Generally speaking, going up against NFL Monday Night Football (MNF) on ESPN spells trouble for WWE Monday Night RAW on Netflix during the fall, but it held its own during Week 1 with a special episode in Mexico City headlined by Roman Reigns and Penta.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select, Netflix is “highly enthusiastic” about the feedback on the Mexico City RAW. It reportedly drew 3.1 million viewers.

While the Week 1 MNF game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos drew 23.2 million viewers, a historic number for ESPN, WWE is pleased with the results of RAW in Mexico City. It went head-to-head with the NFL, and it still managed to get a small victory. That should give Netflix and WWE more confidence going forward as the NFL season continues.

WWE's RAW in Mexico City during NFL's Week 1 MNF game

WWE star Roman Reigns, whose Hollywood acting career is picking up after landing a role in the Street Fighter movie.
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images.

The RAW episode in Mexico City was held on Sep. 14 at Arena CDMX. There were five matches on the card, including Reigns' World Heavyweight Championship title defense against Penta.

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Additionally, El Grande Americano, Dragon Lee, Lola Vice, and Raquel Rodriguez were featured on the card. Other top stars like Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan made appearances as well.

Penta's match against Reigns was earned through a tournament held in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. Rey Mysterio presented the idea to the “Tribal Chief” weeks earlier. Penta won the tournament by last defeating his brother, Rey Fénix.

The “Tribal Chief” won and retained the World Heavyweight Championship. This was Reigns' first match since he defeated Seth Rollins at SummerSlam on Aug. 2.

Reigns will next defend the title against LA Knight. Previously, he defeated Knight during his Undisputed WWE Championship reign at Crown Jewel 2023. We'll have to wait and see if the “Megastar” is able to pull off the victory this time around.