WWE Now - CM Punk and Penta get candid on Road to WrestleMania

the show. Hey, it's Sam Roberts. Welcome to a very special edition of WWE now, which of course is a WWE in synetics original production. It's a very special edition of WWE now because not too long ago, right around the time of the release of WWE 2K26, mega Marant, my cohost here on WWE now and myself to sit down with some of the superstars that are going to be making a huge impact at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada. And we wanted to come on here and share those interviews with you guys as we kind of ramp up to WrestleMania and not the least of the people that we spoke to was the one and only CM Punk. Now, a lot has happened for CM Punk in the last month or so, you know, just on Monday Night Raw, watching CM Punk cut the promo that he cut. But we got a little bit of time. We got a few minutes with the World Heavyweight Champion to talk about a lot, you know, and in 2K26, one of the big parts of the game is the showcase mode, which goes over kind of the whole WWE career of CM Punk. So it gave us the opportunity to talk about Punk and his whole career and some of the people that he's faced. We talked about the fact that he had this storied rivalry with John Cena and what his true favorite John Cena match was that he had through his career. You know, we talked about his relationship and his rivalry with Rey Mysterio and also, you know, a topic that I think should come up with CM Punk right before WrestleMania. Last year, going into WrestleMania, a big story. A big story was that CM Punk had never main evented a WrestleMania and that a big reason that he left the WWE the first time was because he hadn't gotten that opportunity to do it. So now that he is approaching his second WrestleMania main event, now that he is approaching main eventing WrestleMania for the first time as the defending World Heavyweight Champion, we talked about kind of contextually what that meant for him and of course this conversation happened not terribly long after that first confrontation with Roman Reigns. So much has gone down between CM Punk and Roman Reigns but that first confrontation where Roman Reigns told the world that after winning the Royal Rumble, he was choosing CM Punk as his WrestleMania opponent and the reason that he was choosing CM Punk as his WrestleMania opponent was not because Punk was easy, not because Punk was less than the WWE Champion, it was because he hated CM Punk and a lot of resentment it felt like that it harbored for a long time was in that conversation. So we talked to CM Punk about that as well. I hope you enjoy the conversation that Megan and I had with CM Punk. CM Punk, the World Heavyweight Champion, welcome man, how are you? Yeah, I'm built around here somewhere. There it is, right there with John Cone. He's trying to claim championship glory. I guess I'll hold on to it. Yes, yes, how you doing man? Oh, just lovely, busy. Busy. Yeah, harried. You still look great. Oh, thank you. You still look fantastic man. We can be a hair and makeup team. Yeah, the blue does something with my eyes. Maybe that's what it is. No way blue often, it's a good color on you. Yeah, who knew. So it's 2K26 creator day, that's what brought everybody in. Everybody's talking about the video game, of course it's WrestleMania season as well, everybody's talking about that. Something that I was looking at, right, because CM Punk is the showcase superstar in 2K26. And I was going over the matches that are on this thing. And of course I think a lot of people are looking for that money in the bank, John Cena match, but the John Cena match that I saw on the list that I saw is that 2013 Raw match. Yeah. Which I think is this unbelievable match that really doesn't get mentioned as often as maybe it should because of that money in the bank match. Do you prefer one or the other? I think money in the bank is more of a moment. Yeah. I think just as a pure contest that match, I think it was Dallas, I think that match means a whole lot more to me. I think that's the best match I've ever had. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And there's also so much going into that. I feel like that was back to like real chip on your shoulder, like, okay, all right, if you're not going to get, I'm going to show you what you're missing. Yeah. That's my Michael Jordan flu game. I was sick as a dog. Yeah. And it didn't make any difference. Yeah. That's awesome. That's awesome. When you look at this, are you guys, because this is one of those instances where it almost forces you to be kind of retrospective with yourself. It's just not something I personally enjoyed doing for me. Do you like looking? You got to go back and be like, look at that head of hair. That's right. I turned myself into a different person, so I don't have to look