[5.0] "It's an okay match, but it's very far from being both of these guys best matches ever. I like they were neck in neck and Cena actually does some interesting stuff. Styles puts on a decent performance. But it feels kind of sluggish at times, the start of the match is kind of slow however I will say it only gets better as it goes on. I can see why other people like it, and honestly am glad that this was Cena's 16th title win instead of something like Cena vs Rock 1.2, but doesn't do too much for me."
[10.0] "This match was Phenomenal. These two have great chemistry. Like biscuits and gravy. Loved AJ taunting Cena early on. It's never not going to be cool when AJ counters the AA, i don't know why it just always makes me really hyped. Some great counters here. The near fall after the Phenomenal Forearm early got me to bite. I loved the strike exchange as well. Cena once again had a great transition out of the calf crusher to the STF. Great stuff. AJ putting Cena in a STF of his own was really cool. AJ's quick transition to the armbar was great. Cena getting his knees up when AJ went for the springboard 450 was cool. I bit on the Super AA near fall. Good finish with Cena catching Styles and hitting him with an AA, and then rolling through to give AJ another AA."
[6.0] "Similar to Undertaker vs Triple H in that it's a shallow forced epic only characterized by the finisher kickouts as opposed to a story. For me Cena's career peak is before 2015 before he tried imitating his idea of an indie style match. Cena vs Umaga, vs Punk, vs Bryan didn't have the problems this and the triple threat with Brock and Seth has. It's a match entirely constructed to wow the audience by repeated nearfalls and going from big pover moves to bigger power moves."
[5.0] "This had the same problem many modern day matches have: melodramatic kick-outs just to give the match a blockbuster feel. It started off well, but it felt like they were just killing time until the time came to throw all their artillery at one another. What's really the difference between the SummerSlam match and this one? Where's the ring psychology here? What are these guys trying to achieve? Using the analogy of a dramatic three-act structure, this match skimmed through the first act, directly jumped to the mid-point, and the third act was the longest act where it felt like 75% of the match was just the climax with no setup or buildup, no characterization - simply spots, reversals, and infinite attempts at drawing near-falls. It was one big cartoon show and completely killed narrative and emotional immersion. With matches like these, it gets very, very difficult to suspend disbelief. Yet, as wrestling has gone more and more mainstream, this is what sells, so you really can't blame them. I can understand marketing over-the-top action, but what's the point if it's no longer believable? This was your cookie-cutter action movie with loads of action but cringe-worthy characters and a weak plot. A stellar athletic competition, but a match with no head or tail."
[10.0] "This match was the best WWE Championship bout that I've got the pleasure in experiencing while watching it LIVE on the night of the Royal Rumble PLE. It transformed John Cena from an overrated WWE Superstar into a World Class Pro Wrestler as his chemistry with AJ Styles was magical to see from a Face and a Heel in a high profile encounter. I personally loved it and preferred this match to Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit from the 2003 Royal Rumble event."
[9.0] "[4.75*] This was the continuation of the rivalry between John Cena and AJ Styles, this time for the WWE world title, this duel is classic as both did not step foot outside the ring throughout the match, all the action was concentrated in the ring. The chemistry between the two was incredible here, the exchanges between the two were still insane and the moves and spots that the two did were wonderful. I really like how Cena sells things here, his reactions to each kickout from Styles is incredible. The ending is exciting as Cena winning the world title for the 17th time in a very good AA sequence, a spectacular match."
[10.0] "One of the best matches in wwe history especially in modern wwe history. Both guys at the top of their games fighting for the biggest title in the company what more can you want. Their trilogy of matches from 2016 into 17 is some of the best matches in wwe history. In terms of feuds its one of the best ever these two worked so good together it was that instant chemistry kind of thing that few rivalries have. A special match here with cena winning his 16th world title equaling Ric flair. A fantastic match that matches their summerslam 16 classic if not may actually be better than that match. 4.75/5"
[10.0] "The only real flaw in this match was Cena's hilarious attempt at a cutter. It ended up being some sort of awkward chest/gutbuster but it worked. One very important thing to note about this match: Neither men ever left the ring. Neither Cena's or Styles's feet ever hit the outside of the ring. When you consider the amount of criticism Cena has received overall over the course of almost two decades, this match proved that he only got better as he got older and peaked right at this match. Cena used moves we really hadn't seen him use before: The "cutter", the electric chair facebuster, the raged-filled clotheslines. The sunset flip powerbomb was possibly the best in-match sunset flip powerbomb ever. The element of surprise for that move was hysterically awesome and it increased the quality of the match. Cena and Styles reversals throughout the duration of the entire match: - Styles reversing a 5 knuckle shuffle by spinarooni-ing, Cena pushing him halfway through that reversal, Styles reversing a punch attempt after that by kicking the arm...the back and forth between the two was impressive and refreshing from Cena. - Cena's reversal out of the calf crusher was something we hadn't really seen. Normally people bash Styles's head into the ring but this was cool. Their back and forth submission reversals were really cool (armbar, figure4, calf crusher, stfu). - Really thought Cena was going to hit the flying neckbreaker but that powerbomb reversal was unexpected and cool to watch Both the figure4 and the STFU from Styles to Cena both got big pops...hadn't remembered those two happened. The false-finishes were meaningful and the live crowd displayed that when the moments came up: - Styles's 1st Styles clash seemed like a genuine false-finish. The match had gone on for a bit until then and with Cena on somewhat of a part-time status around this time, you never really know. - The Super AA was amazing and Cena's sell of the false-finish made the moment bigger than it already was. Styles got off another Styles clash but the damage from this maneuver was enough to not get him to go for a pinfall. The finish to the match was sudden and, more than anything, made Styles look like a champ, despite losing his WWE Championship. This is also Cena's best match ever. This is being rated before his 2011 MITB match with Punk but this match is near flawless. It was an amazing display of Cena's evolution as an in-ring performer. This Cena match is unlike anything he's ever really done before and to see in 2017 instead of 2007 is a true testament to his greatness. Another important thing to note: this match's build wasn't as great as their previous buildups. The story of him getting a 16th-championship was really driven home by the commentators during the match itself, but the actual story and buildup to their 3rd pay-per-view singles match together wasn't as intense as some might've remembered it to be or as some think it might've been. The match was so back and forth, intense, quick-tempo, and physical, it seems that way. The match meant a lot to Cena and it showed. Styles has always been a machine in the ring, but it doesn't discredit anything, this match is in a tier of its own for him as well. If you had to show someone pro wrestling who has never seen it before, this is one of those matches you can show them to understand why it can be really fun. Usually, a 10-star match fits into that criteria, but it's true."
[10.0] "This was a near perfect match. Both men were evenly matched and put on a wrestling classic. The last few minutes of the match had some of the best near falls youve ever seen and these near falls actually had importance."
[7.0] "Combination of countless and meaningless finishers nearfalls to get a reaction from fans . Without zero strategy just another typical match from last 15 years. Just same old stuff that everyone does these days.Nothing and empty. Mainstream content to satisfy mainstream fans"
[9.0] "The best vanilla match ever. Great sequences, psychology, and near falls. They call back to their other bouts nicely, and the crowd is hot the whole time. This is the formula they kind of drags other matches in WWE down, but it just works here. 4.75 Stars."
[6.0] "This is a really good match with a hot crowd. However, a lot of what we see here was already done in their previous match-up at SummerSlam. Cena really came into his own as a worker in 2016 and it's great to see him holding his own with AJ here. It's just a shame that they couldn't deviate more from the spots that were done so well during the prior summer."
