25 Greatest WWE SummerSlam Matches EVER

22. AJ Styles Vs John Cena (SummerSlam 2016)

CM Punk Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

Rarely did John Cena perfect the New Japan Pro Wrestling style he liberally stole (and misunderstood) around the time of his 2015/2016 surprise superworker spell, but a summer series with AJ Styles at long last exploited all they'd both learned from their Far East influences.

'The Phenomenal One' still felt brand new to WWE having only debuted earlier that year, so much so that his first outing with 'Big Match John' at that year's Money In The Bank pay-per-view drew the hottest response of the evening before the two had even locked up.

A genuine dream match worthy of the "This Is Awesome" and duelling chants they both received, the maiden contest was somehow topped when the pair paid off the first chapter of their two-part programme.

A tight 23 minutes when the pair could have gotten away with taking a full thirty, the breathless battle was one of Cena's most polished during his peak period - something that didn't go missed by company insiders.

Styles' clean victory over 'The Champ' was a subtle turning point for WWE at large - no longer were they completely short of headliners - a TNA/NJPW one had just stepped all the way up into WWE's catbird seat and Vince McMahon's affections.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett