Warning: Spoilers for the September 30, 2024 episode of Monday Night Raw!Despite the obvious appeal of seeing two 350-pounds monsters destroy each other and the arena in a Last Monster Standing match, one WWE Hall of Famer expressed disappointment in Raw's latest main event. Heading into the September 30th episode of Monday Night Raw, no storyline had become hotter than that between Braun Strowman and "Big" Bronson Reed. Rightfully so, their main event in a Last Monster Standing match was treated as one of the most eagerly anticipated TV wrestling contests in recent memory.

As heard in 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 a part of the Dudley Boyz, alongside D-Von - expressed the thought that the Last Monster Standing "fell a little short" of expectations. Bully Ray is not alone in his stance, as the Last Monster Standing match has seemed to divide audiences overall. Still, plenty of people also enjoyed the match, but a Hall of Famer's perspective is always interesting for those seeking 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

Dating back to August, Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman were interlocked in an uber-violent feud where, no matter where they went, they found themselves brawling all across every arena Raw was being held in. From wrecking cars in the parking lot to flinging fans at each other, the action between the pair was over the top, and thus, the finale of their feud demanded an over-the-top stipulation: Last Man Standing. When reviewing the show in total, 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, fell a little short, also. Now, none of the things that fell short came from lack of effort from the talent. It's just that I would have liked 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 all over the arena and going through tables and the announce tables and the chokeslams and the ring breaking. But anything I saw last night from those two big men, I've seen before. The ring breaking, to me, no big deal whatsoever." - Bully Ray on Busted Open Radio

The two-time Hall of Famer (Bully Ray was inducted in 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 mark the fourth time in WWE history that such a spot was achieved. Previously, audiences saw it happen on a 2003 episode of SmackDown for Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show, Vengeance 2011 for Mark Henry vs. Big Show, and Big Show vs. Braun Strowman on a 2017 episode of Raw.

It's addressed in the podcast how every generation features new fans who have never seen such a spot before, but for fans who have seen all of these moments in totality, it's easy to walk away disappointed. Bubba rightfully points out a famous spot between Taz and Bam Bam Bigelow during ECW's Living Dangerously in 1998, where they drew each other through the ring. Weeks later, they decided to replicate the spot but no one re that second instance, while the first is still iconic.

The Referee's Role Was Key In This Match

A Controversial Referee Spot Took Credibility Away From the Match

Bubba also questions the logic behind referee Chad Patton getting overly involved with the match and not counting 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 match, and Bubba Ray often points out this issue in AEW matches during his Busted Open After Dark show, where he reviews AEW Dynamite immediately after the show aired.

Bully Ray and Dave La Greca described the rationale behind this referee spot with "because", a word they used to describe the most puzzling and nonsensical decisions that plagued Raw in the years before the current creative flourish.

In an especially controversial spot, Chad Patton walked out of the ring while Braun Strowman was down for the 10-second count after being hit by two Tsunami. The referee was preoccupied with the destruction of the barricade in a previous spot, which (apparently) hurt some fans in the first row. While involving fans in a spot is always cool, there is no reason why the referee should worry about that, especially considering a dozen officials, including General Manager Adam Pearce, were 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

While high expectations leading to disappointment can be considered a fair point, an alternative would be to just go in with little to no expectations for a match like this. This is especially a necessity 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 isn't likely to offer anything completely new or different makes it easier to enjoy for a lot of fans. Rather than hyper-fixate on what the match could have been, it's easier to just sit back and enjoy the spectacle of it all. Even Bully Ray said himself that he understands 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.

The match compacted weeks' worth of chaotic action between the two in 15 minutes, and it's hard not to get sucked into it. Even better, the match offered also one shocking and unexpected moment, the climactic finish with Seth Rollins, who was put on the shelf after he was attacked by Bronson Reed the night after the 2024 edition of SummerSlam. Rollins costed Reed the match with a definitive Curb Stomp, hinting that the story is not done and the two monsters will be kept relevant in the weeks to come.

Bully Ray's criticism of the match was well warranted. He is a veteran of the sport who has seen it all as both a competitor and a fan, so he's going to naturally watch the match with a different eye than most casual viewers would, and that's the value that 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's the beauty of the current WWE landscape: it has something for everyone.

Source: Busten Open Podcast