That means no Road to WrestleMania for John Cena, who hopped from Raw to SmackDown LIVE specifically to get into this match in the hopes it would lead him back to The Showcase of the Immortals. The 16-time World Champion adopted an all-or-nothing mentality from the first five seconds, when he Attitude Adjusted everyone in sight to bring the field down to himself and Styles. Unfortunately, that also made him a target for each of his opponents as well; the field turned on The Cenation Leader the second everybody recovered, and he spent the majority of the match attempting to fight his way back into the advantage.
The odds are stacked against AJ Styles in a Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship when he faces off with John Cena, Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler.
Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin had essentially designated themselves as the spoilers of the Six-Pack Challenge and competed accordingly. Looking to prove he was still worthy of the spotlight, The Showoff largely surfaced each time a Superstar was exhausted or distracted, hoping to punch the quickest ticket possible to The Showcase of the Immortals and his first WWE Title. Corbin, the self-proclaimed “dream crusher” who just wanted to ruin everybody’s day, was the first to get dirty, chasing Dolph through the arena and tackling him into the penalty box before bringing a set of steel steps into the equation in the closing minutes. (He ended up eating an Attitude Adjustment atop them.)
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, meanwhile, couldn’t stay out of each other’s way. Zayn had promised to “lay down” for Owens if given the opportunity, and it appeared as though he would fulfill that pledge, spread-eagling on the mat when the action came down to him and KO. However, Owens didn’t believe him, of course, which led to a renewal of their fight-forever hostilities that ended up dovetailing in disastrous fashion with the ringside presence of SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon. The Prodigal Son was trash-talked by Zayn and accidentally superkicked by Owens, leading him to break up later pinfall attempts by both Superstars that would have unquestionably ended the showdown.
As for Styles himself, the WWE Champion was acutely aware of the disadvantage he possessed heading into a Six-Pack Challenge — namely that he did not need to be pinned or submitted to lose his title. As a result, he opted to keep himself in the thick of the action at all times, breaking up pinfalls left and right. His overzealousness did land him in trouble, namely a whirligig Deep Six from Corbin and an AA from Cena through the announce table that took The Phenomenal One out of the running.
With WrestleMania in his sights, John Cena puts AJ Styles through the announce table in a WWE Championship Six-Pack Challenge: Courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.
That said, he was ready to go when the moment arose. As the battle drew on, strategy went out the window and it invariably came to who could hit their biggest move uninterrupted first. Ziggler was dispatched with an Attitude Adjustment by Cena, who was felled in turn by a Pop-up Powerbomb from Owens. Before KO could make the pinfall, however, Styles ascended from the ashes and swooped down with a crushing Phenomenal Forearm that earned him the 1-2-3.
As Styles celebrated in the ring and Shane stalked coldly past a fuming Zayn and Owens, there remained one elephant in the room that the cameras couldn’t help but find. Or, more accurately, the corner: Cena, dejected, a grimace across his face while The Phenomenal One danced in the glory he had hoped to take for himself. Cena was characteristically humble in defeat, true, but his dream, for now, is done. The dream, however, lives on.
That means no Road to WrestleMania for John Cena, who hopped from Raw to SmackDown LIVE specifically to get into this match in the hopes it would lead him back to The Showcase of the Immortals. The 16-time World Champion adopted an all-or-nothing mentality from the first five seconds, when he Attitude Adjusted everyone in sight to bring the field down to himself and Styles. Unfortunately, that also made him a target for each of his opponents as well; the field turned on The Cenation Leader the second everybody recovered, and he spent the majority of the match attempting to fight his way back into the advantage.
The odds are stacked against AJ Styles in a Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship when he faces off with John Cena, Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler.
Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin had essentially designated themselves as the spoilers of the Six-Pack Challenge and competed accordingly. Looking to prove he was still worthy of the spotlight, The Showoff largely surfaced each time a Superstar was exhausted or distracted, hoping to punch the quickest ticket possible to The Showcase of the Immortals and his first WWE Title. Corbin, the self-proclaimed “dream crusher” who just wanted to ruin everybody’s day, was the first to get dirty, chasing Dolph through the arena and tackling him into the penalty box before bringing a set of steel steps into the equation in the closing minutes. (He ended up eating an Attitude Adjustment atop them.)
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, meanwhile, couldn’t stay out of each other’s way. Zayn had promised to “lay down” for Owens if given the opportunity, and it appeared as though he would fulfill that pledge, spread-eagling on the mat when the action came down to him and KO. However, Owens didn’t believe him, of course, which led to a renewal of their fight-forever hostilities that ended up dovetailing in disastrous fashion with the ringside presence of SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon. The Prodigal Son was trash-talked by Zayn and accidentally superkicked by Owens, leading him to break up later pinfall attempts by both Superstars that would have unquestionably ended the showdown.
As for Styles himself, the WWE Champion was acutely aware of the disadvantage he possessed heading into a Six-Pack Challenge — namely that he did not need to be pinned or submitted to lose his title. As a result, he opted to keep himself in the thick of the action at all times, breaking up pinfalls left and right. His overzealousness did land him in trouble, namely a whirligig Deep Six from Corbin and an AA from Cena through the announce table that took The Phenomenal One out of the running.
With WrestleMania in his sights, John Cena puts AJ Styles through the announce table in a WWE Championship Six-Pack Challenge: Courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.
That said, he was ready to go when the moment arose. As the battle drew on, strategy went out the window and it invariably came to who could hit their biggest move uninterrupted first. Ziggler was dispatched with an Attitude Adjustment by Cena, who was felled in turn by a Pop-up Powerbomb from Owens. Before KO could make the pinfall, however, Styles ascended from the ashes and swooped down with a crushing Phenomenal Forearm that earned him the 1-2-3.
As Styles celebrated in the ring and Shane stalked coldly past a fuming Zayn and Owens, there remained one elephant in the room that the cameras couldn’t help but find. Or, more accurately, the corner: Cena, dejected, a grimace across his face while The Phenomenal One danced in the glory he had hoped to take for himself. Cena was characteristically humble in defeat, true, but his dream, for now, is done. The dream, however, lives on.
