John Cena def. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar by disqualification

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — John Cena brought the fight to WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar like never before at Night of Champions. Yet despite the Cenation leader’s near-superhuman tenacity against The Beast Incarnate in this massive SummerSlam rematch, redemption slipped through his fingers. Shockingly, it wasn’t Lesnar that would be his undoing.

View photos of this brutal match-up |  Cena comments after the match

Since Cena’s crushing defeat at SummerSlam that saw him fall victim to 16 suplexes and two F-5s, the indomitable Superstar has gone into overdrive, determined to match WWE’s most dominant force with some newfound intensity of his own. Shortly after the opening bell of this titanic Night of Champions main event, it was almost hard to believe that the muscled juggernaut pummeling Lesnar was the same guy who could be found smiling at us from the Fruity Pebbles box or solving animated mysteries with Scooby-Doo. Cena had become a destroyer, and if you looked close enough at Lesnar’s face during Cena’s early Attitude Adjustment, you might have noticed something that resembled doubt in The Conqueror’s eyes.

But then Lesnar kicked out. At the count of one. Things got uglier from there.

After Cena nailed The Beast with his signature maneuver, Lesnar caught the Cenation leader in the Kimura Lock, beginning his match-long attack on Cena’s left arm. Ever vigilant, Cena repeatedly battled back, unloading on Lesnar with flurries of punches and elbow strikes. Time and again, though, The Conqueror repelled the challenger’s attacks the way Godzilla shrugs off artillery fire.

With the same arsenal that left Cena in a heap at SummerSlam — including savage strikes to the midsection and those wince-inducing suplexes — Lesnar tested the unyielding resolve of Mr. “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect,” removing his MMA gloves to soften up Cena with a bare-knuckle assault. But the complexion of the match changed completely when Cena somehow managed to back the champion into the ropes and nailed Lesnar with the night’s second Attitude Adjustment. This time, Lesnar kicked out at two. With a near-victory, Cena reminded the WWE Universe — and The Beast’s vocal advocate, Paul Heyman, at ringside — that Lesnar was indeed mortal.

Moments after both men groggily rose to their feet, Lesnar countered an ambitious charge by Cena into the F-5, which was reversed by Cena into the STF and then reversed yet again into the Kimura Lock, wrenching Cena’s left arm in an excruciating display of force. Showing unbelievable strength, Cena rose to his feet — while the hold was still applied — and finally powered out of the submission maneuver to execute a third Attitude Adjustment on his beastly foe. Cena followed up with an immediate STF in the middle of the ring, and when Lesnar refused to tap, Cena hit The Conqueror with a fourth Attitude Adjustment that, for the first time in 2014, made Lesnar very vulnerable. 

As Cena seemed prime to score his 16th World Title – a number that would have tied him with two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair as the most decorated World Champion of all time – Seth Rollins stormed the ring and nailed the Cenation leader with his Money in the Bank briefcase, giving Cena the disqualification victory but, unfortunately, not the title. While the prone WWE World Heavyweight Champion slowly began to stir, still feeling the effects of Cena’s onslaught, Rollins Curb Stomped Lesnar. The Architect’s path to sports-entertainment’s grandest prize was clear: Eat. Sleep. Conquer. Retreat.

However, just as Rollins was about to capitalize on a dazed Lesnar, Cena intervened and chased off Mr. Money in the Bank, receiving an F-5 from the recovered champion for his efforts. Cena had given Lesnar the fight he promised, but it was all for naught. Thanks to Rollins, we’ll never know if Cena would have ultimately found redemption against Lesnar — a thought that no doubt plagued the Cenation leader as he recapped his bout with Lesnar in an exclusive interview on WWE.com. Although Night of Champions left the WWE Universe with many uncertainties, one fact remains: The Beast still rules, and he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.