Universal Champion Roman Reigns beat. “The Demon” Finn Bálor (extreme rules match)

“The Demon” Finn Bálor had been unbeatable so far, and he seemed to be exactly that at WWE Extreme Rules. But a third string malfunction led Roman Reigns to victory over Bálor’s unsettling alter ego in a grueling Extreme Rules match, and The Head of the Table retained their Universal Championship.

At first, Reigns didn’t know how to deal with his seemingly unstoppable opponent. When Reigns pulled out a Kendo stick, The Demon pulled out a bundle of sticks tied together, which he used to hit the champion.

But when The Demon went to remove a table from under the ring, Reigns found an opening, hitting Bálor with a Drive-By, sending him crashing into the ring post. From there, the fight spilled over into the WWE Universe in Columbus, where The Demon led Reigns across a table with a crossbody.

As the fight returned to the ring, the table chef took control, giving Bálor a taste of his own medicine by smashing him through a table and then hitting him with a Superman Punch. With Paul Heyman bringing him out of the ring, Reigns said the WWE Universe would recognize him “all day, every day” as he prepared for a Spear. Bálor stopped the first, but took the full brunt of the second.

The demon was kicked out at the last second, hitting Reigns with a low blow in the process. This gave Bálor the opportunity to connect with Coup de Grâce. But before Bálor could pin the champion, Jimmy and Jey Uso pulled him out of the ring and beat him in ringside. Bálor retaliated, eliminating the two Usos, only to find himself in the path of Reigns’ spear, pushing him through the ring barricade.

But just as things seemed the darkest for Bálor, the Demon’s heartbeat echoed in the arena, bringing him back to life. Bálor jumped to his feet, grabbed a chair and hammered Roman with it before sending him crashing into a ringside table with a shotgun dropkick.

Bálor brought Reigns back to the ring and climbed the ropes for the knockout blow. But just as The Demon was about to soar into the air, the loops holding the top rope in place snapped and gave way under Bálor, sending him scurrying across the carpet. Bálor gripped his knee, wincing in pain as he got to his feet. The challenger morphed into another Spear who gave Reigns the count of three.

Reigns faced his toughest challenge yet, and although he nearly lost his title, fate helped him hang in there. Now the table chef has a monstrous challenge awaiting him in the form of Brock Lesnar.