Summer Slam 2015

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins def. United States Champion John Cena in a Winner Takes All Match

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Thanks to their SummerSlam showdown, there now exists a key difference between John Cena and Seth Rollins. Unlike the Cenation leader, Rollins no longer needs quotation marks to describe himself as the “real Champ.”
One hundred forty-seven days after they won their respective titles at WrestleMania 31, Seth Rollins defeated John Cena at SummerSlam in a Winner Takes All Match, thus securing the former’s WWE World Heavyweight Title reign and ending the latter’s tour as U.S. Champion. Rollins sealed Cena’s fate with a Pedigree on to a steel chair provided by former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, who shocked the WWE Universe by coming to the WWE World Heavyweight Champion’s rescue in the closing moments of the match.

 For his part, Rollins’ motivation for a rematch with Cena included far more than revenge for their Raw showdown. The Davenport, Iowa, native publicly declared his hope of adding the U.S. Title to his trophy case, but privately has dealt with criticism of his championship pedigree as well as claims of his reign being regularly protected by The Authority.


Cena’s stature and strength set the tone in the bout’s early moments. While the crowd feverishly chanted their thoughts about the U.S. Champion, Cena, who competed without any kind of protective mask to protect his recent nose injury, powered past his opponent with a series of takedowns and shoulder blocks that demonstrated his physical capabilities in the ring.
Momentum stayed behind Cena until Rollins started to show off an arsenal of moves that was as flashy as the all-white outfit he wore to ringside. The maneuvers, from a wicked neckbreaker to to a vicious chest stomp from the top rope to a successful Figure Four Leglock reversal, each appeared as part of the former Shield defector’s overall goal — expose the vulnerability of the 15-time World Champion’s broken nose by hitting him with a Pedigree.

 Nothing Rollins tried led to the desired outcome, but a change of fortune came his way thanks to the unfortunate positioning of the referee. A late Attitude Adjustment by Cena knocked out his rival and the ring official, who suffered an unfortunate collision during the U.S. Champion’s execution of his signature finishing move. The confusion left the Cenation leader struggling to stay in control, and signaled the start of a controversial moment that will leave the WWE Universe talking for years to come.


However, the SummerSlam host revealed his true reason for being at ringside by hitting a weary Cena with the steel chair. Stewart cemented his role in the scandalous moment by leaving the chair in the center of the ring, allowing Rollins to finally connect his planned Pedigree and finish off his foe for good.
The victory makes Rollins just the second Superstar to claim a victory in a Winner Takes All bout at SummerSlam, putting him in the company of Jeff Jarrett, who won the Intercontinental and European Titles at SummerSlam 1999. Cena, who is now winless at SummerSlam since 2010, concludes his fourth U.S. Championship tenure with a mark of 147 days, which stands as his longest reign with the coveted title.