back. I'm a little bit of the same way. I see the lip ring and I see the hair and I'm just like, okay, okay. Really? A little bit. Me while at the time, everybody was like, that's the coolest thing in the world. I don't know, tastes evolved. But when you look at those matches and stuff, do you get nostalgic? Do you appreciate them or do you go like, I'm kind of so into what's going on right now? I'm definitely into what's going on now. And it's not like I'm over anything in the past. It's more, I look at how far I've come. Yeah. Because I was watching somebody play the game and they were playing as me wrestling Rey Mysterio. And I was just like, man, it's crazy because it's 2008. But then me and Rey also had like a banger of a match with Eddie in like 2002, you know, and then I went on to wrestle him like extensively in like 2009. And now like, you know, today we're still doing it. So it really just kind of shows like the staying power. I look at him as one of the greats. So if I'm still side by side with him, you know, doing stuff, we tagged on a raw in December. And it's just like those are those are the moments that make everything looking back at it like kind of mind blowing. Is it mind blowing as well to you to like know that even the stuff you're doing pre WWE, like you just said, you go back to 02. The the the the the AFI music, even the action figures that Mattel is making now that are based on your dark matches. Yeah. Before you were even signed that like so much of your career has been so impactful that they're going back to like you on the independence kind of trying to make it. Like, yeah, no, we need to celebrate this too. Yeah. I think it's all super, super cool. It just makes me feel a little old. That's all experienced. I think is the word. Well, you know, for some reason, I think there's a section of my fan base that thinks that's a compliment. They're like, oh, he's old. And I'm like, all right. I don't love that. Not not great. It's like it's like calling me my real name. And I'm like, okay. I'm enjoying this. Throwing on the word on can stuff. That that's just completely not my lane. So I just I don't I don't. You don't know what they did to take that as a compliment. Yeah. If I don't know it, I don't know. I just, okay. Do you feel like that CM punk that had so much drama around it, especially leaving the WWE, you know, kind of voicing the fact that you weren't satisfied with where you were at then. If that's the imponk had a crystal ball and could see like what was to come. And I guess you're probably a very different human being, but like drastically. Do you think this here being the world heavyweight champion going in to wrestle mania against a guy like Roman Reigns, assuming you get past Finn Balor. Do you think that that would satisfy a younger CM punk? You know, satisfied. I don't know if it's the word, but it might be it might be dangerous because yeah, because if you think about this, if I may have ended wrestle mania before I left, I don't think I would have come back because I would have done it. Wow. What am I coming back for? Thank God you didn't mean event wrestle me. Yeah, right. Right. It's a little, I mean, it's a little weird. Like, you know, like everything, oh, everything happens for a reason. It's just, it's just one of those things, you know, I did it last year and you know, there's that moment and unreal where there's always cameras on us, but I don't, I didn't know they were shooting me at that moment. That moment was just me standing in the ring after the fact. I didn't win, you know, and it's far beyond being about that. And I was just standing in the ring by myself and I was just looking at like all four sides of the crowd and like people. I can tell there's people from numerous different countries and I'm just kind of like looking around all four sides, just like soaking it in. Well, if this is the last time I'm ever going to be in a ring. Wow. I did it. Well, man, we have to let you go. I do want to acknowledge that mega meran is a human being, the wonderful brain that asks great questions, but we're going to go ahead and ask me a question. Okay. We had a great time talking earlier about 2k26, but I did want to ask you about the, the face to face with Roman Reigns. Yeah. On Sunday night, right? Oh yeah. And you know, Roman Reigns calling out that they did come to him to ask if it was okay that you came back or to at least tell him that you were coming back when that was brought up and just how did that make you feel? Cause I think it was a moment for us fans watching where we all had our jaws on the floor. Yeah. Um, they came to me to ask me if it was okay that they went to Roman to ask him if it was okay. No. Yeah. Far along. