Expect big things from Penta in WWE going forward.
Roman Reigns vs. Penta reportedly delivered one of WWE Raw’s strongest worldwide performances of 2026. Reigns defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Penta on the September 14 episode of Raw from Mexico City.
Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com noted that the Netflix numbers for the show have generated plenty of discussion within WWE.
According to Meltzer, the episode produced Raw’s second-biggest number of the year, trailing only the post-WrestleMania edition.
“Raw last Monday, Roman Reigns-Penta, did phenomenal numbers, and the only show this year that beat it was the Raw after WrestleMania,” Meltzer said. “It beat the Raw after Royal Rumble by a small amount, but it did beat it.”
Meltzer added that he has heard from people within WWE since the numbers became available, with Penta’s performance receiving particular attention.
“I have heard from people in the company when this thing came out and, like, there’s no denying Penta.”
The performance was considered especially notable because Raw went head-to-head with a Monday Night Football game that averaged 23.2 million viewers.
“Roman Reigns and Penta as a match, I mean, everyone knows that that’s what drew the number,” Meltzer said. “Here’s the thing: it drew the second biggest number of the year against a Monday Night Football game that had 23.2 million viewers.”
Meltzer went as far as to suggest that without the NFL competition, the episode potentially could have surpassed the Raw after WrestleMania.
“So realistically, if you take away that Monday Night Football game, it probably beats the Raw after WrestleMania. Almost certainly, actually, I would say would beat the Raw after WrestleMania.”
While the show originated from Mexico City, Meltzer said the strong performance extended well beyond Mexico, including countries where WWE traditionally has not performed as strongly.
“This match was huge, obviously huge in Mexico, but it was huge in many countries, including countries that WWE usually isn’t huge in,” Meltzer said.
He added that the numbers could further elevate how Penta is perceived internally while also highlighting Reigns’ drawing power.
“So I think that there’s no doubt that when this number comes out that everybody’s looking at Penta very differently. And also, Roman Reigns as well, as far as he had a match on television that was the biggest match on television of the year for them on Raw worldwide.”
Reigns defeated Penta clean in their September 14 title match, but Penta remained in the World Heavyweight Championship picture afterward.
Penta was subsequently entered into a Money in the Bank qualifying match on the September 21 episode of Raw and picked up the victory, earning his spot in the men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match on October 10 in New Orleans.
