Bully Ray Would Have Done A Few Things Differently With Chad Gable Segment On WWE Raw

Since being unmasked as the Original El Grande Americano at Noche de Los Grandes, Chad Gable has made it his mission to apologize to WWE luchadors for previously mocking their Lucha Libre culture. This quest began with Rey Fenix, his WrestleMania 41 opponent, on "WWE SmackDown," then followed with Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, and WWE Intercontinental Champion Penta on "WWE Raw."

Gable's outing on "Raw" particularly impressed WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray this week, though as noted on "Busted Open Radio," there were still some things he would have done differently.

"We've seen this before, but I think it's been far enough in the past where younger WWE fans have not seen the mask of Rey Mysterio get ripped off, thus it being a big moment," Ray said. "Chad Gable standing there with that mask. What's he going to do with it? They're covering up Rey's head. They're getting a towel, they're covering his head. There is Chad Gable with the mask. What is Chad Gable going to do? He goes over. He hands the mask to Penta and Dragon Lee. They slide the mask back onto Rey's head. Then all three of them get up and there's a little bit of a stare and a nod of approval. I thought this went really, really, really well. There were one or two other little things that I think I would have liked to have seen."

As a viewer, Ray wanted to see Gable himself refasten Mysterio's mask, which had been ripped off by Rusev just moments before. Given the sacredness of masks in Lucha Libre, Ray believes that would have been an "incredible" show of respect from Gable to Mysterio, one of the craft's greatest luchadors. At the very least, Ray also would have accepted the scene of Gable and Mysterio shaking hands after the latter's mask was put back into place by Penta and Dragon Lee.

Prior to their in-ring encounter on "Raw," Gable approached Penta, Mysterio, and Lee backstage to deliver another round of apologies, all of which were accepted. As added advice, Mysterio encouraged Gable to continue reflecting inward and even further back to his pre-mask days as some of his other actions might also be sources of regret. In the eyes of Bully Ray, Mysterio's remarks suggest that Gable's next move may involve making amends with Alpha Academy, whom he abandoned in 2024.

"I kind of was like, oh no, because who did Chad Gable wrong in his past before he put the mask on? [Otis and Akira Tozawa]. One of the things that we said after this match, about a week or two ago is we hoped they don't just put him back with Otis and Tozawa. That comment made me think that that's where he's going," Ray said. "I would love to see him apologize to Otis and Tozawa because if Otis and Tozawa forgive him, you become more over in the fans eyes. You're going back and you're writing all the wrongs. But does that mean that Alpha Academy gets back together? The new and improved Alpha Academy, this big babyface unit that is going to go on and do what?"

Whether Gable potentially reunites with the Alpha Academy stable remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Ray expects Gable to at least approach them on "Raw" in the near future to provide their previous split some closure.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.