In one of the most heated contests in WWE history, Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns defeated hometown hero Sami Zayn to retain the titles, and those who witnessed this epic title match will likely never forget the magnificent struggle they witnessed as World Wrestling Entertainment steamrolls towards WrestleMania!
According to WWE.com:
In an emotional showdown from start to finish in front of the ultra-passionate Montreal crowd, Roman Reigns proved once again why he is one of the most dominant champions in WWE history as he extinguished the extreme fire of The Master Strategist in front of his hometown to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The two Superstars started the match with a stare down as the Montreal crowd nearly tore the roof off the arena to show their love for Zayn, viciously booing the champion. Once the action began, Reigns took control and worked the pace that has won him so many bouts.
Feeding off the crowd, Zayn battled back, but The Head of the Table leveled him with a crushing uppercut. The titleholder began to add insult to injury by parading Zayn around the ringside area, berating him in front of his friends, family and fans.
Out of nowhere, however, Zayn countered Reigns’ Superman Punch into an exploder suplex, but his attempt at the Helluva Kick was countered into a successful Superman Punch follow-up. Somehow, Zayn found enough strength for another exploder suplex, followed it up with a Superman Punch of his own, and added a Helluva Kick, but Reigns still kicked out at the last second.
When the action once again moved outside the ring, Reigns was sent through the barricade with maximum velocity, paving the way for Zayn’s Blue Thunder Bomb back inside the ring. Nevertheless, it still wasn’t enough to put away Reigns. In the scuffle that followed, the WWE Official was inadvertently hit by an elbow from the leader of The Bloodline, allowing Jimmy Uso to appear and attack Zayn. Despite his onslaught, it wasn’t enough for Reigns to pin his heartfelt challenger.
Reigns managed to hit a Spear on Zayn, but not even that was enough to win the match as Zayn kicked out to a loud ovation from the crowd. A second WWE Official emerged, but soon found himself eating an errant Superman Punch.
When Paul Heyman took this opportunity to hand Reigns a steel chair, Jey Uso appeared from nowhere.
The conflicted Jey refused to pick between Reigns and Zayn and, as he stood paralyzed, the challenger charged in at Reigns and accidentally hit Jey with a Spear when the titleholder moved out of the way. The champion then unleashed an assault of chair blasts and then a Spear, which finally allowed Reigns to win the match and retain the title.
After the emotional match, Reigns and Jimmy Uso began attacking Zayn when Kevin Owens appeared to defend his fellow Canadian with a trio of stunners and a pop-up powerbomb through a table on Jimmy. The night ended with one last Helluva Kick from Zayn to Reigns.