[6.0] "I felt like I saw this match already, with their Summerslam match only happening a year before this. Didn't invent anything at all and didn't bite on any of Cena's finisher-spam type match structure."
[10.0] "My favourite match of all time for many reasons. I was afraid to watch it again because I thought it wouldn't be as amazing as I remembered it. But it was."
[9.0] "Their best match without a doubt. They went all out with this one and they put on a banger for the ages. I love that they finally let Cena actually wrestle in the late part of his career, because he showed why he was the man for so many years. And what can I say about AJ Styles, the greatest american wrestler of the last 20 years making magic with a dream opponent (**** 3/4)"
[10.0] "As far as I've watched this is and remains the best match for the WWE Title ever, the two already came from a great feud the year before that solidified AJ as a top guy in the company and in this feud resumption with Cena at the center beating Styles after the SummerSlam defeat and equaling Flair's record in number of world titles and they surpassed the big match the previous summer and made an absolute classic where they never needed to leave the ring and the right guy (at least at that moment) won in one of the best endings of a match I've ever seen (*****)"
[10.0] "As a kid, I just saw this match as good fun but never really anything more. But now, as I've begun to somewhat venture into other styles of wrestling, this match means SO MUCH MORE. John Cena wrestling a NJPW style match is seemingly one of the most ridiculous ideas ever, but it happens here... and it f***ing WORKS or so many levels. Cena's last World Title win, and easily his best. 10/10 / *****"
[10.0] "I am of the great belief this is the best WWE match of the 21st century. Without a doubt a wrestling clinic, two stars of an era going at it, also I won't lie it was great to see Cena hold up gold again as well as that crowd being so alive. Also they never left the ring!"
[9.0] "This was an incredible match. This match was paced extremely well and there were some great sequences here. I loved Cena's aggression here after being beaten twice before by Styles. The finish with the double AA was awesome. ****3/4"
[10.0] "one of the greatest wrestling trilogies of all time. an action packed in ring match. these two delivered every single time they faced off. a perfect ending with Cena winning his 16th world title."
[9.0] "We see a few references to their past matches or even sequences from this match. Cena executes the Blue Thunder Bomb, but not completely, to avoid Styles' comeback, plus he anticipates several maneuvers during the match, good attention to detail. After three failed attempts, the first finisher comes almost nine minutes in. I was at least hoping there wouldn't be any in the top 10. Immediately after AA, Cena executes a Lariat that would make its way into the puroresu. I'm impressed. Second finisher a little after 10 minutes. The submission maneuver spam begins. Gotta admit, the counters look pretty good. The problem is that for Cena selling it just means clowning around, Styles sells the STF even though you can't see his facial expression. Of course, the Figure Four Leglock couldn't be missing from this spam, because hey, what would it be like to match Flair with his own maneuver. Here Cena didn't execute the maneuvers as clumsily as he usually does, in fact they were quite smooth some. I spoke too soon, Cena botched a cutter. The ending sequence is extremely weak, with Cena waking from the dead executing two AAs. BIG MATCH JOHN. The match really is very good, could have been even better if it had smarter booking. There were seven finishing maneuvers in total. 7! Instead, like I said, the match was all about Cena, and AJ did a great job of putting him over."
[10.0] "Best Match on this card and amazing ending to the Styles v Cena trilogy. They didn't need any ref bump or moves outside the ring to put on a classic. They kept it inside the ring and made it an engaging match from start to finish. The part that stood out to me from the previous two encounters was when you go back to the match at SummerSlam; Cena attempted an AA, but it was reversed into a styles clash to a phenomenal forearm by AJ to help him win the match. In this match they did the same spot but this time Cena caught the forearm attempt to give a Double AA to win the match and become a 16 time world champion.These moments where wrestlers learn from their mistake from the previous encounters doesn't happen a lot in WWE. I'm surprised no one ever mentions this from the SummerSlam and Rumble matchup because that spot is stuck in my head even after 5 years of repeatedly watching these matches. In addition, John Cena winning his 16th world title in front of a Stadium crowd made this match absolutely perfect."
"A cap to one of the greatest wrestling trilogies of all time, and just to further cement the greatness that Cena and AJ brought in because of their reputations, alongside being a highlight in one of the best eras of Smackdown in its history."
[9.0] "This match is fantastic, the best way to close one of the best trilogies in the history of the PG era, Aj and Cena undoubtedly demonstrated their abilities as performers in a dynamic fight, with good moves and good kickouts, a deserved victory for Cena, that ties Flair. **** 1/2"
"[10.0] An absolut wonderful match, thrilling, emotional and very well-executed. I just think it's beautiful, don't want to see any problems here. It's just Cena, my goat, and AJ at the peak of his carrer in WWE, fighting for the crownd and for their lifes. Cena should go for the 17h title, i'm pretty sure of it."
[10.0] "The whole thing was masterfully performed from both an in-ring and the psychological perspective. This feels like a perfect conclusion to one of the best WWE rivalries."
[9.0] "A wonderful match full of drama, callbacks and execution that had a high barometer to reach. Only the Styles Clash off the Cena dive from the top didn't deliver and they covered up for that really quickly. The other stuff like the Cena hulk up and the figure four were ingenious moves that will really allow a match like this full of big time moves to still have memorable little moments that you can call back to when the match is brought up."
[9.0] "I think this is the best of the big moves matches trilogy that AJ/Cena had since they had a lot of history to play off of in this one. The transition into every big move looked good due to the execution of both men in this. I liked the aggression that Cena showed when he hit the clothesline in this match. Both men knew each other well at this point and their gameplans so we got a ton of smooth counters. Cena has to hit a double AA to win to make sure Styles due to the fact that he already kicked out of a super AA and a regular one in their previous match at SS and this one.Love the fact that they never left the ring.****3/4"
[10.0] "5 estrellas, no tengo otra forma de resumir este combate. En una hazaña que parecía ser imposible, AJ Styles y John Cena superaron su combate de Summerslam 2016 al tener otro gran combate cargado de una importancia mucha mas grande. AJ Styles luchando como campeón mundial en el mismo evento el cual hizo su debut el año anterior, defendiendo el título contra la cara de la empresa, John Cena, quien ponía en juego el empatar a Ric Flair en mayor cantidad de reinados mundiales, una historia que se cuenta sola. Sinceramente, uno de los últimos combates de la WWE que se sintieron como algo verdaderamente grande y, viendo en retrospectiva, creo que este debería haber sido el Main Event de Wrestlemania 33 y no Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker. Me encantaría narrar el combate pero creo que lo mejor es que lo vean ustedes, vale totalmente la pena. Gran combate, con una de las mejores historias de ese año (2017) y con el ganador correcto, ver a John Cena empatar el record de Ric Flari es uno de los hitos más importantes de la WWE y uno del cual no se habla tanto creo, seguramente al haberse llevado a cabo en el Road to Wrestlemania y no en el Wrestlemania mismo. Seguramente, top 3 de mis combates favoritos en general. (*****)"
[10.0] "This match is my favorite out of all their matches. The story heading into this was simple as John Cena wanted to win his 16th World Title and tie Ric Flair's record. The match was similar to their SummerSlam encounter built around false finishes and Cena looking more desperate for the win than Styles. Cena using the Figure 4 was a great spot. The finish was also similar as at SummerSlam Styles went for two consecutive finishers and this time it was Cena who went for two consecutive FUs to win the match. Even though at the time I wanted AJ Styles to retain and go on to WrestleMania as the WWE Champion but I was happy for John Cena as it was a great moment and he really deserves the record. [*****]"
[10.0] "A world class clash between these two here. After their two different titanic clashes at Money In The Bank & SummerSlam 2016, we never knew that these two would topple both especially the spectacular SummerSlam storytelling match but this match surely tossed that thought out as a masterclass work-rate collision. Both men surely knew each other's plans and had great counters as well as splendid near-falls. Every single second of this bout was put together like a majestic puzzle and it was done in a grand success. There's a little detailing done here as both men truly busted their bodies off **inside the ring** and didn't give or use a chance to get out & catch a breath. That's the rarity which felt magical to notice. 5 out of 5 stars!"
