Roman Reigns defending the Universal Championship against John Cena is now official for WWE SummerSlam.
Below is the excerpt from Roy Nemer’s SmackDown recap of how it all went down Friday night in Minneapolis:
WWE Universal Championship Contract Signing – Roman Reigns and Finn Balor
Heyman grabs the chair and places it at the head of the table as Roman has a seat. Finn sits on the other chair as Pearce asks them to take a look at the contract and sign it. The fans chant Cena as Roman says we’ve already seen mister missionary tonight. He asks Finn if he saw Cena’s opening promo. Cena said that by Roman accepting Finn’s challenge, he is ducking Cena. That means Cena thinks Finn is a lesser man than him.
Roman says he doesn’t think that. He thinks Finn is worthy to challenge for the Universal Championship. And he is also worthy of catching the beat down at SummerSlam. But for the record, he doesn’t think Finn is like John. He doesn’t come out with a tired old shtick that’s not working anymore. He says Finn is hungry, he wants it and he digs that. Roman says if Finn signs the contract, he will smash him and send him back to NXT.
Heyman grabs a pen and hands it over to Roman as the fans chant Roman sucks. Roman signs the contract. Finn tells Roman that he thinks highly of himself and perhaps justifiably so. But it will be his privilege to return to NXT once again Universal Champion. Corbin attacks Balor from behind and throws him to the outside.
Corbin with right hands on Finn and throws him over the barricade. Corbin gets back in the ring. He opens the contract and out comes Cena as he throws him into the ring post. Cena grabs the contract as he has a sharpie. Cena signs the contract and shows it to the camera. He hands it over to Pearce and walks away.
WWE SummerSlam will take place from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, August 21. It will stream live on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network everywhere else.
Reigns. Cena. #SummerSlam.#UniversalTitle @WWERomanReigns @JohnCena @HeymanHustle https://t.co/gMM95p2NF5
— WWE SummerSlam (@SummerSlam) July 31, 2021
"I think you're worthy to catch this beat down at #SummerSlam."#SmackDown @WWERomanReigns @FinnBalor @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/erd4tWxDUY
— WWE (@WWE) July 31, 2021
WAIT A MINUTE!!#SmackDown @BaronCorbinWWE @FinnBalor @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/NlUZNaksb6
— WWE (@WWE) July 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1421277345751740417
Signed, sealed and delivered! @JohnCena @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle #UniversalTitle #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/OYuEL9SdHm
— WWE (@WWE) July 31, 2021
It. Is. OFFICIAL.@WWERomanReigns defends the #UniversalTitle against @JohnCena at #SummerSlam!#SmackDown @ScrapDaddyAP @SonyaDevilleWWE @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/bTjKj5NSpO
— WWE (@WWE) July 31, 2021