Bully Ray believes Penta has moved beyond being a one-night challenger for Roman Reigns. After Penta opened and closed the September 21 episode of WWE Raw, Bully said the company was telling viewers to treat him as a main event star.
Bully and Dave LaGreca discussed Penta on the September 23 edition of Busted Open, following his World Heavyweight Championship match with Reigns in Mexico City and his Money in the Bank qualifying win the next week. Bully pointed to the placement of Penta’s promo and match on Raw as the clearest sign of WWE’s continued interest.
In Mexico City, Roman Reigns went over, but my God, did Penta get over. Opened up the eyes of creative. They were high on Penta as it was. We saw how Penta debuted. Penta went over in the tournament. Penta was the chosen one going into that match with Roman. Like, they knew Penta is at the level where he can win the tournament, face Roman in Mexico City, and we know this will work. Well, it worked so damn well that it made Penta take a next step. How do I know that? They opened and closed last night with Penta. That’s a huge spot for him. It’s a big deal. Open up with the promo. Close with a victory in a Money in the Bank qualifying match. Great night for Penta. I expect Penta to be utilized to the most maximum potential that he has earned on that roster.
LaGreca brought up Wade Barrett calling Penta a main event star during Raw’s opening segment. Bully read that commentary as part of the presentation WWE wanted for Penta, while treating a Reigns rematch as a possibility rather than an announced plan.
That is the WWE telling their fan base that this is the way we perceive Penta moving forward and this is the way you should be perceiving Penta moving forward. So, like I said, emotional manipulation. We think Penta is a main eventer and we’re going to tell that to you because we want you to react and respond to Penta like he’s a main eventer moving forward.
Penta said on Raw that his loss to Reigns wasn’t the end of their issue, then qualified for the men’s Money in the Bank match. Bully said a second meeting could carry a more personal story than their first match, which followed Penta’s tournament win.
As a matter of fact, if Roman gets past LA Knight like we think he will, what’s to say they don’t go back to Penta? Because if they need guys for Roman leading up to WrestleMania next year, if they’re going to leave the belt on Roman, I would have no problem with them going back to Penta with more of a story that revolved around Roman and Penta. Because the story wasn’t about Roman and Penta leading into the match. Penta won a tournament, got the match. … Now, we can make it about the story coming out of the match. Now Penta can look at Roman and go, yes, you beat me, but you know damn well that I’m worthy of a rematch. You can’t sit there and tell me no. You can’t sit there in front of all these people and tell me no.
WrestlingHeadlines previously covered Bully’s assessment of the Mexico City match, when he compared it favorably with Reigns’ WrestleMania match against CM Punk. His latest remarks focused on what WWE did with Penta afterward and how the Money in the Bank briefcase could bring him back to Reigns.
Penta with that Money in the Bank, based on what just happened in Mexico City? Penta having that briefcase chasing Roman? Without a doubt. And like I said, unless you have the right babyface, Penta would be that right babyface. Because Roman, and all Penta has to do is remind Roman, yeah, you got the one, two, three, but I had you within a half a second on a couple of occasions of losing your championship. And now that I got one under my belt, I know what your strengths are, but more importantly, I know where your weakness lies.
Source: Busted Open Podcast, “Penta Proves He Belongs at the Top in WWE”.