[10.0] "Genuinely believe this is a dark horse for one of the best WWE matches of all time. AJ and Cena have amazing psychology here, both their moves are smooth as butter, the execution is all amazing, and the near-falls popped me like a madman. As far as I'm concerned with rivalries in wrestling, if NJPW has Omega vs Okada and AJPW has Misawa vs Kobashi, WWE has AJ vs Cena. *5*"
[10.0] "I loved this. Fantastic back and forth with convincing near falls and a conclusive finish to their fantastic feud. The storytelling was off the charts. Cena willing to do anything to become a 16 time champ, with Styles trying just as hard. It was so simple, but just so, so well done. The fact neither man left the ring for an entire 25 minutes is impressive as hell. Absolutely fantastic. [****3/4]"
[9.0] "When I first saw this, I thought it was great but too similar to their Summerslam match and didn't see the hype surrounding it. On a rewatch though, I found out I was being unfair as the similarities were not as prominent as I'd thought. These two delivered an excellent match that will surely be among WWE's best this year. I especially liked the ending with how they built off of the ending to their Summerslam match. My only gripe with the match is the lack of continuity - why is Cena so surprised that AJ kicked out of the super AA when AJ had kicked out of it the only time it had been delivered to him? Either way, this was an excellent match with some great sequences and some great near falls. (****1/2)"
[10.0] "The culmination of a story 15 years in the making. John Cena had been the top star in the world's biggest wrestling promotion for over a decade. AJ Styles had been the top star outside of WWE for the same period of time, conquering both TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling. In their first encounter, Styles proved that he could beat Cena... With outside interference. In their second match, Styles defeated Cena clean as a whistle in what I regard as a five-star classic. It was a career-defining victory for one of the greatest of all-time. Fast forward roughly six months and Styles has done what he said he would: He has conquered WWE. He defeated the top star, won the WWE Championship, and became The Face That Runs The Place. And that's exactly why Cena, in pursuit of a historic 16th World Title win, was the perfect challenger. Not only did we get perhaps the best match these two ever produced, but we saw a story that built upon everything we saw over the near year that led to this encounter. As well as the decade-plus that preceded the actual rivalry. The underlying story that ties everything together: John Cena simply cannot put AJ Styles away with the Attitude Adjustment. That created some downright iconic spots that enhanced a story of self-doubt and self-realization. A story for the ages, a match for the ages, and a five-star classic that stands near the top of all WWE encounters. 5 stars, 10 out of 10."
[4.0] "The first instance of action here has Cena throwing jabs that have no hope of connecting, getting his leg kicked for it and then ditching the jabs for a right smack. I find it symbolic of this match as a whole. They tease ideas of something more earnest or believable for a wrestling contest, before tossing it aside for the most lackluster back-and-forth finisher-kickout tryhard-epic [insert buzzword here because it fits] bombfest style of match you could have expected these two to have. Cena attempts an AA 4 minutes in and it gets reversed with all flash and now follow up. They can't have control segments or adequate psychology, they gotta deliver on da big movez and cram nearly a dozen finishers in. Remember, this is the sequel to their Summerslam match where Styles kicked out of an Avalanche AA and multiple standard AAs. The way they build to an adequate finish here is by hitting even more finishers earlier on. To quote another inmate: "the build(ing) of this match is not good". That alone is disappointing enough to see, but they also try weaving in other parts of their offense throughout and it doesn't work at all. A Code Red, Ushigoroshi and whatever Cutter variation Cena uses that still no one knows the name of - these do not work the same for your 'dramatic kickouts', they've never beaten anyone before with these moves. They also trade submissions a few times for God knows what reason; Cena's obviously not going to register the damage of a Calf Killer or STF on his leg afterwards, not for this kind of match at least. The best moments are when both are making callbacks to each other's history: the Figure-4 is wholly appropriate and perhaps the most obvious nod, but there's plenty of odes to their previous matches together. There is some meat to this that I can sink my teeth into. Just nowhere near as much as I'd have hoped."
[4.0] "this is basically the exact same match they did in SummerSlam, spot for spot, but with the differences being the first couple of minutes, a figure 4 attempt to pay tribute to Ric Flair and the result of the match. I am very disappointed of such a lazy performance by Cena and AJ."
[6.0] "Probably about as good of a match that anyone can get out of Cena given his limited moveset and in that respect, the match really is a match of two parts. Whereas AJ does AJ things that can? t really be faulted, Cena largely just does Cena things throughout. I? d rate it higher if it showcased a more competitive match up but it just didn? t."
[10.0] ""Fantastic match, my favorite John Cena's match and my favorite of AJ Styless in WWE. a fight like that would have been worthy of a Wrestlemania's main event. The kickout after the super aa and the face of Cena after that was something to remember, the ending was perfect too. ""
[10.0] "Meine Güte, ich hatte keine Ahnung, dass Cena ein SO gutes Singles- Match zustande bringt! Dieses Kampf habe ich absolut geliebt: Spannend, Actiongeladen und teilweise auch richtig technisch! WOW"
[9.0] "This was an amazing match. I loved the beginning feeling out portion with AJ beautifully countering Cena's offense. AJ always one step ahead of John Cena. They played off their history. Near the ending Cena became really frustrated at being unable to beat Styles, he dig deep down and pulled out moves I didn't Know he had. The ending sequence was great and although there were a lot of kickouts imo, it worked. The crowd went crazy for everything they did. This was a WM main event worthy match. Amazing. ****3/4"
[7.0] "Okay, they redeemed themselves from their previous encounter. There was more variety. There was a lot of replays though to hide the stalling around. All in all a pretty good match."
[10.0] "The latest greatest wrestling match I have seen so far! Both John Cena and AJ Styles delivered us classic clashes but this is my ultimate favorite one mainly in cause of Cena becoming 16times champ! The Chemistry was unbelievable as well as the storytelling, only big holds executed from both mostly the double AA by Cena I was so surprised! The back and forth got me throughout it's which I love in a wrestling match I couldn't stay sitting down ! One of the best pro wrestling match in history !"
[9.0] "This is about as good of a match as you can have with Cena. His match with CM Punk in 2011 was probably better, but this ranks right up there. It had plenty of the typical near falls after various finishers that you find in big Cena matches. Really, it was basically the same formula he used in his trilogy with Kevin Owens the year before, and the formula works as well here. The fact that it gave Cena his 16th World Title to tie him with Flair adds just a little bit extra. ****3/4"
[10.0] "Perfect match even in the re-watch! The sequences, reversals, storytelling and everything else is just perfect and fantastic, I love every single thing about this match. When I watched it live, I screamed a lot because of the emotion, this match is simply one of the best in WWE history. *****"
[8.0] "Probably my favorite between them, as I find their matches these days quite generic and more boring. I do think it is better than their Summerslam one. One great moment was both trading submissions so Cena would just counter AJ's technique with just raw power. One great match for sure, match of the night that is. Also not a fan of Cena becoming champion here but damn the match had greatness. ****1/4"
[9.0] "This was an excellent match, and I would have rated it higher had there been any kind of building or setting up before going into the big moves and near-falls."
