SummerSlam 2016 results: Finn Balor defeats Seth Rollins to become 1st WWE Universal Champion

Recent NXT callup Finn Balor became the first-ever WWE Universal Champion on Sunday, beating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam in his PPV debut.

The Universal title was first unveiled before this match by RAW commissioner Stephanie McMahon and general manager Mick Foley. This match also marked the debut of the Demon Balor on main roster PPV and he looked as awesome as you’d expect.

The match didn’t take long to pick up, with Balor drop-kicking Rollins into the corner and hitting a tope to the outside. Rollins took over by sweeping Balor’s leg on the apron and suplexing him onto the floor.

The action got back into the ring, with Balor attempting to work Rollins’ leg. But Rollins got the fight outside again and powerbombed Balor into the barricade. Rollins got him into the ring and hit a backbreaker, transitioning into a long chinlock as the crowd voiced its displeasure at the new belt.

Rollins eventually got the upper hand with a flying springboard knee and a giant splash on Balor for a two-count. Some more holds ensued, but Balor shook off Rollins with a DDT as both men lay tired on the mat. Balor continued his comeback with running chops to the corner and a dropkick, sending Rollins to the outside.

An intense back-and-forth sequence saw Rollins try to set up the Pedigree and ended with both men on the ground after Balor hit the Pele kick. Balor then hit his signature Bloody Sunday reverse DDT (dubbed “1916” in WWE) for a close two-count.

Balor went for Coup de Grace (his finisher, double knee stomp off the top) but Rollins reversed it into a triangle choke. Balor eventually squirmed out of the hold and got back into the ring, only to walk into a Rollins turnbuckle bomb that got a two-count. Rollins surprised everyone by busting out a small package driver, a move he hasn’t used since his ROH days. Naturally it only got a two-count.

Balor took back over with a running dropkick on Rollins into the barricade, dragging him back in the ring and hitting Coup de Grace on a standing Rollins. That wasn’t good enough, so Balor climbed for another Coup de Grace but missed. Rollins turned that into a Pedigree, which the Demon somehow kicked out of.

The finish saw Rollins trying his last resort, a Phoenix Splash off the top rope. He missed and eventually Balor hit another dropkick into the turnbuckles, finally landing Coup de Grace for good and winning the first Universal Championship.