On a night where John Cena could’ve made history by becoming a 17-time world champion, Roman Reigns took Cena down with a spear and stood over him in celebration, Universal championship held high. That lasted for all of a matter of seconds when the familiar beats of Brock Lesnar’s entrance music hit the P.A. system at Allegiant Stadium.
Lesnar, bearded with a ponytail, confronted Reigns face to face and forced Reigns to retreat. It was the second straight pay-per-view to end with Reigns getting his thunder stolen following a big win, after his Money in the Bank title match victory over Edge was interrupted by Cena.
They made no contact, but the message was clear. Despite their shared ties to Paul Heyman, Lesnar is back, and the renewal of tensions dating all the way back to 2015 have been renewed.
It was a wildly energetic and exciting conclusion to a show that had a handful of high points, including the return of Becky Lynch, but largely dragged and was occasionally hard to watch.
Four titles changed hands on Saturday night in Las Vegas, including Lynch’s 26-second SmackDown women’s championship victory and Charlotte Flair’s 12th women’s championship victory for the Raw women’s belt. But Cena, with the most legendary number in professional wrestling hanging over his head, didn’t become the fifth.
The main event was a matter of clashing egos, and both Cena and Reigns played their parts to perfection. With every roll-up attempt, Cena seemed to get deeper and deeper under Reigns’ skin. As Reigns exerted control, he started to mock Cena more and more, going so far as to stand on the ring steps and prematurely hoist his championship belt over his head.
The action in the match started slow and steady but picked up at just the right pace. Cena slowly fought his way back into the match with one desperate clothesline and set up for his signature offence with a couple of shoulder tackles. But Reigns would not let Cena remain in control for long, briefly locking in a guillotine.
Once Cena fought his way out, a Five-Knuckle Shuffle and an Attitude Adjustment seemingly put Reigns out for the count — until the moment Reigns kicked out at the very last fraction of a second, to the delight of the crowd.
The action spilt to the outside, where Reigns briefly gained control with a drive-by kick, but Cena took it back with an Attitude Adjustment through the commentary table. That, too, only garnered a two-count.
Reigns caught a flying Cena and power bombed him, and then connected on a Superman punch. But flying wildly on a spear attempt, Reigns crashed into the corner and set himself up for a top-rope Attitude Adjustment. Cena landed it clean, but once more, Reigns found the power to kick out.
Cena mocked Reigns’ pre-Superman punch “Hoo-ahh,” they exchanged blows and then Reigns turned it up. Two Superman punches and one spear later, Reigns’ run of dominance continued, and there was a brief moment of triumph. Until Lesnar showed up to spoil the party.
Source – ESPN