[10.0] "Dieses Match ist und bleibt das beste Mainroster Match des Jahres 2017 meiner Meinung nach. Super Nearfalls, tolle Matchstory und die notwendige Härte... Alles vorhanden und abgerundet mit einer super Story rund um die beiden im Bezug auf das Jahr zuvor. Die Fehde hatte Feuer und man hat echt lange gegrübelt, ob es endlich einen Gegner gibt, den Cena einfach nicht bezwingen kann. Ich habe bis zum Schluss gedacht, dass Cena endlich seinen Meister gefunden hat. Falsch gedacht. So oder so war es auf jeden Fall top und ich habe nichts auszusetzen. Volle 10 Punkte für mich und für mich auch ein 5-Star-Match."
[9.0] "Das MotN des Rumbles 2017 ist das beste Aufeinandertreffen zwischen Cena und Styles. Wie gehabt lässt Cena sich von Klasse-Workern wie Styles zu einer herausragenden Leistung ziehen. Cena kommt sogar mal wieder mit Innovationen ums Eck. Neben der überzeugenden und sauberen (der Styles-Clash kommt richtig heftig) Ausführung der Moves, stimmt das Storytelling und die Matchstruktur noch mehr, als beim Summerslam. Zwar neigen beide wiedermal zum Overkill an Finishern, aber wenigstens passen sie hier besser zum Matchverlauf. Zudem ist der Submission-Mittelteil wirklich herausragend gut gelungen, da gibt es neuartige Konter und viel Dramatik zu bestaunen. Das Ergebnis ist zwar nicht sonderlich erfreulich, andererseits darf doch selbst Cena Matches gewinnen, wenn er zudem wichtige andere Matches der Fehde verloren hat. Aufgerundete ****1/2."
[10.0] "One of the best matches in WWE history. The biggest criticism of Cena all his career has been that his stuff is sloppy/clunky, but he's managed to become a great wrestler despite it through sheer will power. "Never Give Up" is John Cena's character, he will pull out any move to try to win a match even if he can't do it properly he'll still try and give Punk a rana etc... That spirit was enough to overcome his weakness until he met AJ Styles, who was so good that even that wasn't enough anymore. But what made this match so special is Cena found a new level he'd never reached before. That Code Red he hit on Styles is the move that tells it he hit it absolutely perfect. In the middle of the match when you see him 'hulking up' and just charging AJ down but it's not enough. He needed more than will power this time, he had to become the most perfect he has ever been to beat Styles, he needed to outdo him at execution. And he literally did it with his most clinical performance ever with the wristlock double AA for the finish, a move Cena had never attempted before. 5 Stars"
[10.0] "The WWE Championship has lost a lot of prestige over the years, but this was a perfect example of what a big-time world title match should be, with an excellent atmosphere and multiple amazing spots leading to a classic match. AJ Styles in his first WWE Title reign may not have reached his full potential, but this was a hell of a way to end it. I feel that while this match was very finisher heavy like the previous encounters between Styles and Cena, the aforementioned atmosphere of the arena, as well as the great moves/sequences, allowed the match to become something even more special than those matches in the lengthy careers of both men. Cena preventing AJ from replicating their SummerSlam 2016 finish by hitting two back to back Attitude Adjustments for the pin was the icing on the cake, telling the story of Cena finally getting a definitive televised singles victory over Styles in absolutely perfect manner to end an incredible match that every WWE fan should go out of their way to watch. (****3/4)"
[5.0] "I distinctly remember people drawing comparisons to this match with Okada/Omega's WK11 match as a serious MOTY contender, and I could not have possibly disagreed more, both last year and now. WWE fans are so conditioned to mediocrity that a match that's slightly more exciting with something new thrown in suddenly makes it a MOTY contender. My biggest problem with the match was that it was a total finisher-kickout fest with a total of 9 finishers. One Phenomenal Forearm, two Styles Clashes, two STFs by both wrestlers, and 4 AAs, one of which was from the top rope (Styles kicked out; I think this was the first time a top rope AA had been kicked out of? ). Finisher-kickouts are not exciting and haven't been for a long time, are not creative or unique, and the more they're spammed, the more of a total joke the match becomes for me. And given how many finishers there were in a 24 minute match, I don't think I need to say how poor the overall selling was. The other thing I noticed was how Cena was trying to show off how varied his arsenal is; he tried to box with Styles at the beginning, did a couple power moves he wouldn't do in a normal match, countering submissions with slams, the top rope AA as mentioned, and rolling Styles up after the 3rd AA to do another AA. The effort is noteworthy, and was probably needed because Styles was noticeably carrying the match at times with his own unique offense. Overall, sure, the match had its exciting spots, but it's pretty obvious how flawed it was with a deeper analysis, and absolutely did not belong in any MOTY discussion for 2017."
[1.0] "Okay, here we go. It was a culmination of things such as Cena basically no selling the Styles clash at the end, taking 12 seconds to get to his feet, Styles took 9. Too many false finishes that to me wasn't very surprising, which says that they did it too often. The structure of the match seemed off, they did things too early in the match like the stiff lariats for Cena. Those should had been in the last 5 minutes not the first 10. Cena doing the figure four spot was fine but it never lead to anything and nothing they did before it to built up to the figure four leg lock. It was just a pointless submission that had no bearing on the match outcome. Every move should have a purpose in my opinion otherwise what's the point. Just to go back to the match having too many false finishes, the Royal Rumble match had a spot where AJ Styles kicked out of the AA from the top rope. That's really cool right? That was an amazing spot, but one problem, they did that at SummerSlam. It was just a rehash of the SS match which is another problem with the match. That's this match, a glorified indy match. *3/4"
[8.0] "Styles vs. Cena war wie zu erwarten das beste Match an diesem Abend und ein würdiges Rematch zu ihrem SummerSlam Kampf. Die 2 hatten dieses Mal eine etwas bessere Matchstruktur und konnten im Ring eine souveränere Geschichte erzählen, als es das letzte Mal der Fall war, jedoch hatte auch dieses Match noch für meinen Geschmack zu viele Kickouts nacheinander. Es hatte nicht ganz die Höhen, die das SummerSlam Match hatte, aber auch nicht so penetrantes Popcorn-Wrestling. Mit dem Kickout aus dem AA vom 2. Seil konnte ich mich dieses Mal etwas besser anfreunden, da es, zusammen mit dem Finish, eine schöne Anspielung auf das SummerSlam Match war. **** 1/4 (5)"
[9.0] "Für mich schon jetzt ein Kandidat für das WWE Match des Jahres 2017. Styles und Cena brennen hier in weit über 20 Minuten ein Feuerwerk ab und ja: Nichts anderes habe ich erwartet. Cena wird auf seine alten Tage immer besser und wirkte vielleicht mit Blick auf die Rekordtitelregentschaft besonders motiviert. AJ Styles wurde hier nicht als zugegeben typisches Cena-Fallobst dargestellt, sondern als zumindest fast ebenbürtiger Gegner mit der Reputation beispielsweise eines Randy Orton. Schön auch, dass AJ Styles auch mal aus dem AA auskicken durfte. Starke Vorstellung beider Männer, die so von fast niemandem im Roster getoppt werden könnte."
