WWE SummerSlam 2018: Star Ratings For All 13 Matches

3. Shinsuke Nakamura Vs. Jeff Hardy - United States Title Match

Samoa Joe AJ Styles Star Ratings II
WWE.com

You can never accuse Jeff Hardy of not leaving everything in the ring, even when he has barely anything left to give. The man is clearly in a state of decay, and he left a massive splat of dust on the ring apron when, borrowing a trick from daredevil successor Joey Janela, he missed a swanton bomb on it. This was a foolhardy (sorry) spot about as unnecessary as Kevin Owens' stupid cage bump at Extreme Rules.

This was about the only moment in the match that left any sort of impression; elsewhere, it was virtually indistinguishable from standard TV fare, only wrestled with even less intensity. It only served to reinforce the idea that these pay-per-views are too long, too repetitive, and that the company is exacerbating its telling injury record by needlessly putting its broken performers through the wringer. The crowd barely responded, but Nakamura pleased the road agents, at least, by littering the bout with their favoured rest holds.

It wasn't great. It wasn't even bad. It was just filler that accomplished less than nothing by shaving time from Hardy's bump clock.

Star Rating: **1/4

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!