Roman Reigns will put the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Penta.
(Photo by Brien Adams/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE Raw in Mexico City is here with an intriguing main event, and the know-it-all internet wrestling media has already decided that WWE’s month-long lucha libre No. 1 contender’s tournament was a “lose to Roman Reigns” tournament. While Penta will enter the biggest match of his career as an significant underdog to Reigns in Mexico City, many within pro wrestling’s sanctimonious online fanbase could eat their words by the end of the night.
Why Penta Should Upset Roman Reigns At WWE Raw
Anybody who has been paying attention to WWE Raw knows that long-term plans call for a likely main event between Reigns and rising star Oba Femi, who has refused to acknowledge Reigns let alone say his name. This was the case when Oba Femi won the 2026 King of the Ring tournament and—without mentioning Roman—checked the pulse of WWE’s fanbase as to which title he should go after. Fans were strongly behind the idea of Oba challenging Roman for the WWE world heavyweight title. But when Oba had a chance to challenge Reigns for the strap at SummerSlam, Femi put these plans on hold to seek revenge against Brock Lesnar.
During a recent sit-down segment with Bron Breakker, Oba Femi noted Bron would have been a star in 2015 alongside “whoever the big dog was” at the time. This was another subtle shot at Reigns as WWE slowly builds toward its biggest match, likely for Saudi Arabia at WrestleMania 43.
The implied main event has led many fans to assume that Reigns will safeguard this title until it’s time to do the honors to WWE’s next big thing in Oba Femi.
That’s where Penta comes in.
The Mexican disrupter could very well leave Mexico City with a Mexican Destroyer in what would be an unlikely—but unforgettable—moment in Penta’s home country.
A well-traveled international star, Penta bet on himself by leaving AEW alongside his brother and lucha libre tournament finalist Rey Fenix. With limited-to-no opportunities for advancement among Mexican talent in AEW, Penta has gone on to become a phenomenon with an Intercontinental Championship to his name. Rey Fenix is also on the rise as well coming off an impressive performance in the Raw lucha libre tournament. Fenix is the current AAA cruiserweight champion after defeating Laredo Kid at Noche de los Grandes.
WWE Raw Needs A Spark To Sell Tickets For Survivor Series WarGames Match
With several months to go until WrestleMania, WWE has an opening to upset the applecart and dethrone Roman Reigns, if not temporarily. WWE is currently promoting Survivor Series in the 40,000-seat Daikin Park. Royce Keys recently returned on the August 24 broadcast of Raw, flanked by NXT standouts Bronco Nima and Lucien Price of OTM. The new stable, named 946, disrupted Raw’s main event with an attack on both the heel Usos and the babyface team Solo Sikoa and LA Knight. Reigns dryly tasked enforcer Jacob Fatu in helping the Usos dispatch of 946, but Reigns has yet to interact with WWE’s dangerous new faction. All signs point to a WarGames match between the Bloodline and 946 in some form or fashion.
But if WWE wants to sell 40,000 tickets to a baseball stadium in a down year for wrestling stadium shows, it’s going to have to tell a strong story. Somewhere in that story, 946 will need credibility in short order.
Roman Reigns losing to Penta accomplishes two things. It creates a feel-good moment for arguably the most popular Mexican star in WWE not named Rey Mysterio. It also gives Roman Reigns a reason to go from overlooking an upstart stable to entering the fray himself, thereby main eventing a large stadium show that is already unlikely to sell out with or without a strong main event.
Penta as a world champion does not necessarily have to be a long reign. A similar scenario played out during peak WCW when Lex Luger shockingly dethroned O.P. world champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan on the August 4, 1997 broadcast of Nitro. Luger went on to drop the belt back to Hogan five days later at Road Wild.
Penta and Roman Reigns will face off in the main event of WWE Raw Mexico City.
WWE
AEW just aired one of its best shows in history, albeit in a half-empty Wembley Stadium. WWE is very much aware of AEW’s major shows, and has made a habit of counter-programming these events. The next example of this will happen on September 26, 2026 in a Chicago showdown where both AAA and AEW will air competing live events from the Second City with Worlds Collide and All Out, respectively.
CM Punk was added to World Collide, which has moved 10,149 tickets compared to just over 9,000 tickets sold for All Out. With Worlds Collide airing shortly after WWE Raw in Mexico City, perhaps the PLE could pit champion against champion with a first-time WWE clash between CM Punk and Penta. The two last faced off in 2022 with a very good match on AEW Dynamite.
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