WWE Rumors on Penta at Money in the Bank, Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens Finish, Worlds Collide

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Penta Reportedly Considered Internal MITB Favorite

Following his impressive performance in a World Heavyweight Championship match against Roman Reigns on Raw in Mexico City, Penta reportedly may be the wrestler to beat in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t Cain A. Knight of Cageside Seats), Penta is viewed internally as the "heavy favorite" to win MITB and earn an opportunity to challenge for a world title at a time and place of his choosing.

WWE reportedly did not originally plan to have Penta win Money in the Bank, but the outlook may have changed following his match against Reigns.

Penta reportedly impressed WWE decision-makers with the viewership numbers and merchandise sales that came along with his match against Reigns, leading to the belief that WWE could go back to Penta vs. Reigns at some point despite the original plan for it to be a one-and-done bout.

Since making his WWE debut on the Jan. 13, 2025, episode of Raw, Penta has established himself as one of the most popular Superstars in WWE.

He had an impressive Intercontinental Championship run already, and if he prevails at Money in the Bank, it will mark the biggest win of his WWE career to date.

Penta already qualified for Money in the Bank by virtue of his win over Dominik Mysterio and Dragon Lee on Monday, and he very well may be the man to beat at MITB.

Details on What Went Wrong with Zayn vs. Owens Finish

A referee error was reportedly to blame for the awkward finish to the WWE Championship match between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens last week on SmackDown.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlePurists), referee Ryan Tran took the blame for how the finish transpired, and there was backstage "heat" on Tran because of it.

Tran reportedly said he got confused, but he is considered a "very credible" official.

In the closing moments of the Zayn vs. Owens title bout, CM Punk interfered by hitting KO with the WWE Championship belt.

Zayn pinned Owens after Punk's interference, but the referee did not count to three and Owens did not kick out in a timely manner, making it clear that there was some kind of miscommunication.

Owens and Zayn did their best to save it, as Zayn hit KO with his signature Helluva Kick right after and pinned him to win the match and retain the title.

While the mixup took away from an otherwise strong SmackDown main event, both Zayn and Owens are popular and talented enough to move past it and make the most out of the situation moving forward.

WWE's Reported Broadcast Plans for Worlds Collide

Despite going head-to-head with AEW's All Out pay-per-view in Chicago on Saturday, the WWE Worlds Collide event is reportedly not expected to air live.

According to False Finish, a WWE source said back in July that the plan was for Worlds Collide to stream live on YouTube, however, Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, PWInsider.com and Meltzer have all since reported that there were no longer plans for the show to be streamed live.

The initial source False Finish spoke with followed up and reportedly said they were "unsure" why WWE reversed course, as WWE planned as recently as two weeks ago to being announcers into Chicago for Worlds Collide.

Thursday on Something to Wrestle (h/t WrestlePurists), AAA announcer and WWE Hall of Famer JBL said he and the other announcers were not being brought in for Worlds Collide, noting that he believed the revised plan was for them to commentate over the show in post production.

Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists) reportedly Friday that there is speculation within WWE regarding Worlds Collide being exclusive to Club WWE subscribers.

However, Meltzer added that it hasn't yet been confirmed that Club WWE will be the ultimate landing spot for Worlds Collide.

During WWE's recent live event tour of South America, Stephanie Vaquer won the Women's World Championship in her home country of Chile, beating Liv Morgan.

WWE later announced that the match can be watched exclusively as part of the Club WWE subscription service.

If Worlds Collide follows suit, it would signal WWE's strong desire to funnel its fans toward Club WWE for certain premium content.