Reigns escapes Styles to retain WWE Title at Payback
Roman Reigns retains his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles. Photo from WWE’s official Twitter account
Roman Reigns outlasted AJ Styles to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Payback on Monday (Manila time) in Chicago.
The powerhouse evaded a Phenomenal Forearm and hit Styles with a Spear to get the three-count.
Mr. McMahon gave both Shane and Stephanie McMahon control of Monday Night Raw, telling them to “figure it out.”
And immediately, the siblings made their imprint in the main event, with Shane restarting the match after Reigns got counted out, and Stephanie doing the same when Styles inadvertently got hit by Reigns with a low-blow.
Reigns also held on despite the interference of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, as his cousins The Usos came to even things up.
Seeing the impressive showing from Styles in the main event, the McMahons gave him another shot and booked a rematch between the two in an Extreme Rules match in three weeks in New Jersey at Extreme Rules.
In the night’s other matches, the WWE Tag Team Championship number one contender’s tournament Finals was called off after Enzo Amore got knocked out at ringside.
The Vaudevillains’ Aiden English threw Amore out of the ring, but he caught the bottom rope and his head bounced off the canvas, prompting the referee to stop the match.
He was taken to the local medical facility where he was diagnosed with a concussion, evading any neck injuries.
Also, Dean Ambrose shut down Chris Jericho with Dirty Deeds, while Charlotte kept her WWE Women’s Championship after referee Charles Robinson rung the bell when the champ had Natalya in a Sharp Shooter.
However, the Harts didn’t take the screwjob too kindly, as Natalya and Hall of Famer Bret Hart, who was making his first public appearance after announcing of his fight against prostate cancer on February, locked in the Sharp Shooter on Charlotte and her father Ric Flair.
The Miz also successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship after hitting Cesaro with a Skull Crushing Finale. But that came after a brawl between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn ensued at ringside.
Owens beat Zayn prior to the title match with a Pop-up Powerbomb.
In the pre-show, Kalisto retained his United States Championship after hitting Ryback with a Salida del Sol, while Dolph Ziggler scored a victory against Baron Corbin with a roll-up.
