The fans in Saudi Arabia don’t disappoint in their singalong as Seth Rollins makes his entrance. Michael Cole notes that the World Heavyweight Champion has been a mainstay of Saudi shows, making his eighth appearance here overall.
Drew McIntyre gets a good reaction as well, which makes sense as his heel turn is still kind of in progress. Cole introduces the Arabic announce team but stumbles over it a little, and Wade Barrett gives him some good-natured grief.
Rollins chuckles a bit after they first lock up, but maybe not as much as a shoulder tackle sends him down. Another one has the same result, and McIntyre is already feeling it as he does Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal celebration.
The champ hits a series of chops and sends McIntyre to the floor, where he scores with a swinging kick between the ropes and a running knee off the apron. The fans urge him into a suicide dive, but the challenger catches him and treats him to a belly-to-belly suplex on the floor.
Things get no better in the ring for Rollins as McIntyre nails a spinebuster and covers for two. Working on Rollins’ back seems to be the strategy, which isn’t a bad idea.
The two men trade chops until McIntyre kicks Rollins in the chest in the corner (sort of), and covers for another near fall. The champ rallies by sending his foe hard into the post, and Drew is selling the impact to his left shoulder.
Rollins drops McIntyre with strikes and then to his back with a running knee, and he springboards twice, the second time with a moonsault, to score a near fall. A nice reversal leads to a Falcon Arrow for Seth and another near fall.
After a Rollins superplex, McIntyre impressively fires right back with a suplex and comes close to getting the three. He follows with a Future Shock after Seth can’t pull off a buckle bomb, only to see Rollins kick out at the last second again.
Rollins catches his foe with an inside cradle for a tow count, then gets a short respite by sending McIntyre to the floor. His suicide dive is on point, but Seth grabs the small of his back in pain. Getting it smashed into the steel steps definitely won’t help, nor will getting it dropped onto the apron.
A Pedigree gets things going back in Rollins’ favor, as this time it’s McIntyre who barely beats the ref’s three count. A series of shots to the head and neck manage to chop McIntyre down to the canvas, but he catches Rollins coming in for a Stomp and delivers a couple of belly-to-belly suplexes and a neckbreaker.
The Scottish Warrior kips up, calling for the Claymore and doing his countdown … but he runs into a superkick, followed by a Stomp. McIntyre kicks out again, sending a bit of a buzz through the crowd. The announcers put over how few people kick out of the Stomp.
Rollins misses on a Phoenix Splash and is nailed by a Claymore, but he is able to kick out at the last possible moment. McIntyre misses another Claymore and takes the Pedigree/Stomp combo for the second time, and that’s enough to finally allow Rollins to retain.
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