WWE names luchador field for tournament to decide Roman Reigns’ challenger on Sept. 14 Raw in Mexico City
WWE has announced the participants in a tournament that will determine Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight Title challenger on the September 14 edition of Raw, which will be broadcast live from the Arena CDMX in Mexico City; the announcement followed a meeting between AAA General Manager Rey Mysterio and Reigns on the Raw fallout show in Des Moines, Iowa.
The company said the tournament will begin on the August 10 episode of Monday Night Raw in Norfolk, Virginia, with first-round matches scheduled across Raw and AAA on FOX. WWE released a bracket showing four first-round pairings, with winners advancing to the semi-finals and the eventual tournament winner earning the title shot against Reigns on the Mexico City show.
The first-round matchups listed by WWE are: Penta versus Laredo Kid on the August 10 Raw; Psycho Clown against La Parka on the August 15 episode of AAA on FOX; Dragon Lee versus El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. on the August 17 Raw; and Rey Fénix versus El Fiscal on the same August 17 Raw. The bracket specifies that the semi-final winners will meet to determine who challenges Reigns for the World Heavyweight Title on September 14.
WWE promoted the tournament with social posts that included the announcement by Mysterio. One tweet read: "🚨🚨🚨@luchalibreaaa General Manager @reymysterio just announced a HISTORIC tournament featuring the best luchadores from #WWERaw, #SmackDown and AAA, and the winner will challenge @WWERomanReigns for the World Heavyweight Title on Raw in Mexico City on Sept. 14! pic.twitter.com/5MLkPOAhY8"
A follow-up post presented the bracket in Spanish: "¿Quién enfrentará al OTC? ☝️El Torneo del Contendiente #1 por el Campeonato Mundial Pesado será así:⚔️ RAW 8/10: Penta vs. @Laredokidpro1 🤡 AAA 8/15: @Psychooriginal vs. La Parka🐉 RAW 8/17: @dragonlee95 vs. @hijodewagner 🔥 RAW 8/17: @ReyFenixMx vs. El Fiscal¡El camino… pic.twitter.com/rqaar2MSPu"
Despite speculation about El Grande Americano being in line to face Reigns, WWE did not include Americano on the tournament bracket, leaving one of the announced luchadores to win the opportunity to challenge Reigns for the title.
Reigns enters the tournament build after defending the World Heavyweight Title in the main event of Night 2 of SummerSlam, where he defeated Seth Rollins to retain in what the announcement described as his third title defense; the release states his title reign is at 111 days and counting.
The first tournament match will take place on the August 10 edition of Monday Night Raw in Norfolk, Virginia, and the bracket concludes with the World Heavyweight Title match against Roman Reigns on the September 14 Raw from Arena CDMX in Mexico City.