[10.0] "Fantastic. People can complain about the near falls, but ~45, 000 fans in that stadium ate up every last piece of this match. The action is crisper, more varied, and better flowing than their previous encounters and the two are genuine stars who elicit a loud response from the crowd all the way through. In the end, Cena picks up the win but Styles looks very strong in defeat. Best WWE match, NXT or otherwise, in quite some time."
[10.0] "This match is the best these two have had together and many feel that it felt like the Summerslam encounter but I beg to differ on this occasion. The match actually had flow to it and the story of Cena getting more aggressive and just being fed up with Styles due to the months of verbal sparring and the fact that Styles beat him twice was told really well. Styles' performance was on par with that of Cena and that being both men were really freakin good and had the crowd super invested here. The big moves stretched wasn't overkill in my opinion as the match had built to that and just made it so much better and even more entertaining. Definitely in my top 5 of 2017 thus far that's for sure. ****3/4"
[10.0] "I seriously hated the first two matches AJ & Cena had against each other, but here in their 3rd match they delivered the classic that I knew they had in them. They built into the crazy finishing stretch w/ the big moves so well - the meat of the match was tremendous this time around & it truly felt like they "earned" the big finishing stretch with that. And they didn't go into overkill with those big moves like they did at SummerSlam. Really just an excellent match all around. ****1/2"
[6.0] "Why do finishers even exist in the WWE when they are so frequently kicked out of? How is kicking out of a finisher dramatic in the WWE when they are so frequently kicked out of? 3/5"
[9.0] "Styles hat Cena 2x besiegt und beim SummerSlam eine empfindliche Niederlage zugesetzt. Da verstehe ich nicht, wieso man sich nun durch Cenas ersten Sieg über Styles fast persönlich beleidigt fühlt. Will mir definitiv nicht einleuchten, denn auch wenn ich klarer Styles-Anhänger und großer Cena-Kritiker bin, gibt es handwerklich hier nicht viel Kritik zu üben, denk ich. Der Aufbau war ausgeglichen und hat Cena in Teilen sogar als arroganten Douchebag dargestellt - das ist neu, hat aber funktioniert. Im Match hat Styles Cena wieder deutlich die Grenzen gezeigt, hat den Super AA überstanden und brauchte den doppelten AA, um besiegt zu werden. Vergleicht man hier das Finish mit anderen großen Matches Cenas, liegt Styles ganz weit oben. Und nochmal: es war der erste Pinfall, den Cena gegen Styles geholt hat nach einem ordentlichen Title-Run im ersten WWE-Jahr. Cena bleibt weiterhin Super-Cena, aber das Match taugt meines Erachten nicht, um diese These zu unterfüttern. Das Match war stark. Das Pacing hat zwar sehr früh die Schlussphase eingeläutet, aber der Aufbau bis dahin war sehenswert, sodass dieses lang gezogene Finish legitim war und auch wenn der PWG-Vergleich nicht 100%ig sitzt, verfehlt ist er nicht. Die Spannung war gut, die Action auf den Punkt, Styles mit einer sehr starken Performance und Cena mit dem, was er mittlerweile sehr gut kann: Leute wie Owens oder Styles rüberbringen. Ihm ist die andere Wahrnehmung bewusst und kann dies mittlerweile im Ring auch mit seinem Schauspiel untermauern. Das ist nicht Jedermanns Sache, aber es sitzt. Sehr gutes Match, welches von einer guten Psychologie geprägt war. Die war beim Slam etwas schwächer, sodass mir das Match in deren Serie am besten gefallen hat - trotz des Ausgangs. Hier geht es um die Matchbewertung und das Match wird nicht schlechter, nur weil ich die Perspektive mit Cena als SD-Aushängeschild auch mieser finde, aber das Match bleibt stark. (****1/2)"
[10.0] "Was für ein geiles Match. Ein sehr heißer MOTY-Kandidat. Von Anfang an gab es ein Big-Match Feeling und das Ende mit den zwei AA's hintereinander, war auch sehr stark."
[9.0] "Dann kommt definitiv das MOTN und bisher das WWE MOTY. Dass Styles/Cena gute Matches haben können haben sie beim Summerslam und bei MitB gezeigt, hier legen sie aber noch eine Schippe drauf. Die Crowd ist von Anfang an hot und beide fangen ohne wirklich langes Chain-Wrestling an. Mich stört, dass der erste AA Ansatz schon gegen 4/5 Minuten kommt, aber das ist ein Thema für sich. Beide zeigen schöne Konter und Sequenzen, die man aus ihren vorherigen Matches noch nicht kennt. Meine Lieblingsphase im Match war definitiv der Submission-Exchange in der Mitte, welcher technisch, vor allem für Cena technisch sehr anspruchsvoll war. Die Schlussphase ist dann extrem spannend, aber in ihr liegt meiner Meinung nach das Größte Problem und das sind die Finisher und der OverKill. Klar sorgt die Super AA oder der P-Forearm für krasse NearFalls, aber wenn in einem Match immer mit 6/7 Finishern gearbeitet wird muss man sich nicht wundern wenn beim ersten Kickout keiner beeindruckt ist und die Moves lediglich in einem NoSell Spotfest ausgetauscht werden. Meiner Meinung nach ein sehr starkes Match, was durch den Spam am Ende doch leidet (****1/2)"
[9.0] "Hier war es sehr knapp um das Match mit dem vom SummerSlam 2016 gleich zu ziehen sowas von ein Matchkandidat für das WWE Match of the Year 2017, großartig und wieder zeigte John Sachen die man sonst nicht von ihm sah darunter eine Sunsit Flip Powerbomb an AJ und es gab wieder so knappe Nearfalls und Szenen wo man sich wieder fragt wie kamen sie da noch aus den Pin heraus. Ganz klar Match of the Night (****1/2)."
[7.0] "This wasn't near a MOTYC but it was still very fun. It was really just a big spotfest, as expected. Finishers, submission holds, strikes, signature moves, and completely random moves all elicited near falls and finish teases. It felt very overkill, but luckily AJ and Cena were so good with their technique that all these spots were very exciting despite feeling completely over the top. I also enjoyed the rivalry that was focussed upon at times like with Cena getting very frustrated with not being able to beat AJ and seemingly bulking up as he flexed his muscles, popped his veins out, and aggressively stared down at AJ like he was his prey. I also enjoyed the general atmosphere since the crowd was super hyped for everything that unfolded and added a lot to each big spot. The general idea of both men surviving such a large amount of the other’s offence did make for a good story too, but I felt that such a feeling could have been achieved without teasing the crowd with a finish so consistently. AJ sold Cena’s offence fantastically, convincingly showing how exhausted and sore he was from absorbing all of Cena’s moves. AJ looked strong by absorbing so much damage, but with Cena talking down to AJ leading up to this match and then beating AJ made for a terrible story that sadly undermined AJ’s wrestling ability and credentials. Only the final 15 minutes were worth watching, but they were very fun despite being very poorly structured. ***3/4"
[10.0] "So their first match was slower paced with a lot of counters, but Cena looked rusty. Their 2nd match had a ton of moves, but an almost laughable amount of near falls and finisher kick outs to where it kinda lost some luster. This match however combined everything great from both of those together, and we ended up getting easily one of the best WWE matches of the last year or so. They worked each other over slowly in the beginning, really just building up to the last half of the match which was unreal. I loved Cena getting angry and delivering those brutal lariats to Styles, it was some great psychology there to have him really getting annoyed for once, and also played well into the build for the match. The submission section of the match was amazing, and it's also one of my favorite parts of a match when its done. Loved the transition, especially Cena's counter from a calf crusher into an STF. The ending run of the match had kickouts again, but much less than before and I liked these a lot more than their Summerslam match. I also kinda like and understand how the AA has become a move that has diminished with age, so Cena cannot rely on just one to win a match, and rather needs many of them. It's a cool touch if that is the exception. So in the end, Cena gave no fucks giving back to back AAs, and he won his 16th in dramatic fashion (too bad it amounted to nothing). Styles came out of this match not looking any worse for wear after giving another GOAT performance, and I'll probably be watching this again sometime soon. Just an incredible title match. ****3/4"
[9.0] "Great match. It got a very nice build and a good story of both guys having answer to everything they tried. Different of the Summerslam match, they didn't overkill the big moves and showed a really good offensive in my opinion. I think the lack of selling in the end by Cena and him ultrapassing the 2 AA margin prevented this to be a classic, but still a great match. ****1/2."
