Bully Ray believes Blake Monroe has an opportunity to grow into a role WWE does not currently feature in its women’s division: a dedicated hardcore wrestler whose biggest matches carry a different level of violence, intensity, and anticipation.
The WWE veteran and ECW alum offered that assessment while discussing Monroe’s recent work, including her escalating rivalry with Giulia on WWE SmackDown. Monroe made her main-roster debut at the start of October against Giulia, and the issue between the two did not remain confined to a conventional wrestling match. Their feud eventually reached a Street Fight on SmackDown, where Monroe emerged victorious.
That match, along with Monroe’s previous Street Fight experience in WWE NXT, prompted Bully Ray to make a lofty comparison. He said he could envision Monroe becoming “the female version of the Sandman,” invoking one of ECW’s most closely associated hardcore attractions.
A Different Kind of Presentation
The core of Bully Ray’s argument was not simply that Monroe can work a violent match. Instead, he focused on the contrast she brings to those environments and the way she appears to fit the storytelling demands of stipulation bouts.
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“I have enjoyed Blake Monroe’s work since before she was Blake Monroe,” Bully Ray said. “And there’s just something about her when she does hardcore matches, when she does extreme matches, when she’s telling a story based in any type of match that is not a regular wrestling match.”
That distinction is important. WWE’s women’s roster has no shortage of performers capable of succeeding in high-profile rivalries, but the idea of one wrestler being consistently identified with the more extreme side of the product is a separate proposition. A Street Fight can be a major punctuation mark in a feud, but Bully Ray’s comments suggest Monroe could be more than someone who occasionally participates in that kind of match. He sees potential for it to become a defining feature of her presentation.
Monroe’s recent work has given that thought some tangible footing. Her program with Giulia began with her main-roster arrival in early October and continued to intensify until the Street Fight. By winning that encounter, Monroe did more than score a result in an ongoing rivalry. She showed that WWE has already been willing to place her in a setting that asks a performer to project aggression and physicality beyond the usual expectations of a standard match.
Before reaching SmackDown, Monroe had also competed in a Street Fight in NXT, where she got the better of Jaida Parker. Those matches do not automatically establish a permanent identity, but they do provide a pattern: when Monroe has been put into a more chaotic, no-rules atmosphere, she has been presented as someone capable of thriving there.
Bully Ray Highlights the Contrast
Bully Ray specifically pointed to the visual and character contrast that he feels makes Monroe’s extreme-match work stand out. In his view, the juxtaposition between her glamorous appearance and the brutality of a hardcore setting gives the performances additional impact.
“Blake Monroe, she’s a gorgeous woman. And then she goes and does all of this hardcore stuff. And to me, it just works,” Bully Ray said.
He went further, arguing that the contrast is part of why the act could have more room to develop. “Like, no girl who is that hot should be able to do anything this violent,” he said, before adding that WWE has not yet “scratched the surface” of what Monroe may be able to do.
That is a significant endorsement coming from Bully Ray, whose own career is deeply tied to intense rivalries and hardcore wrestling. His praise is centered on a particular skill set rather than a broad declaration about Monroe’s overall potential. He sees a performer who can make a violent stipulation feel believable while retaining a distinct presence that separates her from a more traditional bruiser or brawler.
For Monroe, that could be a useful lane within a crowded roster. Wrestling identities are often shaped by the moments that audiences most strongly associate with a performer. A wrestler can have a versatile in-ring game, but repeatedly excelling in a certain match type can establish a reliable expectation: when the story demands a match with higher stakes and fewer restrictions, that wrestler is someone fans expect to see.
Monroe’s victories over Parker in NXT and Giulia on SmackDown have positioned her as a wrestler with experience in that territory. The next question is whether WWE continues to build on it or keeps those bouts as notable but occasional chapters in wider feuds.
The Sandman Comparison Comes With a Big Standard
Bully Ray acknowledged that his comparison was a bold one. The Sandman is a hardcore legend, and connecting Monroe to that name is less about suggesting she should replicate every aspect of his act than it is about identifying a possible role within WWE.
“Knowing what she’s done in the past, I’d love to see Blake evolve into something that WWE does not have at all, which is a hardcore female wrestler,” Bully Ray said. “I’m going to say something pretty outlandish, but tell me if you get my point or if you can see it. Blake Monroe is the female version of the Sandman.”
His wording makes clear that this is a projection of where Monroe could go, not a claim that she has already reached that status. The comparison is based on the possibility of an identity built around extreme matches and the willingness to embrace a more violent style when a story calls for it.
It is also a comparison that sets a considerable challenge. Being a hardcore attraction is not only about participating in Street Fights. It requires making those matches feel like an extension of personality and narrative. The violence must add to the feud rather than become an empty collection of spots, and the wrestler has to make the audience believe that this is a setting in which they are especially dangerous.
Bully Ray’s comments indicate that he thinks Monroe already understands that storytelling element. He praised her not just for “hardcore” or “extreme” matches, but for how she tells stories in bouts that depart from regular wrestling-match structure. That is a more specific endorsement than merely saying she is tough or willing to take risks.
What Monroe’s Recent Wins Could Mean
The Street Fight victory over Giulia is Monroe’s clearest main-roster example to date of the attributes Bully Ray described. Their feud escalated from Monroe’s October debut into a match designed to settle a more personal and physical issue. Monroe leaving that encounter with the win gives WWE a result it can point to if it chooses to continue emphasizing her aptitude for stipulation matches.
Her prior Street Fight win against Jaida Parker in NXT adds another piece to the picture. Taken together, the Parker and Giulia matches show that Monroe has been successful in these circumstances across both brands. That continuity matters because it keeps the idea from being limited to one isolated SmackDown rivalry.
There is no indication that Monroe’s entire WWE direction is now exclusively tied to hardcore wrestling, and Bully Ray’s comments should be viewed as a vision for a possible evolution rather than confirmation of a creative plan. Still, his point is straightforward: WWE could differentiate Monroe by leaning into an area that is not presently occupied by a clearly defined female hardcore specialist.
For now, Monroe’s recent history gives the idea credibility. She has handled Street Fight environments in NXT and on SmackDown, defeated Parker and Giulia in those settings, and drawn praise from a figure with firsthand knowledge of what it takes for an extreme-match persona to connect. Whether WWE pursues that path remains to be seen, but Bully Ray sees the raw ingredients for a distinctive act already in place.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.