He lied, he cheated, and he stole his way to another successful Intercontinental Championship defense. Dominik Mysterio took on Rusev and Penta in an explosive Triple Threat at “Saturday Night’s Main Event,” and in a twisted finish, Mysterio scored the pinfall to walk out of his ninth Intercontinental title defense successful.

The night did not start well for Mysterio, as an irate Rusev wailed on the champion to open the match. Penta, after being sent into the ring barricade, re-inserted himself into the conflict with a Superkick to Rusev, and the three sides continued to wage war on each other. A steel chair quickly found its way into the conflict, and considering a Triple Threat match’s inherent No Disqualification stipulation, Rusev laid waste to the champion with steel. Penta pumped the brakes on Rusev’s momentum with a Superkick to the steel, and the then-struggling luchador found solid ground with a Mexican Destroyer to Mysterio.

The match continued until Rusev had Penta locked in The Accolade. With no ropes to break the hold, Rusev wore Penta down until the bell rang from the outside. Rusev began to celebrate, but the referee disputed the call, as Penta never tapped out to The Accolade. Rusev’s face contorted in anger as the camera panned to Mysterio who stood at ringside, grin on his face and ring bell hammer in hand. Penta snatched the hammer from Mysterio’s grasp, but in his attempt to strike the champion, found Rusev instead. Mysterio capitalized by sending Penta into the ring-post before gearing up for a Frog Splash. In the end, Mysterio pinned Rusev to retain his gold.

With this victory, Mysterio is now set to continue his 196-day reign with the Intercontinental Championship. After Tiffany Stratton’s loss earlier Saturday, Mysterio is now the longest-reigning active champion across WWE’s roster.