[9.0] "Die beiden liefern sowas von starke Matches ab. Wenn man jemandem zeigen will, was Wrestling ist, sollte man ihm das zeigen. Er wird höchstwahrscheinlich dran bleiben und Fan werden"
[8.0] "Cena und Styles zeigen wie schon beim Summerslam auch hier eine gute Partie. Es werden ingesamt dann doch recht viele Finishers ausgepackt, aber das ist nicht all zu schlimm, zumal auch das Finish völlig akzeptabel is. Styles kann mal wieder vollkommen überzeugen, aber auch Cena gibt sich Mühe und zeigt eine gute Leistung. Das Cena den Titel gewinnt, war irgendwie zu erwarten, trotzdem ist das ein guter Titelkampf."
[5.0] "Loved their other matches tonnes but this was massively disappointing. Hitting finishers within 5 mins and spamming them throughout doesn't make for a good match and most certainly isn't talent, makes the moves look weak, shows glarly issues in terms of the story of the match and shows you just how few ideas they had. Both guys are capable of classics, they've worked great matches before but this was one of the least thought out matches I've seen, how long did it take for them to come up with what to do, a 3 second conversation. Both can do better, my main positive is there was some very nice and smooth exchanges, **1/2 for me, definitly designed to entertain a live crowd more than actually trying to construct a classic."
[10.0] "In Sachen Matchführung um Welten besser als ihr SummerSlam Match. Das einzige was mich stört sind die mittlerweile zum Standard verkommende Finisher-Kickouts in Cenas Big Matches. ****3/4"
[9.0] "A lot of people are rating this over their Summerslam match. I'm gonna have to disagree and say it's right on par, if not just a smidgen under that one. Follows a lot of the same flows as the first match, except this time some of the mystique is wore off. Good back and forth. Cena and AJ manage to top the submission segment from their SS match with an even better one this time. A little bit let down from the exact same ending segment, this time with the loser from the other match going over. Awesome match. ****1/2"
[7.0] "This match was considerably better than their matches of 2016. First 1/2 of this match actually ruled, loved the pace they were working at, loved the submission exchange (that was awesome) and loved the "anger" on the face of Cena. They then went into overkill down the stretch with nearfalls, as expected unfortunately (***1/2)."
[10.0] "A great example of the WWE EPIC style with big moves and high drama. John Cena couldn't have asked for a better match to win his historic (WWE history that is) 16th world championship. I actually enjoyed the call back to the SummerSlam finish and how it played into this match's finish."
[9.0] "Im Prinzip ein durchweg perfekt geworktes Match! Hier läuft alles rund: die Standardaktionen, die Konter, das Schauspielerische (Cena vor allem! ), das Mocking ist gut platziert. Styles und Cena verströmen Epic-Match-Feeling a la Michaels und Undertaker oder Rock und Austin. Konsequenterweise ist das Publikum auch mit dem Anfeuern beider beschäftigt, anstatt "Cena sucks" zu rufen. Das Ende kommt jedoch einer Kastration gleich. Ich finde es unnötig, dass Cena zeigen muss, dass er Styles kraftvoll aus dem liegen zu einem zweiten AA hochstemmen kann. Sieht so ein Krieger am Ende einer schweißtreibenden Schlacht aus, der einen Kontrahenten auf gleichem Level besiegt? Dafür geht es einen Zähler runter."
[9.0] "Amazing job by both guys, but I think that the ending was a bit overbooked. Too many kick-outs.. Still a fantastic match, proof that AJ is possibly the best in the world, but also that Cena isn't a bad wrestler, just an overbooked one."
[8.0] "Es besteht kein Zweifel daran, dass das Match saustark war, aber mittlerweile muss ich sagen, dass ich mich an diesen typischen Cena Matches satt gesehen habe. Die ersten drei bis vier Finisher im Match haben so gut wie keinen Impact mehr, da es sowieso klar ist, dass es einen Kick out geben wird. Irgendwie war es mir diesmal einfach zu Over the Top. Langweilig war es aber auf keinen Fall und wir haben hier echt wieder eine Vielzahl von tollen Moves gesehen. Insgesamt ein starkes Match, dessen Style ich mittlerweile aber echt nicht mehr sehen kann und weniger manchmal mehr ist. **** von mir."
[10.0] "I think this is the first time (since Okada vs Omega) that i agree with meltzer's ratings. John Cena and AJ Styles did an incredible match, with an amazing storytelling. This match is the proof that there're good matches without outside dives or outside spots. At the end it turned into the typical big move, nearfall, counter but anyways it was a phenomenal match. **** 3/4"
[10.0] "When you are trying to recommend a match in this site you have to be objective , I can not believe how people here can give just a 0 or 1 either because they hate cena or just because they are puroresu fans... common guys and give a right and fair opinion , this match has been one of the best in wwe from the last years and It's not worthy of so low rates. ****3/4"
[8.0] "Very good match - both men put on a hell of a performance - give props to Cena for surprising me with this match and AJ yet again shows he is one of the best of the current generation of wrestlers"
[6.0] "Not an estimator of this kind of matches under the WWE seal. The build-up is decent but the finisher-spamming finale does not convince at all. WWE workers should not kick out this frequently in big match PPVs and "Big Match Cena" needs shorter matches. ***"
[10.0] "Cena und Styles haben hier ein phänomenales und auch ihr bestes Match abgeliefert. Es war nicht zu schnell oder zu langsam, die Moves waren wohl dosiert und auch irgendwie anders (impactreicher) und auch bei der simplen Matchstory mit Styles als besserem Wrestler gg. Cena als Kämpfer mit Durchhaltevermögen hat das Paar viel richtig gemacht. Hatte ja eigentlich ein Finishergewitter mit unzähligen Kickouts befürchtet, aber so war es der ideale Mix (****3/4)."
[0.0] "In fact, watching John Cena on almost every pay-per-view is disappointing and tiring, I've watched WWE (F) since I was a kid, and I had to put up with John Cena on the main list, they do not realize that this already It's becoming tiresome, that's serious because John Cena wins any title without doing anything and in speaking at that Royal Rumble, he just returned and won the title fight, very disappointing with SmackDown LIVE!"
