Last night, I thought [Raw] Was an underwhelming show. And the things that I was looking forward to, like the last monster standing match, kind of – in my eyes, for my entertainment, also fell a little short. Now, none of the things that fell short came from lack of effort on the part of the talent. It’s just that I’d like to see some different stuff and I think they missed some beats last night.
“The carnage was entertaining. I can see how people would be entertained by two monsters, like Godzilla and King Kong, beating the crap out of each other across the arena and going through tables and the announce tables and the chokeslams and the ring breaking. – But everything I saw yesterday from the two big men, I saw the ring before, for me, nothing. – Bully Ray on Busted Open Radio
The two-time Hall of Famer (Bully Ray was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2014 as part of Team 3D) focused on the match lacking in originality, zeroing in on a top rope superplex between the two 300-pound men that collapsed The ring. This would be the fourth time in WWE history that such a spot has been achieved. Previously, audiences saw it happen on a 2003 episode of SmackDown for Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show, Revenge 2011 for Mark Henry vs. Big Show, and Big Show vs. Braun Strowman on a 2017 episode of Raw.
It’s talked about in the podcast how each generation features new fans who have never seen a place like this before, but for fans who have seen all the moments in total, it’s easy to walk away disappointed. Bubba Rightfully points out a famous spot between Tazz and Bam Bam Bigelow during ECW’s Live Dangerously in 1998, where they pulled each other through the ring. Weeks later, they decided to replicate the place but no one remembers that second instance, while the first is still iconic.
The role of the referee was key in this match
A controversial referee spot took credibility away from the match
Bubba also questions the logic of referee Chad Patton for being so involved in the game and not figuring out when he should be. As silly as wrestling can be, especially in Braun and Bronson’s most viral moments, logic in storytelling is essential and the lack of it can hurt a match. The role of the referee is especially important in protecting the credibility of a matchAnd Bubba Ray often brought up this issue in AEW matches during his Busted Open After Dark show, where he reviewed AEW Dynamite immediately after the show.
In a particularly controversial place, Chad Patton is out of the ring While Braun Strowman was down for the 10-second count after being hit by two tsunamis. The referee was busy with the destruction of the barricade in a previous place, which (apparently) hurt some fans in the first row. Although the involvement of fans in a venue is always cool, there is no reason why the referee should worry about it, especially considering a dozen officials, including General Manager Adam Pearce, are already on the scene. Dave LaGreca would add how the lack of logic was enough to take him out of the match.
The last monster standing still delivered a fun ride
Many fans enjoyed the “Godzilla vs. Kong” spectacle
Although high expectations leading to disappointment can be considered a fair point, An alternative would be to go in with little to no expectations for a match like this. This is especially important for older, longtime fans. Yes, it’s easy to want new fresh spots, but professional wrestling isn’t exactly in its infancy. Even if we only look at the medium in the context of the last 20-or-so-odd-years since the first ring break, there aren’t many things that haven’t been done before in wrestling.
Accepting that a match like this is unlikely to offer anything completely new or different makes it easier to enjoy for many fans. Rather than hyper-fixating on what the match could have been, It’s easier to sit back and enjoy the spectacle of it all. Even Bully Ray said he understood how someone could enjoy a match like this for the carnage displayed between two juggernauts. That’s what the match offers best, a collision course in chaos between two larger-than-life men. Sometimes, that’s all a match needs.
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This match compacts the chaotic action between the two weeks into 15 minutes, and it’s hard not to get sucked into it. Even better, the match also offered one shocking and unexpected moment, The climactic finish with Seth Rollinswho was put on the shelf after he was attacked by Bronson Reed the night after the 2024 edition of SummerSlam. Rollins ended the match with a definitive basket stomp, hinting that history is not done and the two monsters will be considered relevant in the coming weeks.
Bully Ray’s criticism of the match was well warranted. He’s a veteran of the sport who’s seen it all as a competitor and a fan, so he’ll naturally watch the match with a different eye than most casual viewers would, and that’s the value his perspective brings to listeners. However, many fans also enjoyed the last monster standing match by focusing on the spectacle it had to offer, and that is the beauty of the current Wow Landscape: It has something for everyone.
Source: Busten Open Podcast