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Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam on Saturday night to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The match began with Lesnar riding a tractor to the ring, kept going after he used it to raise one end of the ring off the ground with the vehicle and saw Theory try (and fail) to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase.
WWE @WWE
SO MUCH FOR THAT CASH-IN!!!!<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CowboyBrock?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CowboyBrock</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BrockVsRoman?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BrockVsRoman</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/SummerSlam?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#SummerSlam</a> <a href=”https://t.co/IZOtFkYljk”>pic.twitter.com/IZOtFkYljk</a>
The contest culminated with Reigns, who received assistance from The Usos, hitting The Beast Incarnate in the head with multiple belt shots and finally burying him under a mountain of tables, ring steps, chairs, monitors and other debris as the referee counted to 10.
WWE @WWE
1️⃣0️⃣!!!!!!<a href=”https://twitter.com/WWERomanReigns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@WWERomanReigns</a> retains at <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/SummerSlam?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#SummerSlam</a> against <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CowboyBrock?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CowboyBrock</a>! <a href=”https://t.co/Adzf31oXmF”>pic.twitter.com/Adzf31oXmF</a>
Oh, in the midst of all that, Paul Heyman also took an F-5 through the announce table when he tried to stop Lesnar from attacking The Tribal Chief.
WWE @WWE
FINALLY! FINALLY! FINALLY!!!<a href=”https://twitter.com/HeymanHustle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@HeymanHustle</a> gets a <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CowboyBrock?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CowboyBrock</a> F-5 at <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/SummerSlam?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#SummerSlam</a>! <a href=”https://t.co/LkcbQaHUCx”>pic.twitter.com/LkcbQaHUCx</a>
After clashing in the main event of WrestleMania 38 in April, Reigns and Lesnar went at it again on Saturday, but this time with the added stipulation of a Last Man Standing match, meaning the winner would have to keep their opponent down for a count of 10.
Entering The Show of Shows, The Tribal Chief had been universal champion for over a year, while Lesnar was WWE champion, making their clash a winner-take-all title unification match.
Reigns took down The Beast with a Spear and pinned him to retain the Universal Championship and win the WWE title, officially making him the undisputed unified WWE universal champ.
In the weeks and months after WrestleMania, Reigns wasn’t particularly active, and he didn’t have a title defense until he faced Riddle on the June 17 episode of SmackDown.
After The Tribal Chief beat The Original Bro, Lesnar made his surprise return to WWE programming, appearing on television for the first time since ‘Mania.
Lesnar confronted Reigns, and while it initially looked like The Beast was going to congratulate his long-term adversary on the win when he extended his hand, he pulled him in for an F-5 instead.
That same night, WWE officially announced the Reigns vs. Lesnar rematch for SummerSlam.
There had been rumors about Reigns defending against Riddle’s tag team partner, Randy Orton, at SummerSlam, but since The Viper is on the shelf with an injury, having Lesnar seek revenge was perhaps the next best option.
It can be argued that the Reigns vs. Lesnar match at WrestleMania didn’t deliver to the degree most fans hoped for, but they had the opportunity to have a do-over at SummerSlam.
The two men took the fight to each other in a highly physical affair, but in the end, the result was the same as WrestleMania, with The Tribal Chief prevailing.
At the conclusion of the bout, it was confirmed that Reigns will move on to defend his title against Drew McIntyre at Clash of the Castle in Cardiff, Wales on Sept. 3.
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