12 Match Star Ratings For WWE SummerSlam 2019

7. AJ Styles Vs. Ricochet - United States Title Match

Brock Lesnar Seth Rollins
WWE.com

AJ Styles and Ricochet are both superb professional wrestlers in varying states of physical condition. But critical etiquette - or rather, the fear of receiving abuse for daring to express that it was just really boring for much of the duration - obscured just how ponderous this was.

Like it! The wrestlers are good! What's wrong with you?

Online wrestling discourse is toxic - you are a "c*nt" if you do not objectively rate WWE's modern output - but come on. This match, featuring Ricochet, was almost as slow as Randy Orton's. That was an unforgivable road agent edict, or an indictment of AJ's decline.

Possibly both.

Ricochet sold the leg brilliantly, modifying his aerials to maintain the integrity of the story in unique ways, but that story was uninspiring and told at a funereal pace. It was essentially Ricochet being "told how to work" - i.e., appeasing Vince McMahon's sensibilities by wrestling a "limb" match at the requisite in-house speed. The finish was super, but the build towards it wasn't the exhilarating Ricochet fare.

Ultimately, this was a very well-told story, but that story failed to maximise the talent and expertise of its protagonist who, for the second consecutive pay-per-view, was entirely miscast.

Star Rating: ***

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!