8 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (20 Jan - Results & Review)

4. Another Good Penta Spotlight

WWE Raw Penta Pete Dunne
WWE

For the second week in a row, Penta dazzled WWE fans by showing them a microcosm of what he can do in a ring, this time against Pete Dunne.

Dunne cut off Penta’s “Cero Miedo” taunt multiple times with small joint manipulation and continued to counter the luchador’s offense, but Penta hit many of his signature spots, including a Mexican Destroyer and tope to the floor. He also showed off his strength, escaping a triangle with a deadlift perpendicular backbreaker.

Most importantly, Penta had the fans in his corner, which is a good sign at this stage. Racking up a few wins and familiarizing audiences with your repertoire is a great start to Penta’s WWE career. For Dunne, the match represented a welcome diversion from the R-Truth “Butch” nonsense, which has been the only thing that has gotten him on Raw recently. Monday felt like WWE suddenly remembered that the Bruiserweight is a hell of a wrestler.

The open question that remains is whether Penta will reveal more of his arsenal in the coming weeks, or if he will level off for the time being and continue to establish himself.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.