One of the big matches promoted for the June 8 Raw from Paris was Penta’s Intercontinental title defense against WWE Hall of Famer and lucha libre icon Rey Mysterio.
It promised to be a fun match between two generations of legendary luchadors, even if there seemed little chance WWE would strap the 51-year-old Rey. And it was, but first the redemption of former El Grande Americano Chad Gable continued. First with an apology to Penta, which was accepted with the caveat Gable had another amends to make.
Then, just before the IC title match, Chad visited Rey’s locker room. He also got a chance to pay his respects to Mysterio’s protege Dragon Lee.
Back to the match, it was as fun as expected. The only real downside was commercial breaks. Rey and Penta delivered some suspense, including when the champ kicked out after taking a 6-1-9 and a frog splash. Mysterio almost connected with the combo a second time, but the man with zero fear got his knees up. From there, he took it home.
The pair got little time to appreciate France’s adoration of lucha libre before Ethan Page and Rusev struck. The duo had Rey and Penta down when Lee ran in to save them. He was doing well… until the numbers got to him. That allowed Page and Rusev to rip Mysterio’s mask off. But before they could pull Penta off the icon, Gable’s music hit.
After he took care of the rudos, the new respecter of tradition handed Rey his mask.
We and others have called for WWE to do something with Gable after his just-wrapped, amazing run with the current Grande Americano in AAA. They definitely are… what do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments, and get complete Raw results in Claire’s best-in-class live blog here.
