Penta has two championship opportunities in WWE heading into Crown Jewel, and only one comes with a world title match attached. Mr. Money in the Bank will team with Je’Von Evans to challenge Bron Breakker and Austin Theory for the World Tag Team Championship on Nov. 7 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The feud with The Vision has already pulled the contract into two Raw matches.
How Penta Became Mr. Money In The Bank
Penta won the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match on Oct. 10 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The finish came when Breakker took a Mexican Destroyer from atop one ladder onto another. Evans, CM Punk, Kevin Owens, and Trick Williams also competed in the match. The contract guarantees a world title match within one year.
Money in the Bank came less than a month after Roman Reigns retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Penta on the Sept. 14 Raw in Mexico City. A Superman Punch and a Spear sealed that win. Reigns faces Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn in the Men’s Crown Jewel title match, which shares the Nov. 7 card with Penta’s tag team bout.
Evans and Penta have been battling The Vision since September. Theory interfered when Evans wrestled Breakker on the Sept. 21 Raw. A week later, Evans and Penta beat Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh, and Breakker speared both winners afterward. On Oct. 5, Evans and Penta faced Breakker and Theory in a nontitle tag match. Evans won it by hitting Theory with The Vision’s own brass knuckles.
Breakker and Theory have held the World Tag Team Championship since the July 6 Raw, when the pair beat The Street Profits with help from Maxxine Dupri. The briefcase entered the feud on the Oct. 19 Raw during Penta’s singles match against Breakker. Theory tried to use the case against its owner before Evans cut off the attempt. With the referee distracted, Evans hit Breakker with the briefcase, and a Mexican Destroyer finished the match.
Zayn was forced into an impromptu Undisputed WWE Championship defense against Evans on the Oct. 26 Raw. Penta came to ringside with the briefcase, but Breakker attacked from behind before the cash-in could happen. Evans left the ring to fight off the attacker, and Zayn retained with a Helluva Kick. After the match, Breakker and Bronson Reed hit Penta and Evans with Spears and Tsunamis. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce then granted Penta and Evans a World Tag Team Championship match at Crown Jewel.
On the Nov. 2 Raw at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Dragon Lee teamed with Penta and Evans against The Vision trio of Breakker, Reed, and Theory. A Spear from Breakker on Evans ended the match. The Crown Jewel tag team title match stayed on the card. Raw closed with Reigns taking a chair shot from Cruz Montana, in a main-roster debut, and a Helluva Kick from Zayn. Penta did not cash in.
Theory, one of Penta’s Crown Jewel opponents, won the 2022 men’s Money in the Bank ladder match on July 2 in Las Vegas. On the Nov. 7, 2022, Raw, Bobby Lashley answered the open challenge of United States Champion Seth Rollins, then put the titleholder through a table before the bell. Theory then cashed in. Lashley pulled the referee out of the ring after an A-Town Down and attacked Theory, and Rollins retained with a Stomp.
End Of My Penta Rant
Penta should treat the World Tag Team Championship as a side quest. The briefcase is the bigger prize, and the feud with The Vision keeps dragging it into the line of fire. Theory already tried to swing the case at Penta on Oct. 19. A week later, Breakker shut down the cash-in before it started, and Evans lost a title shot in the wreckage. The Nov. 2 six-man loss in Brooklyn handed The Vision even more momentum heading into Riyadh.
A tag team title run comes with regular defenses, a partner to protect, and The Vision circling every Monday. A cash-in lives or dies on timing, and a crowded schedule ruins it. Each week spent chasing Breakker and Theory gives Reigns and Zayn more time to forget about the contract. Theory learned in 2022 how fast a briefcase can go to waste, and Penta cannot afford the same lesson.
Crown Jewel puts Reigns, Zayn, and the contract holder on the same card in Riyadh. Penta’s job that night is to protect the briefcase and watch the Champion vs. Champion match closely. Evans can find another partner for a long title chase. The Vision can keep the gold. The case belongs in Penta’s hands until the right world champion is ripe for the picking.
