4 Ways Triple H has mishandled Penta in WWE

Penta is one of WWE's most exciting additions in recent years. The talented luchador left AEW last year after Tony Khan chose not to use him much during his final year with the promotion.

The former IMPACT World Champion brought a new aura to the company, attracting casual fans with his initial appearances. Matches against Pete Dunne and Chad Gable helped establish Penta in his new home.

Despite those early victories, his booking hasn't always aligned with someone considered a top priority. Triple H has mishandled Penta in WWE in the next four ways.

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#4. Getting pinned sooner than he should have

When new stars debut for a promotion, they often enjoy a decent run before they lose or are pinned. Both happened relatively soon for Penta. After beating Dunne, Gable, and Ludwig Kaiser, the luchador fell to Kaiser in a triple threat just a month after debuting.

He wasn't pinned, but it didn't take long before Penta lost via pinfall. That happened when tagging with Bron Breakker against Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio on March 31st.

Big names or free agents with hype need to have longer winning streaks. If someone debuts and loses rather quickly, it tells casual fans that they aren't important or high on the food chain.

Had his first loss been the fatal four-way Intercontinental title match at WrestleMania, it would have been better. Since he wasn't pinned, it would have protected his aura.

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#3. Inconsistent usage

Penta was heavily featured for the first six months of 2025. It made sense since he made his official debut on the Road to WrestleMania. He challenged for the Intercontinental title several times, but hasn't won a title yet.

At the start of summer and ahead of SummerSlam, it felt like all Penta did was lose. He lost five straight televised matches from June 9th to July 14th, including losses to Bron Breakker, Breakker and Bronson Reed, and Seth Rollins.

Penta wasn't booked for SummerSlam either. It's fine if he wants to help out Lucha Libre AAA after it was purchased by WWE. It just takes away his screen time on RAW.

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#2. Losing twice to Dominik Mysterio

Penta challenged Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental title on two occasions. After Dominik Mysterio won the title at WrestleMania 41, the masked star was his first challenger.

What could have been an exciting first title win in WWE turned into a feud that didn't help the popular star. Mysterio beat his new rival with help from the Judgment Day two times, including at Backlash.

If officials wanted Dom to have a decent run, they could have waited for Penta to challenge for the title. He could have captured the championship later in the year instead of falling twice to the cowardly Dirty Dom.

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#1. WWE doesn't book Penta at SummerSlam

It's hard to book every star for every PLE. When a top event is two nights, however, bookers should do all they can to get as many big names and matches on the card.

Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre are two of the biggest names in WWE, but many fans didn't care about a tag team match with Jelly Roll and Logan Paul. The wrestlers squared off at Saturday Night's Main Event a few weeks before.

Adding a part-timer and a non-combatant didn't propel either full-time star forward. The Women's Tag Team titles could have been saved for RAW or SmackDown.

Stephanie Vaquer, a recently returned Nikki Bella, and LA Knight missed out on the second biggest show of the year. Penta should have been a priority since it was his first SummerSlam event.