Penta didn’t beat Roman Reigns in Mexico City, but WWE executives apparently saw everything they needed to see. His performance strengthened an internal belief that a World Championship is eventually in his future.
According to Lucha Libre Online, executives backstage at the September 14 episode of RAW were extremely happy with Penta’s performance. WWE already knew he was an excellent wrestler, but watching him hang with Reigns while having an entire arena firmly behind him was apparently something different.
“All the executives who are backstage at Raw from CDMX are extremely happy with Penta’s performance. They were all clear that he’s an excellent wrestler, but something very different was seeing him dancing in the same ring with Roman Reigns with an entire arena on his side.”
The report went much further than simply saying Penta had a good night. WWE came away viewing him as a long-term money maker, while his performance reinforced existing internal thinking that he will eventually become a World Champion on the main roster.
“WWE today has just realized they have a long-term money maker in Penta, and today’s match reinforces the internal thinking that at some point, Penta will indeed be World Champion on WWE’s main roster. Today, it was made clear to the people he had to impress.”
Business was strong enough to add another piece to the picture. Lucha Libre Online noted that the Mexico City show performed extremely well at the box office and may have set a record for money generated by WWE at Arena CDMX.
“The event was excellent in ticket sales, possibly a record amount of money generated for WWE at the CDMX Arena.”
That kind of backstage reaction came after Penta was given his biggest test yet on WWE’s main roster. He challenged Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event, and Mexico City wanted nothing more than to see him take the title.
Penta came close enough to keep them believing. He hit the Penta Driver and a Destroyer for near falls, unloaded with superkicks and repeatedly had Reigns in trouble while the crowd stayed firmly behind him. Reigns eventually shut the door when he caught Penta coming off the ropes with a Superman Punch and immediately followed with a spear for the victory.
Penta walked out without the championship, but the result apparently wasn’t the important part backstage. He got the chance to show WWE executives what he looks like in a World Championship main event against Roman Reigns, and this report suggests he made his case.
Do you want to see Penta eventually become a WWE World Champion? Let us know in the comments.
