Seth Rollins retained the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE SummerSlam against Finn Balor.
Balor emerged with the word “seven” painted across his right shoulder. This referenced the injury he suffered in his SummerSlam match with Rollins in 2016 that cut short his WWE Universal Championship reign to 24 hours.
Rollins made his entrance wearing the vest that he wore in that match.
The early part of the match was dominated by Balor, with Rollins absorbing a lot of offense. Rollins then managed to shift momentum, hitting the Falcon Arrow and a trio of suicide dives.
In a notable spot, Balor delivered a running powerbomb to Rollins into the ringside barricade. This was how the Irishman was injured in 2016.
The action then intensified in the ring with both competitors hitting and countering each other’s signature moves.
At this point, Damian Priest made his way to ringside carrying his Money in the Bank briefcase. Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio then appeared.
There was some confusion between Priest and Balor over the briefcase, but not enough to hand Rollins the win. A big near-fall would follow as Rollins kicked out of the Coup de Grâce.
As the referee was distracted, Rollins was able to deliver a curb stomp on Balor into the briefcase, which Priest had thrown into the ring. Rollins then delivered the pinfall.
Rollins left with his title as dissent was evident between Balor and Priest.
