The Tournament To Face Roman Reigns Leads to a Perfect Ending

After a pretty mundane World Heavyweight Championship run since taking the title from CM Punk at WrestleMania 42, Roman Reigns has had quite an interesting week in WWE. First came the match of the PLE against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. This was followed by a thrilling promo with LA Knight on Raw. Lastly, and most intriguing of all, is the announced tournament from AAA GM Rey Mysterio, with the winning luchador scheduled to face the OTC in Raw in Mexico City next month. It’s a given that the Original Tribal Chief will retain, but something great will come out of it for the loser.

The Tournament Bracket To Face Roman Reigns at Raw in Mexico City

• The winning luchador from AAA, Raw, and SmackDown gets a title shot with the OTC.
• El Grande Americano, an early favorite, is not in the tournament.
• The brackets consist of eight wrestlers.

After Raw, a clip showed AAA General Manager talking to Roman Reigns backstage. He had an idea he wanted to run past the champ. It was revealed later in the week when Rey announced a tournament, with the luchadors of AAA, Raw, and SmackDown facing off, and the winner getting a World Heavyweight Title shot against Reigns when Raw is in Mexico City on September 14.

According to Bryan Alavrez of the Wrestling Observer, El Grande Americano was the early favorite to win. This would make perfect sense. He is the biggest star in AAA after all. However, when the tournament was released, El Grande Americano was nowhere to be found, likely because WWE wants to protect Ludwig Kaiser and not have him lose.

The released tournament consists of eight men. In one half of the bracket, the winners of Penta vs. Laredo Kid and Psycho Clown vs. La Parka will meet in the semi-finals. On the other side, it’s Dragon Lee vs. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rey Fenix vs. El Fiscal.

The Tournament Will Come Down to Penta and Rey Fenix

• WWE is setting up for a brother vs. brother tournament final.
• Penta is a multi-time Intercontinental Champion and major star on Raw.
• After a promising start, Rey Fenix has disappeared from SmackDown.

Every luchador represented is a quality opponent who can put on an exciting match with Roman Reigns. To look at the bracket, though, is to see a very interesting and probable finals. If it plays out as predicted, the final match would see Penta take on his real-life brother Rey Fenix.

Since coming to WWE, it’s been two different stories for Penta and Fenix. On Raw, Penta has become a multi-time Intercontinental Champion and the biggest luchador in the company. If anyone can be the successor to Rey Mysterio, it’s him. Meanwhile, Rey Fenix debuted on SmackDown to considerable fanfare, only to pretty much disappear from Friday nights and become exclusive to AAA. After so long together, WWE has kept them apart. Now they can meet in a huge match with so much at stake. Penta would no doubt be the favorite and give Reigns the most marketable match possible, but no matter who wins, it’s step one in a huge and much needed reunion.

It’s Time For a Lucha Bros. Reunion in WWE

• Penta would beat Rey Fenix in a tournaent.
• Fenix should be in Penta’s corner when he loses to Roman Reigns.
• The tag team wanted to stay together after they left AEW.

There doesn’t need to be any sort of babyface and heel dynamic in a Penta vs. Rey Fenix match. The in-ring moves and what’s at stake are the story. If and when Fenix loses, he will hold his brother’s hand up high and support him. That support should take him all the way to Raw in Mexico City, where he’s in Penta’s corner. When Penta then inevitably loses to Reigns, the moment is there for the brothers to embrace and realize what comes next. With Reigns stepping aside to give them the spotlight in Mexico, the audience will be clamoring for a Lucha Bros. reunion. After putting it off for so long, WWE must capitalize and reunite one of wrestling’s greatest tag teams.

WWE’s tag team division is in bad shape. After letting go of teams like the New Day, Motor City Machine Guns, and the Wyatt Sicks, Raw and SmackDown are weak. Over on the red brand, the Vision are the World Tag Team Champions. No disrespect meant to the titles, but it’s the last thing Bron Breakker should be involved in. On the blue brand, it’s the thrown together Damian Priest and R-Truth, who are more comedic than a memorable team.

Tag team wrestling must return to WWE. It’s one of the many changes needed in Triple H and TKO’s version of the company. When Penta and Rey Fenix left WWE for AEW, it was to continue to be a team. It was understandable why they were kept apart at first. It allowed them to get over on their own. Still, WWE never put them together. It’s been so long that fans started to forget. We no longer can. The Lucha Bros. can make tag team wrestling must watch TV again. The tournament sets it up. Its final and a loss to Roman Reigns is the payoff.