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. You know, I, there's a, there's a line and what I do is I blur it. Uh, and he kind of threw it back at CM punk. And I think that's fascinating. You know, uh, for everything he says he's, he's mad about and he hates me. And he's like, well, why'd you let me back in, man? You did it to your damn self. And, uh, I think WrestleMania is going to be a lot of fun. I think the road to WrestleMania has already started off with a bang. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to a lot of it. You know, we're going to be in the garden at some point, I think in March or April 30th, maybe. I mean, you know that whatever's going to happen there, you know, you can pretty much bookmark that it's going to be special. I can't wait, dude. It's, it's a, yeah, I can't wait for the road to keep going. Appreciate your time, dude. You're in a rush. Sorry, I couldn't give you more. No, no, I need to go to bed. Yeah, I'm going to do my best. Appreciate it. Appreciate you, man. Thank you. So big thanks to CM punk. And before we get on to our next interview, I do want to say that the number one sports fan festival fanatics fest is returning to the Javits Center in New York City from July 16th through the 19th of this year, 2026. It's a must attend event for WWE fans. You'll be able to meet your favorite superstars, watch live WWE podcast and enjoy surprise appearances all weekend long. And then when I say weekend, I mean, four full days of the weekend, the 16th through the 19th, WWE superstar autograph and photo opportunities of fanatics fest go on sale Friday, April 24th at 10am Eastern. Listen to these confirmed WWE superstars for photos and autographs. They include EO Sky, Jey Uso, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Cody Rhodes, Jacob Fatou, Liv Morgan, Randy Orton, Rhea Ripley, Stephanie Vicar, Trish Stratus, Tiffany Stratton, and so many more. More WWE superstars are going to continue to be announced. So fans should stay tuned to fanatics fest social channels for the latest updates. Fanatics fest tickets are on sale now at fanaticsfest.com. And I think that, you know, it's really interesting hearing from CM Punk the way we just heard from him and listening to him kind of being reflective in a sense on his whole career, especially as WrestleMania approaches, but also constantly looking forward. I mean, I sat down and interviewed and you can find it somewhere deep in the rabbit holes of YouTube. But I interviewed CM Punk right before his last WrestleMania with WWE before he left. I interviewed CM Punk right before WrestleMania 29, like two days before it, before his match with The Undertaker. And it's so interesting sitting down with him now because as a person, he's still as authentic as he's ever been, you know, in terms of his character. And I don't mean his pro wrestling character. I mean, the character of him as a human, that hasn't changed. But it feels like his outlook, it feels like his appreciation, it just feels like the reality that he now lives in is completely different. I thought it was really interesting and I've never heard him say it before where now he thinks back on that time, you know, because for a long time, there was a lot of bitterness and resentment. And some of the stuff that Roman Reigns brings up that CM Punk said after he had left the WWE about Roman Reigns. I think is centered around where CM Punk mentally was at back then. Because the fact that CM Punk looks back now and says, hey, if I had gotten that thing that I wanted, I don't think I'd be here right now. That CM Punk who wanted to be in the main event of WrestleMania, where he's going on WrestleMania Sunday of this year, now for the second time, that if he had gotten that when he first wanted it, that we wouldn't be getting the CM Punk run that we're getting right now. And I can't imagine as a fan being robbed of this chapter of CM Punk. And as CM Punk is big of a fan of Terry Funk, as CM Punk is, the idea that we wouldn't get this kind of middle-aged and crazy version, the way he's described himself much the way Terry Funk described himself years and years ago, that we wouldn't have gotten this version of CM Punk, I think would have been a crime. I think it is so, there's such a big story when it comes to who CM Punk is and the career of CM Punk. I think that it's absolutely fascinating. But you can tell, and I'm sure you can tell in that conversation as he was sitting down and just the way he answered those questions, the way he carries himself, he's a different beast. I mean, he is an upper, upper echelon, top guy. And after Jotas announced the cards for WrestleMania's Night One and Night Two, and we officially see Roman Reigns and CM Punk in that box where they're advertising the main event for WrestleMania Night Two. I couldn't help but think about how big this match is going to feel, how massive this thing is going to feel. I mean, even in that conversation