WWE Raw: John Cena keeps world-title reign intact thanks to help from Dean Ambrose
Cena to face Kane, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns at Battleground
Last Updated: 02/07/14 1:33pm
John Cena won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank – but he very nearly lost it on Monday Night Raw.
The Cenation Leader – victorious in an eight-man Ladder Match in his home state of Massachusetts on Sunday – was targeted by Money in the Bank contract holder Seth Rollins in the closing stages of Raw.
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And he had Dean Ambrose to thank for the fact he left the arena with his title intact, with The Lunatic Fringe quelling Rollins’ cash-in attempt – just as he said he would do if the opportunity ever presented itself – and sending The Aerialist scuttling into the crowd for safety.
MONEY IN THE BANK
Repeated until 9pm, Saturday
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Cena will, however, have to defend his newly-acquired garland at the impending Battleground pay-per-view in a Fatal Four-Way against Authority favourites Kane and Randy Orton, as well as ex-Shield powerhouse Roman Reigns.
That quartet was paired off into teams on Monday, though, with Kane and Orton banding to take on Cena and Reigns in the main event, which the latter tandem won when The Big Red Monster bashed The Chain Gang Soldier in the head with the steel steps.
Kane’s onslaught facilitated Rollins’ arrival and while The Architect was chased away by Ambrose, Reigns emerged from the debris, spearing Kane and staring down WWE Chief Operating Officer, Triple H.
Reigns is the least experienced of the Fatal Four-Way entrants but he may be the most dangerous.
Riotous
Battleground will also play host to a Battle Royal for the Intercontinental Championship after shoulder-injury victim Bad News Barrett was forced to relinquish the strap he captured at Extreme Rules.
Kofi Kingston, Cesaro, Damien Sandow and The Great Khali were the first four competitors placed in the multi-man melee and they faced off against each other on Raw in a riotous pair of singles encounters.
Kingston defeated Cesaro with a roll-up pin – which earned him an intense post-match battering – while Sandow was squashed by Khali at Stephanie McMahon’s behest, after masquerading as The Billion Dollar Princess’ father, Vince McMahon.
Elsewhere on Raw, it was a night of returns, with two ex-WWE Champions and a former – and, as it turns out – new Divas Titlist emerging from the locker room to stun the audience in Hartford.
The Miz took to the ring first, vowing to shoot himself back to the top of WWE’s food chain but before he could get all his words out, the pyrotechnics boomed, the venue went dark and “Break the Walls Down…” was heard.
Abandon
Chris Jericho then strolled to the ring, before cracking Miz’s face into his knees via the Codebreaker, though as he attempted to yell “Raw is Jericho”, the entire The Wyatt Family – earlier victors over The Usos and Sheamus – arose and pummelled The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla with their usual abandon.
So that’s two returnees accounted for and the third was AJ Lee, who had not been seen since dropping the Divas Championship to British grappler Paige the night after WrestleMania XXX.
The Black Widow interrupted Paige’s promo and after goading the Englishwoman to do exactly what she did on the post-Show of Shows Raw – namely defending her strap – Lee pinched the title, ending her rival’s reign with the belt at just shy of three months.
Plus, Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter confronted USA haters Rusev and Lana, with The Real American arm-dragging The Super-Athlete out of the ring, and Stardust and Goldust mirrored their Money in the Bank triumph by overcoming RybAxel.
And finally, Naomi pinned Nikki Bella before scrapping with her partner Cameron, and Dolph Ziggler’s canoodling with Summer Rae helped him distract Fandango and win their contest with the Zig Zag.
MONEY IN THE BANK BOOKING DETAILS
WWE Money in the Bank will be repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 743) BUT NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 752) until 9pm on Saturday, July 5.
Repeats showing will last for three hours, with the final showing BEGINNING at 9pm on Saturday, July 5. The event is priced at £14.95 for UK customers, €21.95 for customers in the Republic of Ireland.
Viewers can call 08442 410 888 to book WWE Money in the Bank. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
You can book WWE Money in the Bank online by visiting this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/
You can also order WWE Money in the Bank by pressing the Box Office button on your remote. Select 'sports & events' and follow the on-screen instructions.
Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.
