Dominik Mysterio beat Penta and Rusev in a Triple Threat match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event to retain the Intercontinental Championship.
Late in the match, Penta attempted to hit Mysterio with a hammer but missed and struck Rusev instead, knocking him out. Mysterio then tossed Penta into the post and hit Rusev with a Frog Splash for the win.
Since winning the IC title at WrestleMania 41 back in April, Dirty Dom has been targeted by many of Raw’s top stars, with Penta and Rusev being among his most persistent challengers.
On the Sept. 29 episode of Raw, Mysterio put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against Rusev in what looked to be a physical mismatch due to Rusev’s size and strength.
However, Dominik used his resourcefulness to his advantage by hitting Rusev with a low blow while the referee’s back was turned and rolling him up for the win.
Two weeks later, Mysterio was tasked with defending against Penta, and he once again used cheating and distractions to his advantage.
When Rusev tried to involve himself in the match, Penta took him out with a dive, and that diversion was enough to allow Mysterio to produce a hammer from his boot, which he used to hit Penta, setting up a 619 and frog splash for the win.
Unimpressed by Dominik’s tactics, Raw general manager Adam Pearce booked him in another championship match against Rusev the following week on Raw.
When he was unable to take Rusev out with a hammer, Mysterio hit him with a low blow yet again amid a distraction from Penta, following it up with a 619 and frog splash en route to victory.
Given that both Rusev and Penta had valid complaints because of the dirty tricks Dominik used to beat them, Pearce put them against each other in a No. 1 contender’s match with the winner going on to challenge Mysterio at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Dom called in a favor to El Grande Americano, prompting him and Los Americanos to interrupt the match by attacking Penta and Rusev. Mysterio thought that meant he would not have to defend the title at SNME, but an angry Pearce put him in a Triple Threat match instead.
The odds were perhaps stacked against Mysterio in a match against two rivals who were out for revenge, but Dominik once again found a way to escape with his title reign intact.
