4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (14 Sept - Results & Review)
1. Penta Takes Roman To The Limit
Despite having home country advantage and the proverbial wind at his back, Penta still was the underdog heading into his World Heavyweight Championship match against Roman Reigns Monday night.
Reigns has always been a big-money match wrestler, and losing here would have scanned as either a desperate hotshot or catering to the locals rather than a meritorious reward. But that’s not to say that Penta and Roman didn’t go out there and crush it on Raw.
Even before the match, Penta got the megastar treatment to really set the tone and let the audience know that he was not going to be brushed aside by Reigns during this title match.
True enough, the luchador showed zero fear in standing up to the Tribal Chief, ripping his arm with the Sacrifice and continuing to charge straight ahead at Reigns.
The closing moments provided a dizzying array of near-falls. Penta kicked out of a spear and a Superman Punch while landing a Penta Driver and two Mexican Destroyers, with Roman surviving all of that. That’s to say nothing of the signatures each man countered. Roman finally intercepted a springboard attempt with a Superman Punch before putting Penta down with another spear to retain the title.
The crowd was living and dying on every move down the stretch, and they were not happy with the outcome, but this was most likely the right call, even if it meant squandering all the pageantry and goodwill built up with Penta Monday night.