There was some serious hype going on for Penta’s debut match on Raw this past Monday. To be frank, I didn’t quite care for him when I did see him so my expectations was exceedingly low. The last time I saw Penta I recall poor Dante Martin’s ankle getting mangled from a stupid power bomb table spot on a RoH show. That alone made me want to stop watching either guy because I just felt they were clowning around too much and the result showed about their carelessness. I’ve been quite critical of Rey Fenix too just because he’s been involved in injuries (both to himself and his opponents). So seeing this match was like morbid curiosity for me.
Of all the people they selected for Penta’s debut, they chose poor Chad Gable. I’ve had mixed feelings about this guy because he’s small and had a series of start/stops which made him look weak. He’s clearly talented though and he manages to get heat. But at some point you have to wonder if he’s nothing more than a doorstop for most of the guys he gets to wrestle.
That said, when I watched this match, I thought that they were attempting to re-do something similar as Rey Mysterio Jr’s debut against Dean Malenko during the Great American Bash 1996. Chad Gable is more of a technical wrestler while Penta has been described as the “best luchadore right now.” And while they started off doing a little more mat wrestling than what we’ve seen Penta do in AEW, I noticed that he was off. There were a few misses and reading some comments before I got to see the match, I read “man this is rough.”
But I do think part of that was nerves as well as getting used to the new ring/environment. I’m sure Penta was under a lot of pressure due to the hype, which is why I couldn’t understand why they immediately dumped him on Raw. I’m guessing the other luchadores might’ve been pulling for this guy but outside of Rey, I haven’t really seen anyone make a large impact in the WWE. There were a few missed spots that I’m going to forgive for now just because it was his debut but in comparison to Rey vs Dean in their first match up, I wouldn’t have known that this guy would be even considered in the top 10 luchadores seeing the botches.
There were a few impressive spots during the match but I’m more convinced of Chad Gable than Penta at this point. Part of the problem is that I didn’t see anything that I haven’t already seen from Penta in AEW. The other problem is that there’s very little new things that any wrestler can do at this stage to really impress me when it comes to a match with regards to moves. All the best stuff has been done and the things left lean too close in endangering their lives.
The other problem is that Penta isn’t special to me talent-wise. He does a variety of movies like kicks, a few power moves, maybe some submissions but it’s not special. Rey was supremely special in everything he did when he was at his peak. I don’t think anyone since Rey has come close to what he was able to pull off at his peak. More than that Rey knew how to build a match with excitement. He had his off nights but his off nights compared to many others in ’96 – ’97 were better than most contemporary wrestling.
With regard to Rey vs Dean, the chief difference is that their first meeting was designed for Dean to control Rey and limit what he would show. But when you did see those moments, they were awe inspiring because they would wake up the crowd. Rey was so good in that match that Dean had to use a corner powerbomb with his feet placed on the ropes to beat Rey, demonstrating how close Rey was to beating Dean. But it laid the groundwork in giving the world a taste of what was to come as their feud grew and got better.
Here, with Chad vs Penta, the match felt too long for me. It meandered and I got bored halfway through. I think they were trying to go for the spirit of Dean vs Rey but missed the key elements that made that match great. Of course, a huge issue is just that modern wrestling gives too much away, forgoes the mat wrestling parts that slowly build up to exciting moves and lacks tension and good selling to make matches feel impactful. Right now, my standard for the best luchadore is Rey Mysterio Jr from ’96 – ’97. He might’ve had even better years (I did get a chance to see his earlier stuff with Psicosis in ECW and Japan) but in terms of showing it to the world and having a variety of opponents while being special all the way through, no one can top Rey in his peak.
On the bright side, the usual dribble that would occur in a Penta match in AEW was absent here for the most part. He got to sell and the match felt slowed down. I want to give the guy a shot to prove to me why he’s the best luchadore but the bar is set really high and I’m not impressed with raw moves anymore. You need the psychology part which is what Rey incorporated into his matches to make them special. I recall Konnan saying on his podcast that guys like Penta and Rey Fenix may not have been told about adjusting their style for the American audience but with the WWE, I think Penta will gradually adapt. Otherwise, he’ll just go to some group and stagnate like the rest of the WWE’s luchadores until they tour Mexico. And again I am willing to give the guy a chance while he’s in the WWE but my window of patience is short right now.
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