Penta makes lasting impression with WWE debut

A phenomenal showing on Raw opens up a world of opportunity for the masked luchador

Penta/WWE

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Extra Mustard is a weekly column looking at the highs and lows–and everything in between–in combat sports and beyond.

Last night belonged to Penta.

On a night where the focus was mainly setting the table for what is to come, the standout moment of the second week on Raw on Netflix took place when Penta made his debut.

A quiet veteran of the wrestling scene, Penta, 39, was teased a week ago as the most compelling luchador in the world–and then delivered the goods in his match on Raw against an incredibly skilled opponent in Chad Gable. It wasn’t the typical squash debut; instead, it went over 13 minutes, which might as well be the equivalent of an Iron Man match on Raw.

Penta has no shortage of experience. Most notably, he starred for AEW–his match against Cody Rhodes on Dynamite from March of 2021 was the one that Bryan Danielson said inspired him to make the move from WWE to AEW–but he also wrestled for AAA, had a stint as Impact world champ, played a role for MLW, and wrestled across indies all over the globe. He never strayed from his goal, which he told me in the spring of 2018 was always to become a star for the biggest promotion in the world.

“I am the champion of Impact, PCW Ultra, and Lucha Underground,” Penta told me, shifting between English and Spanish while citing his desire to be a worldwide wrestling entity. “I’m champion in Chile, I’m champion in Equador, and I’m champion in Chicago in AAW. I need to be number one in the world.”

Penta showing off his “Cero Miedo” persona/WWE

He is now ready to seize that opportunity. His debut was unique, especially for WWE standards–throughout the day, WWE already started promoting his merchandise. The company has repeatedly failed to cash in on the lucha craze that has swept the industry for decades, with one notable exception in Rey Mysterio. Even when there is promise, like there was with Dragon Lee, there is no sustained effort from the company.

Time will tell if that will be different with Penta, who is a distinctly unique commodity. His in-ring work is built on intimidation and pandemonium, but he also showed a far more human side to his character when he spoke to the crowd last night in San Jose following his match.

A report from PWInsider’s Mike Johnson noted that there were those in the WWE locker room who were unhappy that Penta went over his allotted time in his debut. There were similar criticisms from locker room members following the Razor Ramon-Shawn Michaels ladder match at WrestleMania X. But no one remembers the complaints–all that stands are the memories of the moment.