Seth Rollins def. Kevin Owens (Open Challenge for the IC Title)
It’s been a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad summer for Kevin Owens, but it appears the former Universal Champion’s woes may be over. Not because he made good on his promise to leave Toronto with a title, mind you, but because KO’s fiercely contested bid for the Intercontinental Championship ended in a loss that left him so demoralized he up and quit on the spot.

The match came about in the first place because Seth Rollins had reinstituted his Intercontinental Title Open Challenge policy when it became clear former champion Dolph Ziggler was otherwise occupied. That brought out Owens, who was hungry for redemption after a Raw return that has not gone quite as he’d hoped. He gave a great fight, too, brutalizing The Architect’s arm and forcing him to fly on a clipped wing. When an agonizing submission and surprise Stunner failed to get the job done, however, KO got desperate with a last-ditch moonsault. Rollins dodged, hit the Stomp, and that was that.

Rather than accept his outstanding performance as a moral victory — to say nothing of Rollins’ post-match nod of respect and a “Kevin Owens” chant from the audience — Owens opted for a knee-jerk reaction of the highest order: After stewing in the ring for the entire commercial break, KO grabbed hold of a microphone and declared, “I quit.”

Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose Main Event Run-In
Last week, Braun Strowman felt the wrath of The Shield. This week, he got even. During a main event that saw The Monster Among Men team with Universal Champion Roman Reigns against Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre, Strowman accepted a crucial tag from a battered Reigns but refused to enter the ring. Instead, The Gift of Destruction gave The Showoff and The Scottish Psychopath free reign to decimate The Big Dog, ending the bout in a disqualification and opening the door for Strowman to exact his payback.

The extended three-on-one beatdown of Reigns first brought out Dean Ambrose and eventually the one-armed Seth Rollins, but the two other Hounds of Justice were no match for the makeshift trio. The Lunatic Fringe suffered the Claymore-Zig Zag combo, Rollins caught a Zig Zag of his own, and all three were subjected to Running Powerslams from The Monster Among Men. Ziggler & McIntyre couldn’t have been more right when they opined that Strowman and Reigns couldn’t get along as partners and that they were teaming only as a matter of pride. What they didn’t realize was how far that pride would motivate Braun Strowman to go.

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Seth Rollins Ringside during Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler
Seth Rollins openly admitted that Dean Ambrose all but made it possible for The Kingslayer to win the Intercontinental Title from Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam by taking out Drew McIntyre. On Raw, Rollins returned the favor, running interference at the moment of truth to help Ambrose over the finish line against Ziggler in The Lunatic Fringe’s first match following a nine-month layoff due to injury.

It seemed, however, like McIntyre would be the one to claim retribution, as the former NXT Champion stalked a weakened Ambrose at ringside, prompting Rollins to step up. The Architect was briefly overwhelmed by a two-on-one attack from Ziggler & McIntyre, but Ambrose broke it up and sent the action back into the ring. Rollins quickly rallied to down McIntyre with a suicide dive, and Ambrose did the rest, putting his new, power-based style to good use by stopping Ziggler’s leaping DDT cold, popping him into the air and catching him in Dirty Deeds for the win.

The Shield Returns to defend Roman Reigns from a MITB cash in
Roman Reigns defeated Finn Bálor one-on-one to retain the Universal Championship in a title match two years in the making, but when it came to repelling Braun Strowman and his Money in the Bank contract, the Universal Champion needed a little help from his friends.

Before Strowman showed up and all hell broke loose, however, Reigns and Bálor put on an instant classic where The Extraordinary Man summoned the full reserves of his legendary heart. Reigns, unfortunately, had reached his proverbial final form and took everything Bálor had to give him. The arrival of Strowman allowed Finn to set up the Coup de Grâce, but Reigns avoided the move and spiked the Irishman with a thunderous Spear for three.

Strowman quickly entered the ring and struck down the reeling Reigns with a vicious kick, but his Monster in the Bank cash-in was cut short by the unmistakable crackle of “Sierra, Hotel, India” and the arrival of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, back in the signature black colors of The Shield. Strowman didn’t hesitate to throw down with the brothers in black, but The Hounds of Justice overwhelmed him all the same after Reigns Speared Strowman on the outside, setting up a monstrous Triple Powerbomb through the announce table. Clearly, the message of Reigns’ bout with Bálor was that Raw does, indeed, have a fighting champion. The message of what happened after is that Braun Strowman isn’t the only one with an ace in the hole.

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Seth Rollins def. Dolph Ziggler to win the Intercontinental Championship
Back when Dolph Ziggler beat Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Title on June 18, The Showoff had Drew McIntyre in his corner, and Rollins had nobody. This time, The Kingslayer brought a Lunatic, and that backup from Dean Ambrose made all the difference.

Ambrose proved he had Rollins’ back right from the bell as he stepped to McIntyre when it appeared Drew was going to inject himself into the contest. Rollins embodied that same mentality, quickly taking the fight to Dolph with an array of strikes and chops. Ziggler cunningly took advantage, swarming Rollins with gritty offense designed to keep The Architect both cornered and down.

Rollins then countered a Ziggler-attempted crossbody, which resulted in Rollins dropping The Showoff (and inadvertently himself) over the top rope onto the floor with an unbelievable suplex. Each Superstar scored with big hits from there. Ziggler spiked Rollins with a ring-rattling spike DDT onto the edge of the ring. The Kingslayer battled back and hit Dolph with an awe-inspiring reverse Superplex from the top freaking rope, which he then followed with a Falcon Arrow.

That unbelievable sequence had Rollins closing in on the victory, but The Scottish Psychopath chucked Ambrose into the steel steps on the outside, which distracted Rollins. Ziggler used the opening to connect with the Zig Zag, but The Architect miraculously kicked out, which brought McIntyre to the apron, but The Lunatic Fringe stopped The Scottish Psychopath and dropped him with Dirty Deeds.

With the fight now even, Rollins countered Ziggler’s superkick with one of his own and then put Ziggler’s lights out with a Stomp for the victory and his second Intercontinental Championship.

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