Raw recap & reactions: Penta has cero miedo – Cageside Seats
Filed under:An inaugural champ, GUNTHER’s new challenger, and the Royal Rumble gets more entrants on this week’s Monday Night Raw. Monday Night PENTA!#RawOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/YvQUuSqNSVWrestling’s worst kept secret became reality this week when Penta made his WWE debut. The E definitely picked the right city for this moment because San Jose was hot for the masked man from the moment his entrance music hit. By the way? Music kinda works for him. Neither Chad Gable or Penta disappointed here. Props to Chad for, as usual, being an incredible cat in the ring and putting Penta’s unorthodox offense over in the biggest ways possible. It was weird seeing Penta work in such a controlled environment, as was it watching Chad work with someone with this style. But they both showed how skilled they are because neither felt so natural. Penta looked right at home in a WWE ring, which probably explains why he and Chad went for about 20 minutes, which is 10 minutes more than I figured given the context. Chad can take a squash and be okay afterward because his character bounces back from anything. But giving them that much time was the right move as it showcased Penta to the uninitiated and told a nice back and forth story where he truly gutted out the win over a very worthy opponent. And once again, the setting helped immensely. I mean, when an entire crowd greets “the new guy” like he’s one of the family and howls his signature chant like werewolves at this week’s full moon, that guy always looks like the biggest star in the territory. And then this happened: This is the PENTA NEW ERA!#RawOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/oOBY3QpfLCThe last time I used Spanish frequently was high school. And while I’m sure I’m disappointing Mrs. Bazo-Gomez with this revelation, I’m more than a tad rusty. But according to the main man Manolo, he said, “Penta says, ‘For all my people of Mexico and Latin America, thank you for being part of the process and accompanying me on the road to be able to arrive here. This is the result of a Mexican when he wants to get ahead.”” I’m going to miss the guy in AEW but WWE clearly rolled out the red carpet for him (red because it’s Raw) and he waltzed on it like only Penta can. #RawOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/j5rxijzz3fA few things came to light while watching this week’s main event. One: At least one person is really passionate that Diablo III > Diablo IV. B: Damian Priest is a big New Jack City fan.And lastly, it’s time for this thing between Damian and Finn Balor to end. There’s not much to say about this Street Fight waged between two men who used to call each other hermano other than it was wild and did a lot all before 11 p.m. ET. Finn jumped Damian with a kendo stick, which I always like. Why anyone plays by the rules for the opening of a street fight is beyond me, especially when it’s a blood feud. That led to a lot of fighting outside the ring, which gave way to Damian putting Finn through a table using a Falcon Arrow. And then we got a commercial break and a stretcher spot. But with so much time on the clock, surely the match wasn’t over, was it? Did this STREET FIGHT just turn into a STRETCHER MATCH?! #RawOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/LjBXihSqApIt was all anarchy from that point. Judgement Day (minus Dom, more on that later) did everything possible to give Finn the W but Damian didn’t stay down. Long story short, Finn took off that neck brace and got himself back in the game. We got two more table spots, and an attempted beheading. Yes, a beheading. It all ended when Damian finally got his clutches around Finn’s neck for a South of Heaven and promptly proclaimed he is not his brother’s keeper. This was a war and wars usually signal the end. I’ve said before that these two need space and maybe that’s what we’ll get. Or WWE will pull the rug out from under me and have them go at it again at Royal Rumble. I hope not because this was a fantastic match with a poetic ending. HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE.#RawOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/LVbtQEF1MiLyra Valkyria is your first women’s Intercontinental champion! And it’s well deserved considering how Lyra took the “show and prove” adage to heart since her first big matches in NXT. What surprised me about this match vs. Dakota Kai is how much Lyra dominated. From a real sports perspective, this was her night from the opening bell. She didn’t squash Dakota at all, but this wasn’t a match built with suspense. Lyra looked great here. She’s the perfect person to play the the champ who takes on all comers with the white meat baby faca energy. Last week was a lot of fluff with no substances, albeit entertaining fluff. This week was back to basics and an improvement on last week’s big Netflix corporate event. The matches thrilled me, the stories intrigued me, and the ending felt like an ending to a storied saga. This felt like the true start to Mania season. What say you, cagesiders? What’s next for Penta? Check your inbox for a welcome email.Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.
