AJ Styles: Ranking His 5 Best WWE Matches So Far

Credit: WWE.com

1. AJ Styles vs. John Cena (SummerSlam 2016)

I think this choice is pretty obvious. Forget championships and main events. This was Styles’ biggest career win.

As it stands right now, this match is the absolute pinnacle of Styles’ WWE career so far.

Not many people gave Styles a legitimate chance going into this one. People expected Cena to once again thwart an up-and-coming superstar. Cena’s track record against guys like Wade Barrett, Bray Wyatt and Rusev had many skeptical. It looked like Cena would be the “wall” Styles wouldn’t be able to bust through.

But Styles was a completely different circumstance, and he proved it that night.

After Styles had beaten Cena at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view with help from The Club, and Cena’s crew consisting of Enzo Amore and Big Cass defeated Styles and Co. at Battleground, it was unclear who would win the proverbial rubber match.

This match had absolutely everything a fan could’ve wanted from a battle between two of the best. There were high spots, dueling chants and incredibly tense moments where it was genuinely unknown who would come out on top.

Near falls and crowd reactions were what made this match so special.

The climax of the match occurred when Cena hit an avalanche Attitude Adjustment on Styles. A move of that magnitude usually signifies the end of a match. But Styles kicked out, and was able to finish Cena off with a Styles Clash, and a subsequent Phenomenal Forearm.

Next: SmackDown Live: The Kevin Owens Show

The WWE showcased its faith in the proven veteran by giving Styles the clean victory over Cena.

In my opinion, what makes this match better than the eventual third meeting between the two is the ending. In the 2017 clash at the Royal Rumble, the final sequence is nearly identical, save for the actual ending result.

Additionally, the third match between the two featured a lot of what we had already seen. While the match featured great in-ring work, fans had already witnessed many of the spots.

Furthermore, this match’s outcome felt less unpredictable. Cena appeared destine to recapture the WWE Championship, with rumors of Styles facing Shane McMahon at WrestleMania only getting higher. At SummerSlam, we really had no idea who would walk out the winner.

We also had no idea how high Styles could elevate his game in this match. We knew he was good, but against the company’s biggest star since 2005, Styles delivered in a big way.

The win at SummerSlam cemented Styles as a legitimate main-event player, and helped legitimize him as a superstar. Beating Cena again would’ve been great, but it would’ve paled in comparison to Styles’ clean victory in the summer.