[10.0] "The trilogy finally comes to an end with a bang. The previous two times that Cena and AJ were in the ring together, they were really diverse in terms of the type of match that was played. The MITB match was very psychology driven with AJ countering everything Cena threw at him, while SS was all about Cena throwing everything and various finishers at AJ yet still not being able to put him away. This match was a very interesting and exciting mixture of the two, with the psychology of the reversing of the MITB match and the move spamming of the SS match. The crowd was probably the hottest it could be all night with practically being split in the middle with a bit more lean towards Cena. The match was slow paced from the beginning towards the middle but it fit as it wasn't a rush to start the move spamming immediately. Once that first Cena finisher is hit though is when things start picking up. There was this really cool spot where AJ and Cena traded submissions back and forth, and the final 10 minutes was pretty much a repeat of the final 10 minutes of the SS match except with a different finish. In the end though Cena was taken to his limit as it took 3 regular AA's and 1 super AA to finally put the Phenomenal One away, ****3/4."
[10.0] "I have not seen Cena vs. Styles I & II, but I must admit that this one was a classic. I love AJ here trying to not mistakes, and counter everything Cena gave to him. I also loved the desperation both guys showed of not being able to put eachother away. I was actually really hoping for Styles to retain here, put eventhough Cena won, it didn't take away from the match. (****1/2)"
[0.0] "Exact same as both of their other matches, finisher after finisher, near fall after near fall. Nothing really exciting happened. Predictable outcome to top everything off. Sadly we now have to either watch Cena tie Flair's record and then lose it a month later and ruin the Flair title legacy or we have to watch another shitty Orton Vs Cena match. Overall a really bad match and nothing good is going to come from it."
[7.0] "Da ist sie also endlich - die Kastration AJ Styles durch John Cena. Okay, ich gebe zu, das klingt etwas hart und ganz so schlimm sieht der Phänomenale dabei ja auch nicht aus, aber am Ende ist es ein unagemessenes Ergebnis für ein überdurchschnittliches Match. Klar, man kann gegen Cena verlieren, und ein World-Titel mehr oder weniger macht den Kohl für den Chaingang-Commander auch nicht fett, aber gerade aufgrund der langen vorherigen Auszeit Cenas hat der Titelverlust nicht nur für Styles-Fans auch einen faden Beigeschmack. Die Konsequenz riecht für mich also muffig, was ich vom Match selbst gar nicht so behaupten kann. Cena arbeitet sehr sauber, hat auch zwei oder drei neue Tricks auf Lager und verdient sich den Erfolg im Match redlich. Zudem muss er auch ab und an ordentlich einstecken, beispielsweise beim ersten Styles-Clash gibt es ordentlich was auf die Glocke. Match okay, Story und abschliessender Status Quo eher nicht so. Knapp runtergerundet auf sieben Punkte."
[9.0] "John Cena ist immer noch gut für ein starkes Match und AJ Styles ist sowieso ein Garant für starke Matches. Die beiden liefern hier ein tolles PWG-Match ab mit unzähligen Finishern und unfassbar vielen Nearfalls. Der geneigte "wahre" Wrestlingfan wird das hassen, aber da ich eine Entertainmentschlampe bin fand ich es grossartig. Das Publikum ist auch voll drauf abgegangen. Hier hat eiegntlich fast alles gestimmt. O. k. der Sieger hätte jetzt nicht sein müssen. Aber nach dem Match war mir das auch schon fast egal. Mit meilenweitem Abstand das MotN."
[9.0] "You have to admit, these two guys just don't have that perfect chemistry. I suppose AJ Styles is used to working with anyone but guys like John Cena. However, this was almost a classic. Maybe under different circumstances. Maybe. Lots of great reversals and counters by AJ, a very entertaining submission battle, some neat spots and even new moves by John. This match was hella good, the crowd wasn't red hot, but it's whatever. Good job!"
[9.0] "Cena vs Styles ist für mich das neue Cena vs. Punk, wrestlerisch gesehen aus meiner Sicht sogar noch ein bis zwei Stufen drüber, das haben sie mit diesem Aufeinandertreffen ein weiteres Mal eindrucksvoll unter Beweis stellen können! Auch wenn ich zuerst dachte, dass diese Fehde mit ihrem Showdown im vergangenen Jahr eigentlich auserzählt wäre und beide eigentlich kein drittes PPV-One-on-One-Aufeinandertreffen bräuchten. Hätten sie eigentlich auch nicht, zumal Cena´s Sieg und Titelgewinn den unglaublich befriedigenden cleanen Erfolg von Styles bei ihrem letzten Einzelmatch tatsächlich schmälern tut und gerade aufgrund eines fehlenden Heel-Turn´s von John Boy auch nicht notwendig gewesen wäre. Dieser etwas fade Beigeschmack eines an sich eher unnötigen Cena-Triumphs ist aber das einzige was ich hier beanstanden kann. Stimmungstechnisch war der Kampf eine Bombe, das Big Match Feeling ohne wenn und aber vorhanden und dass Styles exakt ein Jahr nach seinem Debüt ein gestandener WWE-Maineventer ist, dürfte spätestens jetzt niemand mehr bezweifeln. Wrestlerisch kommt das Ganze, auch wegen des schon erwähnten Finisher-Overkills zum Schluss, nicht ganz an den Summerslam-Klassiker vom letzten Jahr heran, war aber trotzdem einfach wieder erste Sahne. Styles ist einfach Styles, im allerbesten Sinne und Cena packt hier sogar einige neue Moves aus. Hat einfach Spaß gemacht, war dramatisch, spannend, technisch klasse und das unbestreitbare MOTN eines ansonsten eher lauwarmen Rumble-Events."
[10.0] "Ein richtig geiles Match! Mich haben die vielen Finisher nicht gestört. Es war spannend mit vielen guten Aktionen und der Kickout aus dem AA vom Top Rope war einfach ein Holy Shit Moment. Beide hat man sehr gut dargestellt, AJ schadet diese Niederlage also nicht zu sehr. Großes Kino und sicherlich schon jetzt ein MOTY Kandidat."
[10.0] "This was absolutely fantastic! I knew Cena and AJ had more in them, i liked the Summerslam match but this one was even better, i loved the submissions and the nearfalls was timed beatutifully, GREAT match ****3/4"
[10.0] "Die beiden haben bis jetzt immer gute Matches oder mehr miteinander gezeigt und auch dieses sollte nicht anderes werden. Obwohl ich vom Beginn etwas enttäuscht war. Umso besser wurde es mit der Zeit. Beide hauen alles raus was sie haben. Avalanche AA, Styles Clash usw.. Cena zeigt sogar den Figure 4 Und das Ende mit dem Rolling AA war dann klasse. Ich glaube hier könnte der WON vlt. 5 Sterne geben. (Ist nur en Gedanke, ich würde nicht, aber starkes Match). Muss auch sagen kann mit Cenas Sieg leben. (4 1/2*-4 3/4*) Btw. : 1 Pkt geben. Hate woanders. Hier gibt es schon genug von diesen Wichtigtuern, die glauben seit NXT läuft und mit Indy-Stars bereichert wird, alles was im Main Roster nur mehr Sch.... ist."
[10.0] "Just wow. Thought this was epic and one of the best matches in RR history. My favorite of the Cena/Styles trilogy. I loved their MITB match more than most and was in the minority that didn't like their SS match (too many finishers) but this match was a perfect blend of both. This one still had the big moves and kickouts of SS (hate when people kick out of Super AAs) but I felt it flowed much better and told a deeper story than SS. Phenomenal match ****3/4"
[7.0] "There were elements to this match that I liked a lot related to scouting each other's moves, Cena's frustration, AJ's timing. I did not care for the result at all but the work had its positives at least. Not a MOTYC for me at all though or even a favorite for either talent involved."
