Bully Ray Assesses WWE's Handling Of Penta Following Roman Reigns Match

Former WWE star Bully Ray has high hopes for Penta after what he witnessed over the last two editions of "WWE Raw."

Penta had one of the biggest nights of his WWE career on September 14 "Raw" when he came up against Roman Reigns, facing "The Original Tribal Chief" for the World Heavyweight Championship. Although he came up short, Bully Ray is convinced WWE will push him to the top, following Penta's performance on this week's "Raw."

"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," Ray said on "Busted Open."

He believes WWE signaled to the fans through the way they booked Penta on the last two episodes of "Raw" that he is going to be booked as a big star. He feels that was evident in the way the Mexican star opened the show and stood victorious at the end of it, stating that the former Intercontinental Champion had a great night.

"That is the WWE telling their fanbase that this is the way we perceive Penta moving forward, and this is the way you should be perceiving Penta moving forward. Like I said, emotional manipulation. [WWE said] '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,'" added the veteran.

A week after losing to Reigns, Penta qualified for the men's Money in the Bank match on this week's "Raw," having also competed in the match last year.