Alberto Del Rio came into his match against John Cena with revenge on his mind. Not necessarily against Cena, but The Essence of Excellence, incensed by the attack against Ricardo Rodriguez earlier in the night, was uncommonly aggressive in his opening salvo against the 10-time WWE Champion. Del Rio had victory within his grasp early in the contest when he stunned Cena with a backbreaker. An attempt at a top rope strike, however, was cut short when Cena caught Del Rio mid-leap with a dropkick, leading seamlessly into a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena was unable to finish the job, though, as Del Rio maneuvered his way to the ropes after he was hoisted up for the Attitude Adjustment.

The two longtime enemies took their fight to the outside next, exploiting the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation to maximum effect. Cena and Del Rio traded Irish Whips into the steel steps before Cena set to dismantling the announce table, presumably looking to set it up for an attack on Del Rio. His plans never came to fruition, though, as The Mexican Aristocrat streaked out of nowhere to take Cena down with a kick to the head. Cena rallied, though, sending Del Rio over the barrier and setting the steel steps up next to the ruined announce table. The Cenation leader made his play for victory then, carrying Del Rio up the steps and looking for the AA … but Del Rio countered, squirming off Cena’s shoulders and sending him down to earth with a bone-shattering backdrop that left the announce table in ruins.

Del Rio took advantage of the reprieve to grab the microphone. Seething and sensing victory, Del Rio snarled that Cena, WWE and Chicago were all “beneath” him before vowing, “Now I’m going to break your arm, Cena.” Next came the Cross Armbreaker, but Cena acted quickly, reversing it into an STF that Del Rio broke up by smashing the mic against Cena’s skull. The fight spilled up the ramp and near the TitanTron. Cena attempted his own play for victory, hoisting a speaker high above his head before Del Rio kicked Cena’s leg out from under him. The two competitors brawled deep into the backstage area, using anything they could find as a weapon, but it looked like Cena would come out the victor when he AA’d Del Rio onto a stack of crates.

What he didn’t count on, however, was CM Punk calling off his personal day. The Second City Saint struck fast, kicking Cena in the head and incapacitating him before hauling Del Rio on top of the prone Cenation leader, allowing the referee to record the three-count. Punk wasn’t done by a long shot yet, though, hauling Cena toward his car and executing a Go to Sleep on the hood, leaving his No. 1 contender a battered mess on the Allstate Arena floor. “Respect,” Punk said simply as he knelt before Cena. His point sufficiently made, The Second City Saint climbed back into the passenger seat of his car and drove away, but not before the camera got a good look at the vehicle’s driver … Paul Heyman.