It seemed like John Cena had no hope going into his Night of Champions rematch against the great Brock Lesnar. After all, in the first bout Lesnar had rag-dolled him, throwing Cena 16 times with a German suplex to win the WWE World Championship.
What, really, had changed in the last month? Could Cena, reasonably, be expected to compete with a man who had so recently made such short work of him?
The answer, it turned out, was an unqualified "yes."
Perhaps it was the camouflage jorts he was wearing that launched Cena beyond our wildest expectations. Maybe it was a willingness to match force with force, at one point even bloodying the beast's nose with a spinning elbow?
Either way, Cena gave as good as he got. He hit his patented Attitude Adjustment four times and seemed about to put Lesnar away when Seth Rollins blindsided him with his Money in the Bank briefcase, causing Lesnar to be disqualified before he could be beaten the old-fashioned way.
Rollins was looking to steal Cena's glory but wasn't able to get the job done. He attempted to cash in and beat a dazed Lesnar, but Cena prevented him from entering the ring. The bell never rang, and thus, Lesnar vs. Rollins never really happened at all.
Cena got a win over Lesnar, but it can't be satisfying—a disqualification leaves many questions unanswered.
The world title was the point of the evening, especially with the loss of superstar Roman Reigns to emergency hernia surgery, as reported by WWE's official website. But it wasn't the only match of the night. It wasn't even the only great one.
We broke down each match in real time, providing instant analysis and our patented letter grades, giving each segment a mark from A to F. We grade based on how a match does relative to card placement and crowd expectations. Main events are supposed to be excellent. We judge them accordingly.
Disagree with a grade? Have some thoughts of your own? Let us know about it in the comments.
