Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins in the main event of WWE SummerSlam Night 2. This was a love letter to the Shield that doubled as a match-of-the-year candidate. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns had no shortage of Shield callbacks, but all of them landed amid a 12-year story of brotherhood, betrayal and bitterness. Reigns won the match with three spears in a row in a perfect singles match that had zero interference.
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, and this was made very clear throughout their promos on Raw. WWE played on Rollins and Reigns’ Shield history, and the dubious statistic that Reigns had never beaten Rollins in singles action.
Roman Reigns’ Bloodline was an important side character in this feud, but many of Rollins’ taunts mirrored that of LA Knight, the presumed next challenger to a victorious Reigns. Knight has spent much of his main roster run accusing Reigns and the Bloodline of using strength in numbers without fighting fair fights.
Though Reigns and Rollins have had many run-ins, matches and callbacks to Rollins’ treacherous act to break up the Shield, there was a sense of finality to their SummerSlam showdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Roman Reigns Def. Seth Rollins In Classic SummerSlam Main Event
- Seth Rollins faked out US Bank Stadium with the Shield open, which received a huge pop before it dissipated and turned into Seth Rollins’ equally popular “Burn it Down” theme. No longer wearing all Black, Seth Rollins returned to his colorful “New Orleans-style” gear. Michael Cole described this as a rebirth for Rollins.
- Roman Reigns received a bigger reaction than Seth Rollins on his way to the ring as Cole talked about each man being a pioneer of this generation who wanted to shed the hate they had for one another over the past several years. Reigns’ famed 1,316-day reign ranks above only Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund and Bruno Sammartino as one of the longest reigns of all time.
- Fans went back-and-forth with their support for Seth and Roman before the ring introductions. The singing for Seth Rollins surprisingly won out. The SummerSlam Night 2 main event started with a long staredown and some trash talk between Reigns and Rollins as fans salivated.
- Seth Rollins took the lead early on with several counterattacks on Roman Reigns. Wade Barrett called Rollins the historical ghost who has haunted Roman Reigns for years. Roman Reigns got back into the match with a drive-by kick. Reigns dumped Rollins into the crowd, and the referee used “a lot of leeway” to let them fight in the crowd well past the 10 count.
- Rollins mocked Reigns with his Tribal taunt, but as he went for the spear through the barricade, Reigns caught him and hit a Shield Bomb through the Spanish announce table. Seth answered with a Shield Bomb of his own. Back in the ring, Seth and Roman barely beat the 10 count. Reigns was a hair behind Rollins, who caught Roman in a Pedigree for a nearfall.
- Fans chanted “this is awesome” as Rollins went for another Spear, but was stopped by a Superman Punch for a count of two. Seth Rollins dodged a Roman Reigns spear and hit a stomp for a false finish. Seth Rollins hit a superplex on Reigns, but Reigns countered the roll-through with a Guillotine.
- Seth Rollins escaped the Guillotine submission and ran into a spear from Roman Reigns, but Seth Rollins kicked out. Roman Reigns talked trash to a stirring Seth Rollins, calling him the No. 2. Reigns went back-and-forth, shades of Bron Breakker, and ran into a Rollins Spear for a nearfall. “The only reason you’re No. 1 is because they make you No. 1,” said Rollins to Reigns.
- Seth Rollins missed a stomp, leading to a Buckle Bomb by Reigns and a stomp by Reigns for a two count and an enormous pop. Rollins brought up the Bloodline, prompting back-and-forth strikes from the two former brothers. US Bank Stadium was in a frenzy by now.
- Seth Rollins bumped into the official and came back with a Dean Ambrose clothesline. Roman Reigns paid his own homage to Dean Ambrose with a Dirty Deeds. Reigns missed Rollins and speared the official. Rollins hit a stomp on Reigns as everybody was down.
- Seth Rollins grabbed the fateful chair. Seth went for the shot, but Roman hit an uppercut, causing Seth to drop the chair. Roman Reigns grabbed the chair and Seth turned his back, inviting the shot. Roman Reigns tossed the chair aside, moving past his obsession. It’s time to end this man-to-man. Minnesota respected the hell out of this with a loud standing ovation.
- The one-on-one brawl ended in Seth Rollins countering the Spear with a Pedigree. Rollins hit a stomp, then prepared for a top-rope stomp. Seth missed and walked into a pair of spears, but there was still no referee. Roman Reigns hit a third spear and the referee recovered in time to count to three.
- After the match, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins shared a fist bump, signifying the end of the Shield lore in WWE. At least until Jon Moxley’s contract comes due.
