WWE Money In The Bank 2019: Star Ratings For All 12 Matches

2. Kofi Kingston Vs. Kevin Owens - WWE Championship Match

STARS AJ Styles Seth Rollins
WWE.com

A good-to-very-good WWE Championship match that served as yet more evidence of the joint-brand pay-per-view problem, not that separate brands exist anymore.

An exhausted crowd didn’t react much to it, which was more a condemnation of the length of the show than the match or those who performed it. Or was it? Is that too generous? Was Kofi the protagonist of an incredible story, and not the author?

This was choice upper card fare that never erupted into that indefinable, main event atmosphere. Kevin Owens showed Miz how exactly to execute a frog splash with a vicious variation to the outside, before aiming committed forearms to the back of the Champion. Owens blasted Kofi with a stunning snatch Superkick timed perfectly, but it didn’t form a wider, engrossing story like, say, Kofi using his unreal agility and heart to escape the formidable technical prowess of Daniel Bryan. It was a very good Intercontinental Title match masquerading as something more.

This didn’t feel like a WWE Championship match. Whether that is because Kofi isn’t a worthy WWE Champion is still under review.

Star Rating: ***1/2

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!