Competing in front of his hometown fans in Minneapolis, Chad Gable defeated Penta on Night 2 of WWE SummerSlam 2026 on Sunday to win the Intercontinental Championship for the first time.
Gable’s pursuit of the IC title essentially began with his mask vs. mask match against El Grande Americano at AAA Noche de Los Grandes back in May.
Because Gable lost that match, he had to unmask and reveal to AAA fans and the WWE Universe that he was the man who portrayed the original El Grande Americano character.
The mask vs. mask match was an absolute classic, though, and it was apparent based on Gable’s post-match promo that he gained an enormous respect for lucha libre and the Mexican culture.
In the weeks that followed, Gable made it clear that he saw the error of his ways, and he went to great lengths to make amends with those who he offended and disrespected by becoming El Grande Americano.
Gable apologized to essentially every luchador in WWE, including Penta, who essentially gave Gable his blessing to pursue an Intercontinental Championship match against him.
On the July 13 episode of Raw, Gable finally got his chance, as he competed in a seven-man gauntlet match to determine the No. 1 contender for the IC title and Penta’s opponent for SummerSlam.
Gable was the sixth entrant in the match, and he eliminated Rusev, but Rusev attacked him afterward, which made him a sitting duck for Ethan Page.
Despite that, Gable persevered and made Page tap out to the Ankle Lock, setting the stage for a match against Penta at SummerSlam.
In a clash between two Superstars built on respect, Gable prevailed at SummerSlam, earning him the first major singles title of his career.
