Following Roman Reigns’ title defense against Penta on Monday Night Raw in Mexico City, JBL broke down the match’s resonance during the latest edition of Something to Wrestle.
Reigns defeated Penta in a widely acclaimed main event. JBL attributed the bout’s success to Reigns’ evolution into a genuine box-office attraction rather than a weekly television fixture. His full comments are below:
On Roman Reigns Becoming an Attraction
“He’s become a star that can wrestle six matches. I don’t know how many matches he’s had — you’re the hater counting up his half dozen matches. But Roman Reigns has become the guy that’s very rare in this business, that can come along as an attraction. You don’t want them wrestling on TV every week. It’s not the Iron Sheik — it’s the original Sheik. It’s a Brody; it’s an Abdullah. It’s a Jack Brisco that’s going around. Roman Reigns has become an attraction, and that’s rare to have. When he has one of his first matches on television in so long, it’s a big deal.”
On Penta’s Star Power in Mexico
“Penta is a massive star. You saw the social media, people staying up all night to go see him the next day. That’s rock star level, man. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that. I guess I probably have, but you have fans that are staying up all night so they make sure and be the first ones in line to see Penta.”
On Reigns Deserving Credit as a Worker
“You’ve got two incredible stars here, and I think Roman Reigns is an incredible worker. It’s always Penta, but I think Roman Reigns, man, he deserves his flowers. No doubt.”
On Why the Whole Thing Worked
“I think people knew this match would be fantastic, and it was. Everything about it — from the tournament to decide who’s going to wrestle Roman Reigns, to being in someone’s home country, to Roman not wrestling hardly ever on regular television — I just think the whole thing worked in this perfect storm.”