with Punk, like you can hear the dirt that's under his fingernails. You can hear that what he still describes on Monday Night Raw as recently as this week, you can hear the work that has been put in to him being the person that he is today. He was never chosen for this. He just had to become undeniable, and that's exactly what he did. I think Roman Reigns has worked in a completely different way, but no less hard than CM Punk. I think the idea of being put in a position by a company to succeed, when it's a position that you really can't succeed in, I think can be just as difficult to break out of as never being put in a position at all. And I think the fact that we've gotten to this place, and CM Punk has proven himself, he's already main event at a WrestleMania, everything else is gravy, and Roman Reigns has proven himself. He had a three and a half year run as WWE Champion that shifted the entire industry. Both of these superstars turned themselves into undeniable forces. And on the other side of these two men, staking their claim as people who are at the very top of the industry, breathing air that is rare enough that most will never even get a sniff of it, that now is when those two paths converge, that now, now is when those two forces collide. And I don't think that that's something that is necessarily fully hit me. I mean, we're having the conversation about it now. But I think that that's something that I think is going to hit everybody when those two are in the ring, and they're in their gear, and the bell rings. And you realize that this is the main event of WrestleMania, that Roman Reigns and CM Punk are staring each other down. This feels like one of those matches that we're not really going to wrap our heads around until it's the night of, and we look at these two and fully come to the realization, wait, now somebody's got to win this thing, which means that somebody's got to lose this thing. The only one of these two is going to walk out with the World Heavyweight Title, that this story, especially if it ends up just being about the two of them, that this story gets an answer, and it gets an answer now. And I think there's a world where maybe we thought we would never get that answer. So I'm super excited about it, and I could talk about it, you know, for another hour or two easily. But I don't want to spend all my time talking about CM Punk and Roman Reigns, because Megan and I didn't just talk to CM Punk. No, we also had the opportunity to talk to Penta. Now, I must warn you, this interview happened before Penta had won the Intercontinental Championship from Dominic Mysterio. But Penta did, as soon as he walked in the room, he completely shouted me out for being a Dominic Mysterio fan. Clearly, even before Penta had the Intercontinental Championship, this was something that was on the mind of Penta, putting Dominic Mysterio in the ground, putting Dominic Mysterio in his place, and that's exactly what Penta did when he became the Intercontinental Champion. And now Penta walks into WrestleMania, an Intercontinental Champion, and it's really interesting to put in context with the conversation that we had with Penta. You know, we talked about the journey that he took to get to the WWE, not just through wrestling in Mexico, but wrestling in every promotion in the United States, Lucha Underground, TNA, like, everywhere, everywhere. He wrestled everywhere there was to wrestle before he finally got to WWE. And the instant that he got to WWE, it was like he was home. And we talked to him about that, about why he chose to come to WWE, about how he feels that connection was made with the audience. We talk about, you know, the scene in Unreal, in WWE Unreal, where Haman, Paul Haman talks about Penta, and it's caught on camera and broadcast to everybody on Netflix. We talk about the AAA and WWE connection and how well that's worked and whether he thought it would work or not. It's a fabulous interview. Before we get to that conversation, I do want to remind you that WWE World is taking over the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 16th through the 20th, and it's the ultimate fan experience happening during WrestleMania week. This is your chance to get closer than ever to WWE. You can meet superstars and legends, step inside immersive exhibits. You can experience moments that you won't find anywhere else. You can see names like Cody Rhodes, Stone Cold Steve Austin, AJ Lee, CM Punk, Stephanie McMahon, and more all in one place. You can catch live matches, check out panels, live podcasts, including not just this one, but six feet under with the Undertaker featuring John Cena and explore the WrestleMania Superstore packed with exclusive merchandise. Tickets are on sale now at WWEWorld.com. You can use code WWENow10 to save 10%. Get there. I'll be there. Hopefully we