[2018-06-17-WWE-Money in the Bank] A.J. Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Last Man Standing)

[cactus]

A slow burner of a match, something that's not helped by the Last Man Standing stipulation. There's many times the match lags because the long drawn-out counts. AJ is great at getting to his feet at the last minute and Nakamura is slimier than ever. This match kicks into gear once AJ starts taking out Nakamura's leg. The low blow spot on the outside was predictably yet it was still cool. AJ Styles Clashing Nakamura off the ring steps was brutally awesome.

 

Although they were hindered by the stipulation, this was still their best match together in a WWE ring.

 

★★★½

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Definitely the best match of their WWE rivalry. Loved the sense of physicality & urgency here, and even though the match went over 30 minutes, it didn't drag at all, like their previous PPV meetings, which also were shorter. ***1/2

[Childs]

I had no idea it went 30+, would have guessed low 20s. It's a bummer that so many people had given up on the feud going in (I know I had) because this was an excellent match. I liked the dickish precision of Nakamura's offense and AJ's counterattack on the leg. And then the bombs at the end offered a real sense of finality.

[Victator]

I enjoyed this series and how it built in intensity from show to show. I wish this had happened at Mania and the feud started in January.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

I had no idea it went 30+, would have guessed low 20s. It's a bummer that so many people had given up on the feud going in (I know I had) because this was an excellent match. I liked the dickish precision of Nakamura's offense and AJ's counterattack on the leg. And then the bombs at the end offered a real sense of finality.

I'm positive this hampered my enjoyment of the match. I was just done with this feud. Then the match just would. not. end.

[WingedEagle]

I was surprised to see so many people so high on this match, but that kind of dichotomy is always interesting. While I enjoyed the opening as it quickly felt more urgent and violent than their previous outings, this very quickly started to drag and felt interminable for much of the next 20+ minutes. That last 5+ or so minutes really bailed this out as they were just terrific with big spots, timing and a real uncertainty that was amplified by the LMS stip, but it would've been the best if that finishing stretch came about 10 minutes earlier.

 

***

[Cap]

I actually liked this a good bit, but I have generally been higher on their matches than most. I agree with Childs; Nakamura was a convincing and dynamic heel here and by the time they got to the bomb throwing at the end they had sort of slowly sucked me into a level of investment. They probably could have cut some time out and put some pace on the match earlier, but given the match was a Last Man Standing i think the pace really made sense. They built the pace slowly and they did it around the attempts to get the 10 count, which was smart. The ending stretch was fantastic. Nakamura threw that knee with some fucking pepper on. I do wish they weren't building SO much around the low blow, but by this point they didn't really have a choice and it didn't feel completely overdone here. Styles hitting the styles clash outside off the steps and the big elbow to the outside threw the table, those two things really brought some finality to this match. It had more intensity and urgency, something they haven't had in their previous matches really. This was the best of their feud **** from me and I might even tack on 1/4 because I honestly loved the homestretch.