[2018-04-08-WWE-Wrestlemania XXXIV] A.J. Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura

[Richeyedwards]

I Guess it speaks volumes about this match that it did not have a entry in the match discussion archive.

 

I recently watched aj vs nak from wrestle kingdom recently and while I was certainly not the biggest fan of that match the first time it was still very good, 3.5-3.75 level. But the major difference between that match and this was the shocking difference in Nakamura, I have not watched much of his wwe run but has he always been this boring? In the wk match there was a glint in his eye and a real sense of danger in the way he worked, here he was a character and some silly hand movements, there felt like there was no substance to him. He was often going through the motions in NJPW and even when he was on he was never my favorite but there was some intangible charisma that even though i did always not love his work i could not take my eyes off of him. Here he was soooo dull.

 

Add on top of this the crowd that was out of it after Ronda, taker and Bryan and by the show being so long that this may have been one of the matches with the least reaction on the show even though they were shitting all over it the main event got more of a reaction.

 

I guess the work was fine but it was nothing more than that, Nakamura had better improve as a heel because otherwise this was a complete and abject failure of him as a character. They started well enough but then just went so slow and just finished it felt like nothing and there was barely any connection for me at least. Nakamura's entrance and the incredibly over the top ball shot were easily the two best moments. **3/4

 

AJ Styles had a far better match with Shane fucking McMahon than he did with Nakamura.

[ShittyLittleBoots]

What a massive disappointment. It started off nice w/ some good, physical back & forth action between the 2, but then it just fell off. The structure wasn't clicking with me at all, the pacing was awful, match dragged like a mofo & there was no heat in it. Nakamura's post-match heel turn was awesome though; loved him talking trash in Japanese, very badass. ** & I feel like I am being generous.

[DMJ]

I liked this match more than most. I think part of that had to do with the way I watched the show - I didn't bother with the first two hours (and really can't understand anyone who thought that was worth watching), watched the first 60 minutes on Sunday night, then broke up the next 4 hours over the course of the day - a match or two here, two or three there, finishing with the last two bouts as I cooked dinner.

 

Unlike the crowd, I was super psyched when this match started - loved Nakamura's entrance, always get hype when AJ shows up, and while I thought it started slow, I found the last 10 minutes to be fantastic. I thought this was Nakamura's best showing since his debut and AJ, as always, was excellent throughout. I thought the finish great too - a Kinchasa counter into a Styles Clash? Hot dog!

 

Then, the post-match angle. Great piece of business that, as someone else said, was even greater because we'd seen it not happen after Asuka/Charlotte.

 

I don't use half-stars on my blog and I also typically include post-match angles as part of a match's score, so I'd say its a 4 (aka a "should watch"/"must watch").

[KawadaSmile]

A good, but really innocuous match, which automatically means a letdown when you look at the names involved.

 

It felt like a G1 day 7 match in front of 500 people, but actually was at Wrestlemania 34 in front of 75k people. The heel turn justifies its existence, but doesn't justify the blandness that took place.

[Boss Rock]

Thought this match was better than a lot of folks give it credit for, but the hype surrounding it as well as the comparisons it would inevitably draw to their last match definitely made this a disappointment. The action was very methodical and there was some cool back-and-forth action that seemed to be building to a crescendo, but it just never happened. I liked the finishing sequence as it was creative and unexpected and the heel turn was great, but it just never went into that second gear they seemed to be building towards.

 

All in all a good match sullied by huge expectations that were never met given the talent of the two. I'd give it ***3/4 to ****.

[G. Badger]

Thought this match was better than a lot of folks give it credit for, but the hype surrounding it as well as the comparisons it would inevitably draw to their last match definitely made this a disappointment. The action was very methodical and there was some cool back-and-forth action that seemed to be building to a crescendo, but it just never happened. I liked the finishing sequence as it was creative and unexpected and the heel turn was great, but it just never went into that second gear they seemed to be building towards.

 

All in all a good match sullied by huge expectations that were never met given the talent of the two. I'd give it ***3/4 to ****.

I agree with this. I think expectations were probably way too high for most folks. Like they were going to do Omega vs Okada type stuff. It was very good nonetheless. I mean we got a NJ match at Mania! That's pretty cool to me. It never kicked into high gear but, was a 4 star bout and should have been the main event.

[Loss]

I do think this match was really good, and while Nakamura underwhelmed, AJ looked terrific. It was the wrong match for this setting and this spot on the card, but it was still an excellent match. It could have been great if Nakamura was as game as Styles. ***1/2