12 Match Star Ratings For WWE SummerSlam 2019
11. Buddy Murphy Vs. Apollo Crews
A match for the sake of it, the start was pitched intelligently enough: perhaps sensing that neither man was over, Murphy shot out of his corner and landed a knee in Apollo's face.
Murphy is a quality heel who deserves much more. He has a detestable face and disposition about him, so much so that his sh*t, while physical enough to command attention, isn't counterproductive to the cause. When he belted the hell out of Apollo's back with his shin, it inspired support on his opponent's behalf. Murphy has found that spot between entertaining and detestable that is difficult for most of his contemporaries to locate. His indebted move set leads many to compare him to Kenny Omega, which is fair, but in many ways, he's more like KENTA.
On the evidence of the resulting match, that's probably too much.
A reasonable but very short exhibition of power and athleticism between two new-breed athletes who haven't been afforded the opportunity to show what they're truly capable of, this was nonetheless good enough to savour a (likely inevitable) TV rematch.
Star Rating: **3/4