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Roman Reigns and John Cena competed in the main event of WWE SummerSlam with the Universal Champion on the line. Reigns and Cena had a great buildup to the contest before battling in the ring. The two men competed in a match that lasted 23 minutes.
Reigns took down The Franchise Player with a few signature moves to retain his Universal title in the final moments of SummerSlam. It was arguably the biggest match of the night and it allowed Reigns to pick up another dominant victory over a top superstar.
WWE did well to build up towards the big match, and both superstars delivered. The match not only marked the return of Cena to the WWE ring, but it also gave Roman Reigns a huge boost during his current reign.
However, many Cena fans will be disappointed with the result and may wonder why the Leader of the Cenation lost to The Tribal Chief. Cena was close to winning his 17th World Championship, but could not put away Reigns even after hitting some big moves.
Take a look at the five reasons behind Roman Reigns’ massive victory over John Cena at WWE SummerSlam this year.
#5. Roman Reigns defeated John Cena so he wouldn’t have to leave WWE like he'd vowed to
On the episode of WWE SmackDown before SummerSlam, Roman Reigns decided to up the stakes for his match against John Cena. Reigns vowed to leave WWE if Cena were to successfully pin him at SummerSlam.
The stipulation sounded too good to be true, but Reigns shook Cena’s hand to make it official. It seemed like something Reigns had done to Daniel Bryan not too long ago.
On the April 30th episode of WWE SmackDown, Bryan fought Reigns in a championship vs. career match. Bryan failed to defeat The Tribal Chief, and has not been seen in WWE ever since.
The stakes were high and WWE could not afford to let go of its hottest superstar on SmackDown, even for John Cena's sake. The Tribal Chief has been one of the best things about the company since his return at SummerSlam 2020.
Therefore, the WWE creative team gave Reigns a big victory in the main event of SummerSlam 2021. The Tribal Chief defeated Cena to remain a part of WWE and retain his Universal Championship.
#4. Roman Reigns defeated John Cena to remain the biggest heel in WWE
Roman Reigns walked into WWE SummerSlam as the company's biggest heel. He gave John Cena a tough fight and showed him what The Tribal Chief was all about.
In the end, Reigns did not need to go for many underhanded tactics to defeat The Franchise Player. Instead, he delivered a couple of Superman Punches before spearing Cena to win the match.
This was a decisive victory for Reigns as it kept him at the top of WWE without question. The victory allowed him to remain the biggest heel in WWE, and someone who will likely hold the title for a long time.
Anyone who now manages to defeat Reigns for the Universal Championship will automatically get a huge push in WWE.
#3. John Cena took the fall to Roman Reigns as he doesn’t have time for too many matches in WWE
John Cena returned for a blockbuster match against Roman Reigns at WWE SummerSlam. Cena has never defeated Reigns one-on-one in televised matches, and the record stood post-SummerSlam.
It was one of Cena’s biggest opportunities to become a 17-time World Champion in WWE. However, Cena has only returned for a few weeks and will not be able to stick around for long. This is one of the key reasons why Reigns was allowed to retain at SummerSlam.
WWE creative would have likely been tempted to award the Universal Championship to Cena had he come back for a longer run in the company. However, a short run with the title could have hurt Reigns' credibility and the title’s value.
#2. Roman Reigns put down John Cena to keep The Bloodline in control of WWE SmackDown
Before Roman Reigns and John Cena got down to business in the main event of WWE SmackDown, The Usos defended their titles against The Mysterios.
The Usos had a good match against Rey and Dominik Mysterio that could have gone either way. In the end, The Usos hit Rey with a double superkick before a top-rope Uso splash from Jey helped them retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
SmackDown is currently under The Bloodline’s control, and a loss for Roman Reigns would have certainly dented their credibility. Therefore, The Head of the Table needed to win at SummerSlam after The Usos retained their titles to retain control of the SmackDown brand.
#1. WWE let Roman Reigns defeat John Cena for a big showdown against Brock Lesnar in Saudi Arabia
Brock Lesnar made an unexpected return to WWE following Roman Reigns’ victory at SummerSlam. Reigns’ special counsel Paul Heyman was shocked to see The Beast return and enter the ring following the Universal Championship match.
Reigns and Heyman were forced to retreat to the locker room following a short face-off. After SummerSlam went off the air, Lesnar destroyed John Cena with a couple of German Suplexes followed by the F5.
The face-off, followed by the punishment dished out to Reigns’ opponent, implies that the two men will face off for the Universal Championship, most likely in Saudi Arabia.
The Tribal Chief has run through nearly all the big superstars on SmackDown, and it’s time for The Beast to feast with The Head of the Table.
With that in mind, Roman Reigns retained his Universal Championship for an upcoming showdown with his long-time rival.
Lesnar knows a thing or two about defeating Reigns. He could turn out to be the first man to pin Roman Reigns in his Tribal Chief character to take back the Universal Championship.
