WWE Survivor Series 2018: Star Ratings For All 8 Matches
6. Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins Vs. United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura
The onus was on Shinsuke Nakamura to deliver here, since one could make the argument that he has never once electrified on the main roster—but after the fact, blistering though this was in patches, this very good-but-not-great match was partly Seth Rollins’ doing. Much like his matches at SummerSlam and Hell In A Cell, this meandered into something awesome where it should have built towards something awesome.
Still, before Seth and Shinsuke eventually burned it down, the Artist showed flourishes of his old, mischievous genius by dizzying Rollins during a rope run, feigning to sell his own discombobulation, before aiming a stiff kick right in his face. They carried this momentum to the finish, just about, and the near-fall sells of and counters to the still-over Kinshasa yielded huge reactions. Rollins does the little things really well; he only barely covered Nakamura, which did more to protect him than a years’ worth of creative.
Some questioned the clean finish, and it was curious, given the extent to which Nakamura was presented as an afterthought throughout the build: but had Nakamura went over, would he have earned it?
Rollins is in line for a major grudge match at TLC, on the back of a year of rehabilitation—the odd mild disappointment aside. There’s nothing “mildly” disappointing about Shinsuke’s year. The booking isn’t solely to blame—but on this evidence, he deserves better treatment in 2019.
Star Rating: ***3/4