8 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Monday Night Raw (September 25 - Results & Review)
7. Otis Vs Bronson Reed
WWE.com
A second win over an Alpha Academy member in as many weeks for Bronson Reed was yet another big step forward for a big man that's struggled to make a big splash.
After Ivar's insane athleticism last week (more on that later) and the exceptional FTR sprint squash victory over the The Workhorsemen on Saturday's Collision, there feels like a renewed thirst in the North American scene for seeing how far big guys are willing to push themselves beyond the norm.
Had the commentators been yukking it up over "the big meaty men slapping meat" while two monsters collided to silence, this would have felt like a forced tribute act to stronger originals elsewhere on the scene. Instead, Reed and Otis earned some of the loudest reactions of the night, and the former looked increasingly like he might be a problem for World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins should he squeeze by Shinsuke Nakamura. That this defeat was folded into the Academy's lingering issues with Imperium was decent dovetailing too - Gable in particular seemingly couldn't get any lower, but viewers are being asked be patient waiting for the post-darkness dawn.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
