The Champ is … not here. Not yet, anyway, since John Cena failed – on the 14th anniversary of his WWE debut – to make it past Seth Rollins in a match that would have given the 15-time World Champion a crack at Title No. 16 at WWE Battleground. In all honesty, though, Rollins should probably send The Club a fruit basket or something; after all, the good brothers intervened at the exact moment Cena had positioned himself to win the contest, locking in a potentially match-ending STF after a neck-and-neck battle that took up the better part of 15 minutes.
Cena released the hold when The Club circled the ring, but it turns out AJ Styles and Co. were just there to provide a distraction. Rollins was more than happy to capitalize, booting the preoccupied Cena in the gut and quickly pouncing with the Pedigree for the victory. Hey, a win is a win. And a Triple Threat Match at WWE Battleground is – for the moment, anyway – still a Triple Threat Match.