run into each other. But right now, I want you to enjoy the conversation that Mega Moran had. Mega Moran and I, I was there too. Had with Penta. Here we are joining us in studio, the one and the only, Cero Miedo. Penta is here. Yes, sir. Welcome, Penta. Thank you so much. I'm great. I'm very glad to be here with you guys. With you. Thank you. With you. Bro, you and I, we have a problem. You know what? No, we don't know. Come on. You are fan. Don't miss stereo fan. The number one. Actually, right? That's right. Yeah. It's embarrassing. Why? Explain me why. I love, I think Dom Mysterio is super cool. He's got great hair. It's great. Stupid moustache. Skinny guy. Bad wrestler. Fake wrestler. Fake son. Fakes. You think, what do you think? Fake everything. Also doesn't defend his title. Exactly. I know. It's ridiculous. I know. It's true. Continental triple. When? Right. When defend? I mean, he's defended him both before. No, it's not recently. I know. It's a total joke. Do you think he's a worse wrestler or a worse son? Both. Really? Yes. Oh my gosh. Is this true? You don't think Ray could have spent a little more time paying attention to him? I think so. I think so. That's why he is like that. Oh, you're saying that it's not. Yeah. That's more of a negative. Yeah, maybe, you know. I mean, but like. Sure. Sure. But look, times. Okay. But that's okay. I mean, now I've more. Because I am happy today. Okay. Okay. I know my with you today. Okay. I'm a pentafan too. He is. He is a pentafan. Okay. Yeah, he is. No problem. You know, I was waiting for it. This is the easy business, bro. Yeah. Business. That's all. That's all. It's easy. I've been a pentafan for a long time. In fact, like I find it very interesting. And I'm very happy that over the last 14 months, the WWE fans have like taken to you. Thank you. So strongly, like from the, the instant. And you know, part of it is of course that presentation, which you've always wherever you've gone, presentation has been a big part of it. But if you don't back that up in the ring, your dad in the water. Yeah. And I feel like, I mean, if I feel like it goes back to that first Netflix raw or the second one, I think it was the second one. Second one. But when you cut that promo after your match, and even whether you understood every single word or not, you understood the emotion. Bro, I wanted to be honest with you guys. So right now I feel after the 12 months or 13 months, I feel with little more experience that's the real WWE style, you know, because I come from the everywhere. The indie shows, other companies and everything. But everything here is very different because I understand something. WWE is the best company in the universe. And automatic, I want to be the best luchador in the universe. Right. You know, for this thing, years ago, I started doing something different because some, I think one phrase, I love this phrase, say, if you want to get different results, you want to do different things. Yeah. And every day. So every day, Penta tried to improve the style. I try to improve my English. I try to improve everything about me, my soul, my spirit, my mind, everything. Because I know what is the response, my responsibility right now after the one year in here in WWE because I know, thank God, a lot of fans, I like something about Penta, right? Absolutely. That's why I want to improve all areas on my body and my mind. And, you know, so because I know a lot of childs want to be like me. So for that's why it's okay. Okay. I am an example for other person. I want to give my best version every day. This is the true bro. Were you surprised when you were brought in that it was brought in to be Penta? The same Penta we've seen here, Lucha, every Penta is Penta and that's what we wanted WWE and that's what we want you to be. Yeah, it's correct because Penta is real. Penta is not fake like other guys. I don't think. No, no, no, I'm not showing the names. I'm bringing it back. No, I'm not showing the names. No, I'm not showing the names, but Penta really is the Penta bro. When Penta go out to the ring, to the arena or meet and greet or something like that, Penta really enjoyed the moment because Penta understood what is the best formula for this business is the connection with the people bro. This is the true for me. It's my best formula in this business for 20 years. So Penta is the same like here. Penta is the same in the locker room. Penta is the same in the show. And you know, that's why I think so. I don't know. But that's why is the people feel something same like Penta. Yeah. And I think too, to that point, and I never really thought of it that way, but it is, it is true. There is that connection that you have with the audience and they do feel that authenticity, which is such an accomplishment because for a long time, especially in America, a lot