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Add FightsATW on GoogleWWE‘s takeover of Mexico came to its epic conclusion tonight with the main event featuring world heavyweight champion Roman Reigns defending his title against #1 contender Penta. Penta entered an 8-man tournament featuring some of the best luchadores in wrestling today. AAA GM Rey Mysterio Jr. set up the tourney after grabbing Roman’s ear one night following WWE RAW.
Penta defeated his brother, AAA Cruiserweight champion Rey Fenix, in an epic RAW main event that led us to this point. Over the course of last week, we saw three major titles change hands, first with Sami Zayn. Then over the weekend we saw Stephanie Vaquer beat Liv Morgan for the women’s title, while El Grande Americano defeated AAA’s Mega Champion in Dom Mysterio on night two of TripleMania.
Tonight’s telecast announced that attendance totaled 49,017 over three days in Mexico City. The crowds have been amazing throughout WWE’s time in Mexico after a very successful promotional run for these events.
ROMAN REIGNS (c) vs PENTA—WWE World Heavyweight Title
The big-match feel was there from the moment the doors opened, and it intensified when Penta came out wearing a traditional Aztec headdress similar to the garb he’s sported in some of his biggest career matches. Roman Reigns cemented himself as the heel in the match from the moment he made his entrance.
A big question in this match was whether Penta, known for his explosive offense, could successfully combo the ‘Tribal Chief’ in a way that solidifies him as a top guy even in a loss. Penta found success early in the match, but at some point, Roman took over and began to dominate.
Penta couldn’t land some of his signature moves at first, but later he used the shoulder-snapping move on Roman’s right arm. The move left Roman favoring the shoulder for the rest of the match, and at one point, he tried to set up his Superman punch, only to bail out of it because the shoulder was too injured.
They worked on the outside, but it was never too far away from the classic singles match it was meant to be, and the head was turned all the way up in the final 1/3 of the match. Penta managed to hit his “Mexican Destroyer” on Roman for a near fall, but Roman no-sold the move. Then, Penta managed to break the count after getting hit with the Superman Punch with the weakened arm.
Grown men and women in the audience cried with every near fall; the Mexican crowd began to believe their hero could overcome the odds. In the match’s finale, Penta managed to hit a huge springboard ‘Mexican Destroyer’ for the biggest near fall spot of the match. Roman was vocal throughout the match, yelling at Penta and the Mexican crowd, which made him feel like he was the “away team.” Before the match’s climax, Roman grabbed the microphone to deliver a mid-match promo.
However, moments later Roman would hit the spear for the win, completely deflating the crowd in the process. It was a terrific match that explained the summer months used to build toward this moment. Penta might have lost the match, but he showed that he belongs in the big match with the top guys.
STEPH’S FLOWERS
RAW opened with two GMs, Rey Mysterio Jr. (AAA) and Adam Pearce (RAW), as they celebrated the week of shows in the territory capped off by TripleMania. On night one, Rey lost to Omos, who was reinstated from suspension due to the match stipulation. Rey was sporting a neck brace to sell the post-show beatdown he received on night one, but he was healthy enough to make the 3-count for El Grande Americano Triple A Mega Championship win over Dom.
They brought Stephanie Vaquer out after playing a video recap of her ‘off programming’ win over Liv Morgan. That brought out both Morgan and Dom to complain about their huge losses over the weekend. This prompted El Grande Americano to come out on behalf of the new champ, leading GM Pearce to book a mixed tag team match.
El Grande Americano and Stephanie Vaquer gave the crowd a special performance after the champ hit Rey’s 619 move on both Liv and Dom. However, JD McDonaugh and the rest of The Judgment Day came out to end the match in a schmoz.
Dom attacked his father, specifically targeting the injured neck of the Triple A GM, and even though Grande Americano tried to save the vet, The Judgment Day stood tall at the end of the segment.
MITB Qualifiers (Men’s): Je’Von Evans vs Big Cas vs Austin Theory—Triple Threat
Evans was successful against both Cas and Theory, specifically picking up the pinfall win over the man who has made him the target of his attacks since returning to WWE. Cas beat Evans in a singles match several weeks ago, but he was in control in this triple threat by utilizing his signature innovative offense—catching Cas with a springboard cutter for the win.
Evans joins Bron Breakker as the only two currently qualified for the stakes-filled ladder match on October 10th.
MITB Qualifiers (Women’s): Lola Vice VS Raquel Rodriguez vs Kelani Jordan—Triple Threat Match
The NXT women’s champion Kelani Jordan made her debut on RAW as she attempted to qualify for MITB in a match with another champion, Raquel Rodriguez—the women’s IC champ. Lola Vice was also featured in the match, and both upstarts performed well against Raquel.
Raquel seemed to be the odds-on favorite, but Lola Vice picked up the win and will now advance to the MITB ladder match with Sol Ruca and four others TBD.
Other Tidbits
– CM Punk will appear on “Hot Ones: Extra Heat” on Netflix; the episode debuts this week.
– Chad Gable and Dragon Lee tore the house down in a single match for Gable’s IC title. Gable agreed to defend the title against Lee, who has produced a handful of amazing matches over the summer. Gable was successful in his defense, but Lee continues to remain on the verge of a big match moment.
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