Penta: A New Hope For Luchadores In WWE?

 

Penta's WWE debut last week on RAW against Chad Gable, followed by his promo afterwards along with this weeks match against Pete Dunne has provided potential for an eventual upper mid-card run. Right now WWE is presenting Penta as a star while introducing him to fans who may not have seen his work in AAA, Lucha Underground, TNA, ROH, or AEW.  I'm hoping once Penta get's more acclimated into the WWE system, he provides a new hope for luchadores in most North American promotions.

Luchadores depending on the promotion also go by cruiserweights, light heavyweights, and jr. heavyweights. Most of these wrestlers fit the profile of under 6' and typically under 150 lbs. With fast paced styles, they are known to breeze around a ring and fly off of anything that gives them enough hang time. Often most of them resemble modern day superheroes with their masks and attire. 

However one thing that has eluded many of these wrestlers not named Rey Mysterio are relevant storylines where they are not made to be the joke. 

I've been watching wrestling consistently for about 30 years.  When I think of how many major storylines wrestlers of that mold were involved in, it is few and far between. Sure Eddie Guerrero became a main event staple, but besides those two who else? Most of the cruiserweights during the days of WCW only involved in major storylines where it involved them losing their mask, Eddie Guerrero had the LWO angle but no one else succeeded from that storyline. Guys like Juventud Guerrera, Psychosis, and Ultimo Dragon were given a bone here and there but nothing of much substance.

Same in other promotions, in AEW currently they have exciting young wrestlers like Bandido, Hologram, and El Hijo Del Vikingo but none have been involved in real angles. TNA did make Penta their world champion during his time there, but other than him they also haven't done much with high-flyers outside of the X-Division. And WWE has tried to create a heir apparent to Rey with Sin Cara, Kalisto, and most recently Dragon Lee. All very talented wrestlers, that for one reason or another were given big time fan fare and then thrown to the side.

In the previous McMahon regime, he typically lost interest in luchadores if their English was not up to par. In WCW, most were looked at as unsung heroes entertaining the fans in between the big stars and angles playing out. Not sure what the promoters in other organizations reasonings were for not really pushing luchadores outside of some of the same concerns. 

However I'm hoping with Triple H in charge, and the way Penta is being presented so far things are changing. With Mysterio's career winding down, Penta could be the next big lucha star. He'll be 40 years old next month, so he's not exactly a young guy but he could be a bridge for the next generation of luchadores in the WWE system. Helping guys like Dragon Lee, navigate thing's he still needs to learn. And soon enough Penta will be involved in meaningful storylines and the main event scene not just spotfest matches, blazing a trail for fellow luchadores to make their way there as well.