of promoters felt like with the mask on, you couldn't relate to the audience. Like they always say in WCW when they made Ray take his mask off, how are you going to connect with the audience? Yes. I never thought Ray had any problem connecting with the audience in the same way you come to the ring. Every part of your face that isn't covered by a mask is covered by face paint. You have this larger than life suit on. You got the fireworks and everything, but there's still a human connection that I feel like is being made between somebody sitting in the audience and yourself. Yeah, because the most important thing about it is the energy. For me, in my personal opinion, I don't know the rest. For me, the most important thing I need to be there every show is my full energy because that's why when you know, feel your body full energy, it's like I want to be there everyone. I don't know what it was, because I feel powerful, you know? Yeah. So, and that's why when I go to the ring and start to say like stupid like, I want to take out this energy, you know? Yeah. That's why I think so. I don't know this is the connection with the people, with the crowd, actually between the scream or something like that because the people say, what is this guy? It's like crazy or what? Yeah. You know? No, I'm crazy. I'm full. My body is full to energy, bro. Yeah. It's passion. Passion. Of course, passion. Because you don't have passion and energy. No, no words. I know a lot of people have a lot of different opinions about WWE Unreal and you know, I'm a fan of it and I really enjoyed watching this past season. One of the things I enjoyed the most was there was this moment and it was with Paul Heyman and he was talking about you. Oh, yeah. And he said, you know, I think we have something with this pentaguy and I think it's, you know, you hear it in the reaction and then it was, you know, the next episode and they showed your entrance and you did hear that reaction and they were like, I'm not sure if you watched it or not, but hearing Paul Heyman say those things about you and everything that Paul Heyman has done in this business. Yes. 13 months into WWE that had to make you feel good. Yeah. The first thing I feel is so proud about me first because, you know, I have 21, 20 years work hard every day for this. When I saw when Paul Heyman talking about pentas like in my heart, like, wow, you know, because everyone know who is Paul Heyman. Yeah. What it means is Paul Heyman in this business. He is the best for all times, you know, like, I don't know exactly. And he's seen the Luchadors from the very beginning. Exactly. He saw everything about this business, basically. And say when he say something positive about me, I feel so proud, but at the same time, I feel the responsibility I have for improve every day, you know. So about the unreal, everything unreal. My side, old school is like, Ouch! Why? You know? 100%. We go for 100%. I'm jealous with my work, basically. You know, in Mexico, it's different. You know, you need to put the mask on everywhere, cover the face, this culture, basically. So when I saw that, my side, old school was like, OK. But my side, the evolution to the wrestling and everything say, we need this. Yeah. Because sometimes the people is confused, that is the real wrestling, you know. It's like different. But when the people can I saw that, it's like, OK, I understand why it happened this, what happened that. But to be honest, my old school side is like, Ah! I mean, I'm sure there was a time where you didn't want to do like interviews like this, right? Yeah. Because Penta is so Penta. Yeah. You know what I mean? Always. Having these conversations. I kind of break that. It's got to be a little uncomfortable. Maybe not now, but when you first started. Yes. Of course. Yeah. Definitely. As I mentioned before, after 12 months, I feel with a little more experience about everything here and WWE. Yeah. Basically. Do you think that, is there a little part of you that goes, you know what, as much as these fans love Penta, they don't know there's this other side. Like we haven't really seen that. You think? Violent. Yeah. Side, that hardcore side. This is the problem with Penta. Because Penta, I love the violence. But at the same time, when I need to be violent, I'm like, okay, no, no, no, no, no, not too much, you know. Yeah, because you got little kids. Yeah. Yeah. I'm about to go like, Chinga to Madra. Relax. You know something like that, but I'm Penta, bro. Yeah. I'm Penta, real Penta in the ring, bro. Yeah. Is it true? I mean, it's amazing, dude. WWE and the acquisition of AAA and the fact that like so many, I mean, this struck me. Yeah. Because you know, I've watched all kinds of wrestling from all over the world, all my life, but watching modern day current WWE fans become so interested in AAA and the