[8.0] "Wieder ein ausgezeichnetes Match der 2 und Cena geht als Sieger absolut in Ordnung. Man hat die Nummer inzwischen allerdings auch schon zu oft gesehen."
[6.0] "Handwerklich ein gutes Match, teilweise sehr schöne Sequenzen, was man bei den beiden Namen auch erwarten durfte. Das größte Problem, und dies zieht meine Bewertung soweit nach unten, war leider, dass das Match dermaßen überbooked wurde, dass es einfach keinen Spaß machte. Kein Storytelling, in der Schlussphase einfach nur Finisher und Kickouts und dann auch noch ohne Selling."
[6.0] "Hab das Match vier Mal gesehen, weil ich drei Mal eingepennt bin. War echt richtig müde und weiß nicht, ob es nur daran lag oder daran, dass hier nicht wirklich viel passierte. War gut, aber mehr dann auch nicht."
[10.0] "Absolut starkes Match. Die Mimik, die Cena gerade zum Ende hin hat, ist uvergleichbar. Eine tolle Matchstory, die auf vorhergegangenen Matches aufbaut und die damaligen Finishes ausgekontert werden bzw. dann doch nicht zum Sieg reichen. Cena muss immer mehr auspacken und sein komplettes Arsenal zeigen und es dann 4 AA benötigt, um seinen Nemesis Styles zu besiegen. That was awesome!"
[8.0] "The best match of the show, no doubt. I even got over the fact that Cena won since it was a pretty good match. Unlike Reigns, John is able to give a good performance against good oponents, and Styles is the perfect oponent. I never get tired of him, he is solid gold. Now WWE is going to sell Cena as the biggest champion of all time, but to me that post belongs to AJ."
[10.0] "Das beste Match welches beide bisher hatten und einfach nur sehr gut. Natürlich war es wieder ein WWE Style MoveZz Match, aber hier wirkte es einfach soviel stärker als wie beim Summerslam. Dieses Match besaß ein tolle Story: Beide kannten sich inzwischen einfach und kannten so auch viele Konter auf die Moves des anderen. Beide gingen an das Match ran und wollten das MOTY haben und meiner ansicht nach werden sie da auch, WWE mäßig, nah ran kommen. Finish gefiel mir sehr gut. Man griff das Finish des Summerslams auf bei welchem Styles aus dem Super AA auskickte nur um Cena dann per Styles Clash gefolgt von Forearm besiegen zu können. Cena aber lernte hinzu, fing den Forearm ab und besiegte Styles nach 2 AA´s am stück. AJ sah nicht schwach aus, Cena brach den Rekord und das Match war unglaublich gut. Ich sehe nichts schlechtes am Match außer das Cena wohl den Titel bald wieder los ist, aber hey solange er noch recht aktiv ist wollte man ihm halt den 16ten Run geben. **** 1/2"
[10.0] "Styles & Cena bringen hier eine wortwörtlich phänomenale Fortsetzung ihrer Story vom SummerSlam, die nur leicht schwächer war. Es war wieder göttlich, es hat wieder die Halle abgerissen und es war wieder ein MOTYC (****¾)."
[10.0] "What an amazing match, it's like the Okada vs Omega version of WWE! So many amazing moves and a great psychology. Figure 4 Leg Lock, Ushigoroshi, Cena doing a Canadian Destroyer (impressive even if the weight is on AJ, of course). Also a strong conclusion after both wrestlers kick out of everything. This is the best they could do and it's another incredible match, the best AJ vs Cena. ****3/4"
[10.0] "Styles vs Cena ist mir hier dann doch die Bestnote wert. Für mich hat das Match einfach funktioniert. Der gesamte Aufbau mit AJ als neuem Gesicht von Smackdown und der Frage ob Cena es nochmal an die Spitze schafft war klasse und wurde im Match selbst dann auch schön aufgegriffen, mit einem AJ Styles, der Cena immer wieder auskontern konnte und einem John Cena, der logischerweise mit seinen Kraftvorteilen und seinem Kämpferherz dagegen hält. Es hat sich einfach wie ein echtes Big Match angefühlt. Es gab hier sogar ein Submission-Battle zwischen den Beiden, das für mich auch tatsächlich funktioniert hat. Und auch wenn jetzt manche sicher wieder über das deutliche Ende aufregen, war das bei der Storyline und dem Matchablauf das einzig richtige Ende und ein würdiger Rahmen für Cenas 16ten Titelgewinn. Ich fand das Ganze großartig."
[8.0] "Definitely their best match together I think, this felt much smarter and more competitive than their previous matches. Still probably could have used a better defined story, but I liked each guy trying not just to beat the other guy, but to truly establish themselves. Cena in particular was very good here, I loved the way he really threw himself into his offense with extra vigor, got over that he was really NEEDING to win this."
[8.0] "Wirklich catchen konnten mich beide nicht, das liegt aber eher an meinem allgemeinem Desinteresse der Show gegenüber, als am eigentlichen Match. Das war gut, hat aber eine Menge Potential verschenkt. Bis zur Submission-Phase war das Match sehr sehr langsam und oversellt, Sequenzen gab es quasi keine. Die Schlussphase war schön gemacht, aber 5 AA's müssen einfach nicht sein. 4, 25* von mir"
[7.0] "Leider kein Doppelturn, wie ich es mir so sehr gewünscht hätte. Das hätte geknallt. Der Alamodome wäre explodiert. Echt Schade! Ansonsten ganz ansehnliches Match, aber meiner Meinung nach nicht im 4-5*-Bereich"
[7.0] "Gutes Match, kann es aber wegen der Vorhersehbarkeit nicht wirklich besser bewerten, war halt abzusehen das es passiert. Finde es echt schade das man hier Cena den Titel gibt, der für mich ein Relikt einer vergangen Ära ist."
[10.0] "Their first two matches were a tad overhyped, but this one lived up to its hype and built on their last singles encounter. Great referential sequences to Summerslam with the finishing sequence and the submission matwork. Awesome, clean offense from both guys, especially Cena's big-match aresenal like his lariats, the deadlift one-armed Jack Knife-looking reversal, and the Edgecution he pulled out. AJ based and bumped for everything perfectly, and his own offense like his Pele, 450, Ushigoroshi, and Clash were all as awesome as usual. I loved the callback spots, the various emotions Cena went through, little references like Cena using the Figure 4, and the atmosphere the match had. Perfect way to end AJ's phenomenal reign and give Cena his 16th on a huge stage in a legit MOTYC. ****3/4"
[9.0] "This match is a combination of their both doubts of 2016, Storytelling add with spotfest at the end, I really love this match very good not is a fabulous match but is very enjoyable. Slow start, great comebacks of submissions and good kickouts at the end although i think they overexploited that time and happy for the 16th title of John Cena. ****1/4"
[7.0] "The next match with the same booking-formula. It was little different from the previous one, except that turned out to be less quality. Generally I do not like this style of match, which is based only on the finisher and pins. Especially when they repeat it a third time. I hope it was the last match between the two, and I'll see ORIGINAL match AJ with a normal opponent. And while this is the worst match of the series, and is clearly overrated (***3/4)"
