WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray had high praise for the way Oba Femi returned to Monday Night Raw, calling his rescue of Je’Von Evans from The Vision one of the most effective run-ins he has seen in a long time.
Speaking with Dave LaGreca on Busted Open, Bully broke down Femi’s September 21 return, which saw him interrupt The Vision’s attack on Evans before fighting through the group and eventually sending Evans flying onto its members at ringside.
For Bully, one of the most important details came before Femi even reached the ring.
“What’s the very first thing you saw Oba Femi do when he came out to save Je’Von Evans? Sprint to the ring because he was doing an actual run-in. He was sprinting with purpose because he wanted to save young Je’Von, who he used to hang, clang and bang with in NXT just about a year ago, from a bunch of cats that he hates. It makes perfect sense. He’s running in to make a save.”
Bully felt Femi maintained that sense of urgency once he entered the ring, pointing to his punches, forearms, clotheslines and running uppercuts rather than an elaborate sequence of moves.
“Where did the physicality lie with Oba Femi? In his fists. In his aggression throwing punches, throwing forearms, throwing clotheslines, back elbows and, more importantly, the running uppercuts. Nothing was spotty. It’s not, ‘I’m going to come in, duck the line, hit the ropes, leapfrog and then I’m going to do something to you.’ Because by that time, you’ve lost the people and the run-in no longer becomes what a run-in is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be about physicality and violence. And that’s what we got last night from Oba.”
The former Dudley Boyz member explained that, in his view, a wrestler making a save risks losing the crowd’s initial excitement by delaying the physical confrontation.
“When a wrestler comes out to make a save and do a run-in, you hear the people go crazy, right? Because, yay, here’s a babyface coming to save the day. The babyface slides in, stands up. The minute something happens that’s not immediate physicality, so let’s say the babyface stands up and then here comes the heel and then the babyface ducks out of the way, in that moment in time, just that duck alone, you lose the people by 50%. Why would you ever want to lose the people by even 1%? Slide in, stand up, drop people. And that’s what Oba did, and that’s why he had all of the people for the entire segment.”
Bully also praised the performances of the wrestlers surrounding Femi, arguing that The Vision did its part to make his return feel as impactful as possible.
He specifically highlighted Logan Paul’s reaction when Femi prevented him from using a steel chair.
“Everybody involved in that segment did their job. The heels bumped and fed the babyface. Logan Paul did a tremendous job of selling shit-his-pants fear when Oba looked down at him, which is exactly what a heel in that moment is supposed to do when you have a man the size of Oba who just stepped on your steel chair and is looking at you like he’s going to eat you. Everybody bumped and fed for him. He finishes it off with the chair shot because that’s the icing on top. That’s the exclamation point. … Not one mistake in that entire segment. Not one hole in that entire segment. … That was the most effective run-in I have seen in a long time in wrestling.”
Femi’s issues with The Vision have continued since his return, with WWE subsequently making a singles match between Femi and Bronson Reed official for Money in the Bank on October 10.