presentation of AAA. I feel like it's a major accomplishment. How have you felt about the first thing was big surprise for everyone? Yes. A lot of Mexicans like what? How? You know, so even for me, because in the same day told me, hey, you need to go to the conference and okay, what happened there? I don't know. When I heard everything like, wow, bro, for Penta, like maybe 20 years, the process for to be here. Now, it's very interesting because the every wrestler from AAA have a big freeway. Yes. Mexico to United States to the best company in the world is WWE. I don't know how many Roger can come to here, but the freeway is there. And you're seeing, you're seeing Mr. Iguana, you're seeing La Parca. Mr. Iguana, Parca is like very different characters. Maybe the American people never see before, but when you see like, what is that? All green? What happened? And this is the best for this business. You need to be different because in Mexico, we have like one million wrestlers or luchadors, how you can do something different. This is the former. You need to find something different. The others, one million wrestlers or luchadors. This is the despair for everyone. You know? Yeah. I think in my opinion, this is the best formula. Now, everyone there, I think understand how is this business here because it was the same like Mexican people, the Mexican companies and American companies. Absolutely. When you understand like that, you are done. Yeah. Basically, it's amazing. I mean, it's been so fun. I wasn't familiar with AAA and then WWE partners with AAA and I find myself on YouTube. And I'm watching and I'm seeing Microman and I'm seeing Aberdeen. And then, but then people start digging, right? And maybe they go through the history of like, who is Penta and where did he come from in the generations of Penta and Pentagon and forward and even La Parca and like, oh, La Parca and then it becomes this and going all the way back. I just think, I think it's so good. Well, man, we got to get you out of here. I appreciate it. We have a difference of opinion on Dominic Mysterio. But I do think, I do think. Right there. There it is. I do think. That is very soon. Yeah. For you, you're looking at the WWE Championship. Bro, Penta comes to WWE to conquer everything. I love it. No matter what. I promise you when I win my first title, I promise I come here with you. Yes. Let's do it. It's a fuck. Let's do it. Deal is made. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Huge thanks to the now intercontinental champion Penta for sitting down with Megan Morant and I in our studio and talking to us and giving us some insight about, you know, how he feels just over a year into WWE and putting it all into perspective with the fact that now he walks into WrestleMania, the intercontinental champion, you know, the all new WrestleMania box in WWE slam by Tops is loaded with must have hits featuring stunning inserts like Titans, big city superstars, Vegas at night and more from larger than life legends to today's biggest superstars. This release captures the spectacle energy and grandeur of sports entertainments. Biggest stage. Don't miss your shot to rip into one of the most electrifying products of the year. Download WWE slam by Tops now in the App Store and Google Play. And you know, I can't help but think in the conversation that Megan and I got to have with Penta, not just about the fact that it ends with him looking at the world WWE World Heavyweight Championship and saying, you know, soon, soon. And we didn't realize how soon it would be before he had a title around his waist. When we sat in that room with CM Punk and then with Penta, I did not realize, Megan did not realize that we were talking to two superstars that would both be carrying championships into WrestleMania. And it's really interesting the fact that Penta walks into WrestleMania and again walks into night two, both Penta and CM Punk are going to be wrestling on WrestleMania Sunday. And not only is Penta on WrestleMania, but I'll have all the eyeballs of ESPN here in the United States as well, not just on the app, but on the network itself because he's part of that first hour. He's one of the first matches that is going to also be broadcast on ESPN cable television. And that's the six-way ladder match in which he's defending the Intercontinental Championship. We're talking about Penta. We're talking about Rusev. We're talking about JD McDonough. We're talking about Javan Evans. We're talking about Dragon Lee. And as of Monday night Raw, Rey Mysterio returning to enter into this ladder match. And it's really interesting. Penta as the defending Intercontinental Champion is looking at Rey Mysterio, who has, I mean, he's proclaimed himself the greatest masked wrestler of all time. But what makes Rey Mysterio special is that zero people have ever argued