Penta, Je’Von Evans And Oba Femi Loom As Possible First-Time Raw Champions

With Sami Zayn having claimed his first Undisputed WWE Title on SmackDown back in June — and reclaiming it in December after a brief run from CM Punk — attention is turning to Raw, where a handful of stars appear to be building toward their own first world championship moments.

Roman Reigns currently sits atop the red brand as World Heavyweight Champion, and he’s recently suggested that Cody Rhodes is the only other performer he views as capable of carrying the company’s top title. That take hasn’t stopped several challengers from positioning themselves as legitimate threats to the OTC’s reign.

Penta stands out as the most immediate concern for Reigns. After winning the Money in the Bank ladder match at the October 10 premium live event, Penta now holds a contract he can cash in whenever he chooses. He’s already shared the ring with Reigns in a one-on-one setting, defending — or rather challenging for — the World Heavyweight Championship on the September 14 Raw broadcast from Mexico City as the winner of the number-one contender’s tournament. Being one of just five opponents to get a singles shot at Reigns this year speaks to how seriously WWE is treating him as a main-event-caliber talent, and a Money in the Bank cash-in gives him total control over when that story reaches its climax.

Je’Von Evans represents a different kind of opportunity. A world title win wouldn’t just be a first for him — it would rewrite the record books. Randy Orton remains the youngest world champion in company history, having won the title at 24 years, 4 months and 14 days old. Evans has a window that runs through September 11, 2028 to beat that mark, and he’s previously said he’s locked in on the goal. Whether WWE actually builds toward that record before the clock runs out is the open question, but the ticking timeline adds a layer of urgency to his push that most rising stars don’t have.

Then there’s Oba Femi, who threw down the gauntlet for Reigns during the WrestleMania 42 post-show immediately after Reigns dethroned CM Punk. The two have been kept apart since, but Femi renewed the challenge after Money in the Bank, calling out Reigns for ducking him. Reigns’ dance card looks full in the near term — he’s booked against Zayn for the WWE Championship at Crown Jewel, and the Bloodline’s ongoing war with the 946 faction is set to spill into Survivor Series — but chatter suggests Femi vs. Reigns could be saved for WrestleMania 43, which would make for a fitting coronation moment on the Show of Shows.

What ties these three together is timing. WWE has shown a clear pattern of elevating stars through decisive, memorable championship victories rather than rushing them, and Zayn’s long road to the top on SmackDown is the latest proof of that philosophy. If Raw follows suit, the branch point likely comes down to whichever of these three gets the next green light — Penta through a surprise cash-in, Evans through a record-chasing underdog run, or Femi through a slow-building rivalry that’s clearly being saved for the biggest stage possible. Whichever path WWE chooses, the red brand looks due for a changing of the guard sooner rather than later.