AJ Styles successfully defends his WWE World Championship in a triple threat match against John Cena and Dean Ambrose. Photo by WWE.com
AJ Styles proved once again that he’s the new face that runs the place.
The Phenomenal One outlasted John Cena and Dean Ambrose in their triple threat match to retain the WWE World Championship at No Mercy Monday (Manila time) in Sacramento.
In an unusual twist which saw the show’s biggest prize defended at the event’s opener, Ambrose reversed Styles’ Calf Crusher with one of his own, while Cena put him in the STFU. The champ tapped out to the double-submission, but referee Mike Chioda voided the decision and restarted the match.
Ambrose would then nail Cena with the Dirty Deeds before Styles pulled the referee out of the ring. That led to the Lunatic Fringe attacking Styles on the outside before scaling the turnbuckle to turn his attention back to Cena.
The 15-time world champ, though, recovered and stopped Ambrose in his tracks and hitting him with the Avalanche Attitude Adjustment.
That was when Styles returned to the fray, pummeling Cena with a pair of chair shots to vanquish his rivals.
Dolph Ziggler also became a five-time Intercontinental Champion, beating The Miz in a highly dramatic title versus career match.
Ziggler survived Maryse spraying perfume to his face, a distraction coming from his former Spirit Squad teammates Kenny and Mitch, and kicking out from a pair of Skull Crushing Finales before rallying back and hitting the Superkick for the victory.
Luke Harper also made his shocking return, appearing in the ring after the lights went out in the main event. He provided the necessary distraction for Bray Wyatt to nail Randy Orton with a Sister Abigail for the win.
In the night’s other matches, Rhyno and Heath Slater successfully retained their SmackDown Tag Team titles, fending off The Usos with Rhyno’s Gore.
Naomi also scored a big win over Alexa Bliss, pinning her with a roll-up as she stepped up to the plate for the injured Becky Lynch, who was unable to defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship due to a still undisclosed injury.
Nikki Bella gained a measure of revenge on Carmella, beating her with the Rack Attack 2.0.
Baron Corbin pinned Jack Swagger after nailing him with the End of Days.
In the kickoff show, the team of American Alpha and the Hype Bros triumphed over The Vaudevillains and The Ascension after Jason Jordan and Chad Gable hit Aiden English with the Grand Amplitude.