that point. Not one person steps up and goes, I don't know if that's true. He goes, that's true. And hopefully I can be the next Rey Mysterio. And that's even how Penta was described when he first got into the WWE about maybe being the heir apparent to that throne of greatest luchador, greatest masked wrestler. And I think that the fact that Rey steps up and goes, hey, I'm back. I'd like to be in the Intercontinental Championship ladder match. And Penta doesn't even blink. Penta's like the more the merrier. Oh, a Hall of Famer. Rey Mysterio, who is an ageless superhero, wants to enter this ladder match. Yeah, let's make it more dangerous. Let's make it more dangerous and more difficult for me to keep the Intercontinental title. Sure, that sounds fun. And I think that when we talk about the connection that WWE and AAA have made, and the fact that there are a lot of WWE fans now that are far more familiar, not just with the AAA product, but by proxy, the style of lucha and contextually where the style of lucha fits in in an organization like AAA. And I think we're going to see a lot of that in this ladder match. And it's because you've got Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, and Penta who all come from this world of lucha libre. And of course, you've got J.D. McDonough, who will do the impossible and completely put his body on the line for anything. You have an absolute powerhouse in Rusev. Rusev is this ultimate spoiler who, no matter how much you do in the sky, no matter how many flips, no matter how much of an aerial assault, you can hit Rusev with. He's that power base that is not going to be knocked down. Rusev is the biggest guy in this match. And it's like, it's less about how quickly somebody like a Dragon Lee or a Rey Mysterio can get up that ladder, even a Javan Evans, but about the fact that you can't leave Rusev in a position where he can just pick the thing up and tip it over. Because Rusev is not going to climb that ladder up quicker than anybody. Rusev is not going to jump off the top rope and land on top of a ladder. Rusev is going to beat everybody in that match down until he can climb that ladder. And then you look at a Javan Evans and you look at somebody who is so unique because he certainly fits into that lucha style in terms of the acrobatic nature of what he's able to pull off, the way he's able to have this absurd control of his body when it's in midair, but also has this very American sensibility about him. I think that Javan Evans is an incredible hybrid and maybe that comes with being Javan's age. Maybe that comes with being young and being able to surround yourself with all styles of wrestling without having to find him on VHS tapes and things like that. Javan Evans grew up with YouTube. Javan Evans grew up with every style of wrestling imaginable at the tip of his fingers. And I think that bringing that into this ladder match is going to completely change everything. You know, I think what's interesting about Penta going into WrestleMania as the Intercontinental Champion is that once that title is in the sky, once that title is hung above the ladder, as far as I'm concerned, there is no Intercontinental Champion. In any other type of title match, for the most part, somebody walking in with the title is going to have an advantage. They just want to make sure they walk out whole. In a ladder match like this, especially a multi-person ladder match, you've lost that title once it goes up, once it's in the ceiling. And it's up to you to now win it back. It's not even about defending it anymore. It's about winning it back and winning it back against the past, present, and future of the industry. I think it's going to be a remarkable, remarkable scene. I can't wait to see both of these matches on WrestleMania Sunday. And, you know, both of these matches with the potential to really begin to tell a different story after we get out of WrestleMania. If CM Punk defeats Roman Reigns, that's a different CM Punk. But if CM Punk loses that World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania, what then? If Penta leaves WrestleMania still the Intercontinental Champion, well, now it's time to talk about a real reign. Now it's time to talk about who Penta is as a long-term Intercontinental Champion. But any of the other five guys could just as easily leave that ladder match with the title. I cannot wait. I can't wait to talk with you about it. We'll be back, of course, on Monday with a raw recap. I believe we'll have another special edition pod throughout the week. I think between now and WrestleMania, there'll be a lot of Megan Marant and myself here on WWE now. So make sure you're subscribed across all audio platforms. Make sure you're hitting like and leaving comments on the YouTube videos. And we'll see you again very, very soon here on WWE Now.