Penta has opened up about the personal conversation that helped shape one of the most important career decisions of his life.
Before arriving in WWE, the former AEW World Tag Team Champion found himself weighing two major options in 2024: remain with AEW or make the move to WWE. Penta ultimately chose WWE, beginning a new chapter that officially started with his January 2025 debut. While the outcome is now clear, Penta has explained that reaching that decision was far from simple.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Penta recalled turning to the people closest to him for an honest answer. Rather than treating the choice as a decision he had to make entirely alone, he brought his wife and daughters into the discussion while he was at home in Mexico.
“When I needed to make the decision, what way I chose, it was very difficult because I had two options at that moment,” Penta said. “I’m going to be honest. Now I’m here in Mexico in my home. I remember I took my daughters and my wife with me and say, ‘Okay, guys, this is the plan. It’s very simple. What do you prefer for me? This company or WWE? What do you think?’ Immediately, ‘WWE.’ Okay, this is the answer I need.”
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For Penta, the response carried weight precisely because it came from his family. He noted that they were not necessarily viewing the situation through the lens of dedicated lucha libre or professional wrestling fandom. Instead, he felt they recognized the significance of the opportunity and what WWE represented for him.
“Because then it’s not they’re like real fans of Lucha or wrestling, but they know what is the most important,” Penta continued. “This is the best answer for me.”
A Defining Choice in 2024
Penta’s comments provide a more personal perspective on a pivotal period in his career. Contract decisions are often discussed in terms of promotions, schedules, opportunities, championships, and the business of wrestling. In Penta’s case, however, his recollection makes clear that the decision was also a family matter. The answer he received from his wife and daughters gave him the direction he needed when he was considering two established paths.
He had already built a substantial resume before entering WWE. Penta was recognized internationally as one of the most distinctive masked competitors in modern wrestling, with an identity and presentation that stood apart from much of the field. His time in AEW included a run as AEW World Tag Team Champion, adding a major championship accomplishment to a career that had already made him a prominent name in lucha libre and beyond.
That background made the choice particularly meaningful. Staying put would have meant continuing in a familiar environment where he had already achieved tag team success. Moving to WWE, meanwhile, meant entering a new system and taking on the challenge of establishing himself again on wrestling’s largest stage. Penta described the moment as difficult because both possibilities were real options at the time.
Once his family made its preference known, Penta said his attention turned fully toward WWE. He then informed his agent of the decision and began making preparations for the transition. Those preparations were not limited to one aspect of his career. Penta said he focused on getting his body, his brand, and his energy ready for the move.
Preparing for a New WWE Chapter
That approach underlined the seriousness with which Penta treated the change. A move between major promotions can involve more than simply appearing on a different television program. For an established performer with a recognizable look, a loyal audience, and a well-defined in-ring identity, a new environment presents an opportunity to introduce that full package to viewers who may be encountering it in a different context.
Penta’s preparation also reflected an understanding that WWE would be a fresh chapter rather than merely a continuation of what came before. His comments about his body, brand, and energy suggest that he wanted to arrive ready for the demands of the opportunity, while preserving the qualities that had made him a standout performer in the first place.
His official WWE debut followed in January 2025. Since then, Penta’s place in the company has continued to develop, and he currently holds the Men’s Money in the Bank briefcase. That position places him in one of WWE’s most consequential competitive situations, as the briefcase holder has the ability to pursue a championship opportunity at a time of his choosing.
The Money in the Bank briefcase is especially notable in the context of Penta’s decision. When he spoke with his family in 2024, WWE was an option that required faith in an uncertain future. Now, he is carrying a prize synonymous with possibility and leverage within the company. The briefcase does not guarantee a championship victory, but it gives its holder a major strategic opening and keeps Penta closely connected to WWE’s title picture.
Rey Fenix Also Arrives in WWE
Penta’s WWE journey later gained another important family dimension when his brother, Rey Fenix, joined the company in April 2025. Rey Fenix arrived on the WWE SmackDown brand, bringing another acclaimed luchador and one half of one of wrestling’s most recognizable brother pairings into WWE.
Their simultaneous presence in the company naturally created interest in how often they might share the ring. Penta and Rey Fenix have a long history as brothers and as tag team partners, and their connection has been central to their reputations in professional wrestling. However, their WWE paths have largely remained separate since Rey Fenix’s arrival.
They have crossed paths in both singles and tag team competition in recent months, but WWE has not consistently positioned them together as a full-time unit. That separation has allowed each brother to continue building an individual direction while still leaving the door open for their shared history to matter whenever their paths intersect.
For Penta, the distinction is significant. His WWE run is not defined only by a familiar partnership or by his past accomplishments elsewhere. He has entered the company with his own ambitions, and his status as Men’s Money in the Bank holder reinforces that individual momentum. At the same time, the presence of Rey Fenix on SmackDown ensures that their family bond remains part of the larger WWE landscape.
Family Guidance Remains at the Center
Penta’s recollection of the decision ultimately returns to a straightforward family conversation in Mexico. He did not portray the choice as effortless, nor did he suggest that it was based on a single business calculation. He had two significant options, and he sought the perspective of the people whose opinions mattered most to him.
His wife and daughters gave their answer immediately: WWE. Penta took that response as the clarity he had been looking for, informed his agent, and committed himself to preparing for the next stage of his career.
That decision has now led from a difficult crossroads in 2024 to a WWE debut in January 2025, a Money in the Bank briefcase, and a company landscape that also includes his brother Rey Fenix. Whatever comes next for Penta as briefcase holder, he has made clear that the first crucial step toward WWE began not in an arena or a boardroom, but at home with his family.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.