3 Ups & 11 Downs From WWE Raw (Jan 18)

2. AJ, Ricochet Put On Show

AJ Styles Ricochet
WWE.com

Just in case you had forgotten, it says “wrestling” on the marquee. Or at least it used to.

While WWE brass would tell you that they’re in the entertainment business, many fans (at least of those who are still tuning in) watch to see the occasional good wrestling match. We haven’t gotten much of that recently, with a few notable exceptions (Drew McIntyre versus Keith Lee, for example).

On Monday night, AJ Styles and Ricochet reminded us that they’re still two of the best in the world as they put together a perfectly enjoyable bout, trading rollups, teeing off on each other, and mixing in some high-flying moves. The match even had a nice setup, with Styles mocking Ricochet backstage and the One and Only trying to prove himself to Adam Pearce as deserving of a Royal Rumble slot (though we could debate the hypocrisy of others just declaring and Ricochet having to prove himself).

The match even had a couple of incredible spots, with Ricochet countering a Phenomenal Forearm with a Recoil, and then AJ hitting a front suplex onto the ropes, then catching his opponent on the rebound to nail a Styles Clash for the win. Just a really good little match to enjoy.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.