Raw Result: John Cena def. Seth Rollins (To Retain the US Championship)
Video: The Authority Creates Matches
Video: Cena vs. Rollins Match

Authority Announces Matches of Firsts
Well, this is a first. Actually, it’s four firsts. As SummerSlam approaches — and with it, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar’s rematch — The Authority decided to ramp up The Biggest Pre-Party of the Summer by announcing a trio of never-before-seen matches. First up was Big Show against Dean Ambrose, followed by former Divas and NXT Women’s Champion Paige against current NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks, Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton, and Nikki Bella & Alicia Fox vs. Charlotte & Becky Lynch.
Looking to get in on the fun, Seth Rollins seized hold of the microphone, and after recapping his own historic victory at WrestleMania, he demanded that WWE the Universe acknowledge his greatness for the first time ever. Out came John Cena, demanding a first-time ever match of his own against Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. Rollins balked, but The Authority allowed a compromise: Rollins would battle Cena one-on-one, and it would be under a never-before-seen-stipulation … for the United States Championship.

Rollins vs. Cena
It would appear the unification of the U.S. and WWE World Heavyweight Titles under Seth Rollins will have to wait. John Cena’s first-ever defense of his U.S. Title against The Architect ended with the Cenation leader victorious, though not for a lack of effort on the part of “The Future of WWE.”
The contest was, in all fairness to Rollins, a neck-and-neck affair, thanks mainly to Rollins’ scouting of The Champ and his timely thwarting of Cena’s signature moves, plus a knee from Rollins that shoved The Champ’s nose halfway across his face. Gruesome though it was, the injury kicked both Superstars into high gear. Rollins unleashed a superplex and a Michinoku Driver, one after another, and the broken-nosed Cena eventually locked in a pair of savage STFs to force the champion to tap. The Champ is still here. Now somebody set that nose.

Raw Result: John Cena Interrupts Seth Rollins’s Victory Speech
Video: Cena Interrupts Rollins

A Possible New Challenger Arises for Seth Rollins
Thanks to the next best thing to the devil himself, Seth Rollins is still WWE World Heavyweight Champion. But John Cena wasn’t buying The Architect’s version of a victory tour out of Suplex City. As Rollins forced Lilian Garcia to belatedly announce his continued tenure as titleholder, the Cenation leader and United States Champion made his presence known, laying down what amounted to a challenge for a fight. “The Undisputed Future” wasn’t too interested, though. It’s unlikely these two have butted heads for the last time just yet.

Raw Result: Seth Rollins Vows to Burn Suplex City to the Ground, Battleground Contract Signed
Video: Burning Suplex City
Video: Contract Signed & Kane Overturned

Champion & Champion Meet to Sign Their Fate
Even after Brock Lesnar turned J&J Security — and their prized Cadillac — into mincemeat last week, give Seth Rollins credit where it’s due. The Architect didn’t blink at the prospect of staring down The Beast Incarnate in Raw’s opening moments, even if he only had a well-rested Kane to speak of as his backup. Despite his depleted defenses, The Architect certainly talked a big game, as did Kane when Lesnar and Paul Heyman attempted to bait the Director of Operations into fighting The Conqueror by bringing up Lesnar’s most infamous deed. Ever the professional, Kane brushed the taunts aside, at least until champion and challenger reunited with their respective retinues for the contract signing later in the night.

One ax handle, one overturned table and one broken ankle later, and Seth Rollins is officially set to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar at WWE Battleground. Despite the insistence of Kane that a plan was in play to weaken The Beast before Battleground, the contract signing quickly turned into a one-man demolition spree once pen had been put to paper.

Not only did Lesnar flip the aforementioned table in Rollins’ face, but Kane, who’d stood tough against Heyman’s slandering of his brother and an increasingly hostile Rollins all night, also suffered the broken ankle. The injury came after Kane’s master plan — an ax handle stored under the contract table — failed to pan out and his gritty efforts to fend Lesnar off were eventually thwarted by The Beast Incarnate and a set of steel steps. Further ignominy followed when a frustrated Rollins insulted Kane and stomped on his ruined ankle, pausing only to promise, once again, that he’d slay The Beast at Battleground. Partially because of adrenaline, sure, but at this point, it’s fair to say Rollins has nothing left to lose.

Raw Result: Seth Rollins Calls Out Lesnar, Lesnar Destroys J&J’s Cadillac
Video: Destruction of the Gift

Seth Calls Out the Beast
Despite the best efforts of Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins managed to escape the Second City without a scratch to his name. J&J Security? Not so lucky. Despite encouragement from Triple H, Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble were the proverbial lambs that The Beast Incarnate feasted upon when Lesnar stormed a trash-talking Rollins in the ring. Given that J&J both sported ax handles as equalizers, Lesnar tore J&J’s beloved Cadillac apart with axes of his own to lure J&J out of the ring. He followed with a beating on the over-matched enforcers that put his decimation of Kofi Kingston to shame.

Not only did The Anomaly shatter Jamie Noble’s arm in the Kimura Lock, but he also inducted Mercury into Suplex City by belly-to-bellying the former Tag Team Champion through the windshield of the Caddy. Rollins, meanwhile, got out of dodge while the getting was good, fleeing Lesnar through the crowd and taking the stairs two at a time to the safety of the concourse. The horror. The horror.

Raw Result: Seth Rollins & Kane def. Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns
Video: The Authority Gets Gifts
Video: Match Highlight Reel

The Price is Rollins?
The lesson, as always, is that it pays to be in good with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. After The Authority put aside weeks — months? — of squabbling to reunite and drop Brock Lesnar in Raw’s closing moments last week, Kane and J&J Security received their due reward for coming to Seth Rollins’ aid. First, The Architect bestowed a trio of brand-new Apple Watches on his squad, with a special shout-out to Jamie Noble for suffering three broken ribs in the course of his duty. Kane — already scheduled to team with Rollins against Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns in the main event — got an all-expenses paid trip to Maui, which left Noble & Joey Mercury empty-handed by comparison. They needn’t have worried, for Rollins had a coup de grace in his back pocket: A brand new car!

The Authority Wins Again
As the mind games escalate between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt, The Eater of Worlds had yet to make his physical presence felt (though he did send a dispatch) up until The Big Dog’s main-event tag team contest alongside Dean Ambrose against Seth Rollins & Kane. That streak of peace ended for Reigns in epic fashion, however, when Wyatt made his move in Raw’s final moments.
The New Face of Fear picked his moment perfectly in the No Disqualification contest, materializing out of the dark and laying waste to the former WWE Tag Team Champion. That left The Lunatic Fringe to suffer a Pedigree and pinfall and, when Reigns came to the aid of his fallen friend, The Authority pounced with a group beatdown of The Big Dog. Then, and only then, did Wyatt finish the job, administering Sister Abigail to what was left of Reigns as Raw crashed to black.