Seth Rollins shocked fans when he pulled off the ‘Ruse of the Century’ against CM Punk.
‘Freakin’ has been a part of some of the greatest Money in the Bank moments in WWE history with his infamous Wrestlemania 31 cash-in where he won the title against Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
After Rollins suffered an injury during his match with LA Knight before SummerSlam, it looked like Punk would be able to fight Gunther without interference.
The Second City Saint was able to dethrone the dominant Austrian after hitting the GTS two times to become the champion, but only for a few minutes.
Seth Rollins pulled off a shock Money in the Bank cash-in on the new WWE Heavyweight champion CM Punk
After the Money in the Bank holder made his entrance on a pair of crutches, he tossed them aside to reveal he had not been injured the whole time.
He took advantage of his depleted foe to cash-in his contract, and one curb-stomp later, he became the new World Heavyweight champion.
A celebration on the ramp, with an homage to his swinging belt celebration, topped off another shocking MITB cash-in for the Iowan wrestler.
The win now marks his second reign as the company’s heavyweight champion, and his sixth win of one of the major versions of the WWE title.
While his fellow faction members Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed may have lost in the opening match of the Premium Live Event, the Heyman-led group had the last laugh.
WWE fans react to ‘phenomenal’ Seth Rollins’ surprise MITB cash-in on CM Punk at SummerSlam
It was a moment for the WWE universe to savour, as many fans praised Rollins for selling the surprise moment up until the PLE itself.
One fan pointed out the lengths the performer took to ensure the injury was believable.
They wrote: “Seth Rollins walked around on crutches with his daughter to sell the knee injury.
“There are levels to this.”
Another agreed with the ‘levels’ statement and heaped plaudits on the 39-year-old.
“Seth Rollins showed us once again why he’s in a league of his own. Commitment. Storytelling. Emotion. There are levels to this game,” the user wrote.
Although not everyone agreed with the victory over Chicago’s newly crowned champion, replying to Rhea Ripley‘s post about Seth stealing the belt, a fan wrote: “I love Seth Rollins but CM Punk deserves that title.”
A fan had a different observation after the win for the man formerly known as ‘The Architect’, the user posted: “John Cena champion, Seth Rollins cash-in and world champion, Naomi heel, Nikki Bella back?? WWE is literally 2015 again.”
However, some fans still couldn’t get over the way the moment was constructed from the entrance to the finish.
One fan replied: “The visual of seeing Seth Rollins toss his crutches aside like he was healed instantaneously is one of the best visuals you’ll see in pro-wrestling all year.
“Phenomenal.”
This fan made an interesting comparison to a Hall of Famer when congratulating the new champion.
They wrote: “I thought Lex Luthor would be hater of the year, but what Seth Rollins did was diabolical.
“Never seen a man hate on a person that hard.”
It will be one of those spectacles that will go down in history, but fans will be looking for an angry response from Punk in the days to come that could spell trouble for the man who stole his big moment.