Roman Reigns retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Sunday, defeating longtime rival Seth Rollins in the main event of SummerSlam Night 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The former Shield stablemates closed out a two-night SummerSlam card with a physical, table-smashing brawl.The victory gave Reigns his first non-tag-team win over Rollins at a WWE premium live event, settling a score that dated back more than a decade to their days together in The Shield.
Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins begins with top-notch action
The match opened with a symbolic moment before the first lock-up even happened. Rollins offered Reigns his old Shield vest, and Reigns tossed it to the outside, a clear signal that any leftover brotherhood was off the table. Both men jockeyed for position early, each cornering the other only for the referee to break it up, before Reigns took control with a shoulder tackle off the ropes.Rollins answered with a slingblade, then unloaded chest chops and right hands before climbing the second rope to keep the pressure on. Reigns shoved him off and answered with a clothesline, but Rollins fired back with a kick and a super kick. When Rollins missed a corner splash, Reigns capitalized with another clothesline and a series of right hands, then dropped Rollins with a big boot.The action then poured to the outside, where Rollins strung together three straight suicide dives before Reigns cut him off with a right hand and a drive-by. Reigns clotheslined Rollins over the barricade and followed him into the crowd area, trading blows before suplexing Rollins onto the steel steps. Rollins responded by throwing Reigns over the barricade and climbing it himself to deliver a knee to the face.The match reached its most destructive stretch when Reigns powerbombed Rollins through the Spanish announce table, only for Rollins to return the favor moments later, powerbombing Reigns through the same broken table. Both men eventually crawled back into the ring, where Rollins connected with the Pedigree, but Reigns kicked out.
Roman Reigns defeated Seth Rollins to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
From there, the finishing sequences piled up. Reigns escaped a Stomp attempt with a Superman Punch, but Rollins kicked out. Rollins later landed the Stomp cleanly, and Reigns kicked out again. The two traded buckle bombs and Stomps, with Reigns eventually hitting his own version of the move, but neither could put the other away. A DDT from Reigns nearly ended it, and a botched spear attempt saw Reigns accidentally take out the referee, opening the door for Rollins to grab a steel chair. Reigns disarmed him, tossing the chair aside before the two went back to trading right hands and super kicks.Rollins answered a Superman Punch with a Pedigree of his own, and both men continued trading finishers in the closing stretch, including another Stomp attempt that Reigns avoided. Reigns finally sealed the match with back-to-back spears, the second connecting flush for the three count. After the bell, Reigns and Rollins sat in opposite corners staring at each other before both rose to their feet. Rollins placed his Shield mask in the center of the ring and matched Reigns’ fist-raised Shield pose, a quiet nod to their shared past, before leaving Reigns to celebrate alone with the title and the mask.
