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.

Raw Result: The Authority Aids Seth in Beating Down Lesnar
Video: The Authority Destroys The Beast
Video: Raw Fallout Video

Seth Aids Kane to Victory
The Devil’s Favorite olive branch? How else could you describe Seth Rollins’ inexplicable interference in his estranged enforcer Kane’s match against The Architect’s own personal thorn-in-the-side, Dean Ambrose — one week after Rollins had cast him aside as a 7-foot pile of dead weight squeezed into a suit?
The Architect’s appearance was especially fortuitous for the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, as Ambrose had Kane all but dead to rights in their match after grinding his way to a near-insurmountable advantage. After Ambrose hacked Kane to the ground with his rebound lariat and hooked Kane’s arms for Dirty Deeds, Rollins’ music distracted The Lunatic Fringe and gave Kane his second wind. With Rollins’ help, Kane sealed the win by way of a Chokeslam off the top turnbuckle. Not bad for a peace offering. Bad news for Rollins, though: It wasn’t enough.

Slaying The Beast
So it’s come to this: Seth Rollins, the man who did it all on his own, was forced to grovel his way back into The Authority’s good graces. It was all in an attempt to regain his precious support system before he goes to the mat with Brock Lesnar at Battleground. Kane and J&J Security seemed relatively amenable to Rollins’ proposition, but when Lesnar crashed the party, only The Devil’s Favorite Demon stayed to defend Rollins from The Beast with a sneak attack.
Despite Lesnar initially getting the better of Rollins, Kane managed to land a Chokeslam, at which point Rollins and Joey Mercury quickly closed ranks and, against all odds, the corporate power got the job done. The Authority targeted Lesnar’s leg, set him up for the Pedigree and, as Raw faded to black, Lesnar had been taken down, Paul Heyman was silent, the champion was standing tall and his comrades were once again at his side. Here comes the pain?

Raw Result: Seth will face Brock Lesnar at Battleground
Video: Brock Is Revealed
Video: Seth has Words with J&J

Seth comes out to kick off Raw and speak proudly of how he’s just a guy from Iowa who has come very far. He pulls out a list of people to thank, saying the list is very important. Well his list happened to only contain one name “Seth Rollins”. After thanking himself, declaring Raw his show and saying he doesn’t need the authority, he was interrupted by a brawl with Dean Ambrose. After the brawl Seth retreats with his title and Dean Ambrose begins a short Monday night sit in.

Throughout the night Seth is seen in backstage segments. First he appears in the office of the authority bosses who tell him they will be choosing his next opponent. Seth asks if he has any input but the authority two say Seth can trust them to make the decision. Next Seth appears trying to bribe J&J Security to come back on board with him, IF they have any info they may benefit him. Both men refuse to tell him anything despite his mockery of Jamie’s accent. Lastly, Seth is found bragging to Kane about how he kept the title, even though Kane was his biggest detractor. Kane gets angry when Seth talks about his family and says if he ever does it again he will “eviscerate” Rollins.

And as the night comes to a close…
He’s baaaaack. After a whole night of The Authority teasing a mystery opponent for Seth Rollins’ next title defense — and Rollins himself baiting his tenuous allies into accepting the position — Triple H and Co. made a hard left in Raw’s final moments. He summoned Brock Lesnar from exile, naming The Beast Incarnate as The Architect’s No. 1 contender for WWE Battleground. Despite Rollins’ eagerness to live up to whatever “pressure” came his way, The Authority’s decision to un-shutter Suplex City (as a potential punishment for Rollins’ recent attitude?) left The Architect literally shaking in his boots. That is, at least until he beat a terrified retreat. Is the decision best for Rollins’ personal health? Probably not. But for once, The Authority and the WWE Universe are on the same page in saying it is definitely best for business.

PPV Result: Seth Rollins def. Dean Ambrose (Retains his WWE Title)
Video: Match Highlights

COLUMBUS, Ohio — He did it, and all by himself. Seth Rollins, who shoved The Authority to the side and shouldered the load of beating Dean Ambrose on his own, fulfilled his promise by scaling a ladder and reclaiming his stolen WWE World Heavyweight Championship from the man who may go down in history as both The Architect’s greatest ally and bitterest foe.

Rollins’ feat was all the more impressive because the match was an uphill climb from the word go. Beginning with his win at last year’s Money in the Bank event, The Architect had rarely won a big match without the interference of Kane, J&J Security or some other agent of The Authority. Facing Ambrose alone — apart from placing all of the glory and the blame on the titleholder’s shoulders — essentially robbed Rollins of his right- and left-hand men. The Lunatic Fringe took full advantage of his old running mate’s handicap in the initial moments of the match, hammering Rollins with a crossbody, chops and — after Rollins made a potential early play for a ladder — a corner splash-bulldog combo that gave him an early advantage.

hat advantage didn’t last long once The Architect incorporated the anything-goes environment into his plans, however. He intercepted Ambrose mid-sprint for an STO into the turnbuckle, then took the fight outside the ring for the first time. There, The Architect used the loose rulebook to get his first sizable lead of the match, powerslamming Ambrose onto the floor and hurling him shoulder-first into the steps. With Ambrose down, Rollins again made a move for a ladder. Again Ambrose rallied, suicide-diving Rollins halfway up the ramp before using that same ladder as a weapon against his onetime brother in black, stopping Rollins’ own response suicide dive short by see-sawing the steel full-on into his face.

Raw Result: J&J Security Defeat Seth Rollins
Video: Match Highlights

Two weeks ago, Seth Rollins had a title, a security team and a 7-foot enforcer. He had none of those things by Raw’s end when, having goaded J&J Security into a match he felt would be a tune-up, Rollins instead suffered one of the most demoralizing losses of his career. It’s not that Joey Mercury & Jamie Noble are slouches — far from it. But their track record hasn’t been great and Rollins has.

Despite all that, The Architect’s plans were dashed to pieces when Dean Ambrose, whose tour of New Orleans had taken him to ringside with Rollins WWE World Heavyweight Championship, dangled the prize in his former “brother’s” face. The distraction allowed Mercury to schoolboy The Architect for the pin. To add insult to injury, Ambrose crushed his former friend even more after the loss, hitting Dirty Deeds and taking the title back before posing atop a ladder with the title in hand. Let the good times roll, Dean-o.