Roman Reigns beat Rey Mysterio in a Hell in a Cell match on Friday night's episode of SmackDown to retain the Universal Championship.

Reigns delivered a release powerbomb to Mysterio that sent him into the cage outside of the ring. He then brought the challenger back inside the ring and applied a modified guillotine, forcing Mysterio to tap out.

Originally scheduled for Sunday's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, the match took place on SmackDown instead after Mysterio lobbied for it and Reigns agreed:

The title bout came into focus over the past few weeks after The Usos beat The Street Profits to earn a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match against Rey and Dominik Mysterio.

Reigns wasn't pleased with Jey Uso focusing on teaming with his brother, Jimmy, more than the duties involved with ensuring that The Tribal Chief remains Universal champion.

The Head of the Table also took issue with The Usos losing to the Mysterios in the opening match of SmackDown on June 4, although it was a controversial finish as Jimmy got his shoulder up only for the referee to count to three.

As a result, The Usos were given a rematch later in the night. Jimmy and Jey did not prevail, though, as Reigns beat down both Rey and Dominik to close the show.

The following week, a furious Rey Mysterio called out the Universal champion and challenged him to a Hell in a Cell match for the title, which Reigns accepted.

The Mysterios also laid a trap, as Rey attacked Reigns with a kendo stick and Dominik returned as well, but it was Reigns who got the last laugh when he took out Rey and powerbombed Dominik out of the ring.

Reigns was a massive favorite to win Friday's match, but there was still plenty of intrigue surrounding it because of the storyline.

It remained unclear where The Usos stood with their cousin entering SmackDown, and there was some thought that they and Dominik could get involved in the title match.

Also, it marked the first Hell in a Cell match of Rey's long and illustrious career, which suggested he would go to great lengths to entertain and potentially pull off a massive upset.

Reigns ultimately won and retained the title as expected, but the match still delivered in a big way, which has been commonplace for The Tribal Chief over the past several months.

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