Chad Gable has revealed that an unplanned gesture from Penta following their Intercontinental Championship match at WWE SummerSlam 2026 left him with tears in his eyes.
Speaking on the Complex Graps podcast, Gable reflected on defeating Penta to capture the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam and had high praise for his former opponent both inside and outside the ring.
“One of my favorite not only luchadors and wrestlers and guys to be in the ring with, but just human beings,” Gable said. “Like, one of the most effortlessly cool human beings you will ever meet, man. He doesn’t even have to try. He’s just so cool.”
Gable said every interaction he has had with Penta has reinforced his appreciation for him.
“Every interaction with him, you leave feeling like, man, that guy just—he’s the man, dude. Just a genuinely awesome human being and one of the best wrestlers in the world, man.”
However, it was what Penta did immediately following their SummerSlam match that particularly stood out to Gable.
After losing the Intercontinental Championship, Penta personally placed the title on Gable. According to Gable, the moment wasn’t something that had been planned beforehand.
“So, it was an honor. And I also would be remiss if I didn’t just say, like, what a class act he was. Not too many people go that far anymore to, like, put the championship on you after you lose it, or after they lose it to you, you know?”
Gable revealed that nobody had discussed the gesture before the match and that Penta made the decision himself.
“And none of that was talked about. None of that was discussed. It was just like, ‘No, this is yours now.’”
The unexpected show of respect made the championship victory even more emotional for Gable.
“And I was like, tears in my eyes from him doing that because that’s, you know, that’s like the ultimate sign of respect that he just didn’t have to do,” Gable said. “So, hats off to him for having some class. That is special.”
Gable has remained Intercontinental Champion since defeating Penta at SummerSlam, recently successfully defending the title against Dragon Lee on the September 14 episode of WWE Raw in Mexico City.
