Penta’s first match against Roman Reigns looked huge on WWE television, but backstage it was apparently complete chaos. The current Money in the Bank winner says he was so overwhelmed before facing Reigns in Mexico City that it took him two full days to finally sit down and process what had happened.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Penta opened up about everything going on behind the scenes before his September 14 World Heavyweight Championship match. Between facing Reigns for the first time, wrestling in Mexico City and having his family there, he already had plenty running through his head.
“This is a good question, brother, because, oh man, now I’m relaxed. I cannot tell you what happened all day. But that day, bro, was too much stress for me because, you know, I had a lot of things in my brain.”
The match itself was already a massive deal for Penta, but WWE had plenty more planned around it. His elaborate arrival involved a horse, and that quickly became another thing he had to worry about before even getting near the ring.
“You know, the first thing is against Roman Reigns, first time ever, Mexico City, my family is there. So, hours before that, you saw my arrival shot in the arena with the horse. You saw that?”
As cool as the entrance looked when everything came together, getting there apparently wasn’t easy. Penta revealed there were problems with the horse only a few hours before the match while he was simultaneously being pulled in several other directions.
“Okay, two hours before my match, maybe three, so problems with the horse. It’s not here, maybe it’s delayed, maybe something. You need makeup, I need to go to the ring, you know, I practice. Oh, you have an interview. Oh, you have meet-and-greet.”
Penta barely had a chance to think about the fact that he was about to wrestle Roman Reigns. Every time he finished one responsibility, somebody was apparently waiting to send him somewhere else.
“In that moment, everything was on my brain. ‘Hey, Penta, you need an interview. Oh, Roman is here. Oh, the horse has come.’ You know, I became crazy, bro.”
Then suddenly it was time to wrestle. Penta said everything moved so quickly that he essentially went from dealing with the backstage madness to being told he was next.
“In that moment, when I opened my eyes, like, ‘You are next.’ Oh, okay. You know, everything was too fast.”
It wasn’t until two days later that the magnitude of the night finally hit him. Penta found himself sitting alone in his garden when he was finally able to slow down and realize what he’d just experienced.
“Bro, to be honest, two days later than my match, I started sitting in my garden, like, ‘Wow.’ Now, bro, I promise you, two days, two days later.”
Despite all that chaos, Penta tried to enjoy whatever he could while it was happening. Even the people helping put together his presentation were rushing to make sure everything was ready in time.
“But in the same moment, I tried to enjoy every moment, you know, every interview. The name in Mexico here is Pacho Okil, I used him for my presentation. So the guy is, ‘Hey, I’m going late. You come on.’ You know, everything was rushed.”
Once the bell rang, though, Penta walked away with a completely different appreciation for Reigns. He said working with Roman showed him exactly why he’s considered one of the best wrestlers in the world.
“But in the end, the day was perfect. So I learned a lot facing Roman Reigns because I know, to be honest, I know now why he is one of the best wrestlers, or the best wrestler in the universe.”
Penta was especially impressed by how Reigns controlled everything happening inside the ring. He described Roman’s character work and pacing as operating on a completely different level.
“The character, the Shakespeare, every move, you can breathe, you can enjoy every move. Oh my bro, it’s a different, different chip.”
The actual face-to-face moment with Reigns was something Penta won’t forget either. Standing across from Roman while a Mexico City crowd overwhelmingly backed him turned the whole experience into something he never imagined he’d get to live through.
“But I like it, that chip. I like that style. I feel this moment in the ring when it’s the Big Dog, basically. You know, he looks at me, I look at him, the whole crowd is with me, thank God. But everything was so special and magic, brother, because I can’t imagine a moment like that in Mexico. You know, when? How?”
Penta ultimately lost that World Heavyweight Championship match, but it ended up doing plenty for his WWE career. The reaction led WWE creative to reconsider its original belief that Reigns vs. Penta would be a one-and-done matchup, and Penta has since taken another huge step by winning the Money in the Bank ladder match in October.
Looking back now, Penta sees that chaotic day in Mexico City very differently than he did while running around backstage worrying about horses, interviews and everything else WWE had waiting for him. The pressure was overwhelming in the moment, but getting to stand across from Reigns in front of his home-country fans ultimately made all of it worth it.
“Bro, but now I feel, and I am thankful with WWE, with life, with God, with all my fans, with all the people who believe in me. Because now I live in the dream, but at the same time, I know I represent a lot of people who never give up.”
Penta may have walked into that match feeling like everything around him was moving a mile a minute, but he walked out with a much different view of Roman Reigns. More than a month later, it’s clear the night stuck with him for reasons that went far beyond simply challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship.
What do you think about Penta revealing just how chaotic things were backstage before his first match against Roman Reigns? Let us know in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
