WWE SummerSlam 2019 Results: Star Ratings for Each Match

WWE's 2019 edition of SummerSlam was a shorter-than-expected, snappy pay-per-view with plenty of fan service and predictable results.

Predictable doesn't always have to be a bad thing, either. Seth Rollins winning back the Universal title over Brock Lesnar was easy to see coming, yet the execution of the match was fulfilling. Kevin Owens whipping past Shane McMahon was effective, too, to point out another example.

Below, we'll assign star grades to every match on the main card based on match quality, length, interaction with the prior build and the long-term outlook, plucking out the notables for their own segments.

Honorable Mentions

WWE

Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler

This one served its purpose: Make Goldberg look good. Anything longer than this runtime ran the risk of a mishap again. The action was brief, and Ziggler kept some character integrity in the process. 

Rating: 3 Stars

AJ Styles vs. Ricochet

Ricochet is better in chase mode right now, so he needed to lose to keep this momentum. The usual bad-guy-with-friends spots were there and done well. Oh, and of course both were excellent in the ring. 

Rating: 4 Stars

Bayley vs. Ember Moon

It would've been nice to see a run-start for Ember Moon here via a win, but it's hard to complain about more Bayley, too. Both looked great and come out of it looking great, with a 10-minute burner of a match a decidedly good time. 

Rating: 4 Stars

Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus

This one had a purpose, too: Give Charlotte Flair something to do so she's not in the title scenes for now. Mission accomplished. Trish Stratus didn't have much in the way of ring rust, though it was a little disappointing to see them make her tap. It also ran a bit long. 

Rating: 3 Stars

Becky Lynch vs. Natalya

WWE

As expected, Becky Lynch and Natalya dancing for the Raw Women's Championship was a solid showcase.

Natalya seems to fly under the radar as an in-ring performer, and it showed here, with an entire story built around the Sharpshooter. These two made it work, with Sharpshooters all over the place, the finale even having the submission built into the side of the ring itself.

While we won't throw the iffy pre-match buildup for this feud into the rating too much, it did seem to be a tad on the short side. These two got disrespectful, so it probably could have gone a bit longer, as the two showed some aggression, especially given how long the Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus match lasted.

Still, this was the better of the two submission-based women's matches. It won't go down as a major one to remember for Lynch's run, but it could get her back on track after the odd mixed-tag purgatory.

Rating: 3 Stars

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

WWE

It feels like WWE missed something big here.

On one hand, it's nice to see Kevin Owens win and (hopefully) get Shane McMahon off television. He was on too many programs and involved in too many things and it only hurt WWE.

But on the other, WWE had a sort of Stone Cold Steve Austin-vibe going on with Owens. If he had lost this and "quit" WWE, they could have really ran wild with it.

In the ring itself, this was a sub-10 minute match with some fun Elias interaction on the outside. Some dastardly play by Owens at the end to set up the Stunner was unexpected, fun and poetic, given Shane's antics. Call it a fun payoff match where the bad guy really got his and the winner should slingshot up even higher from here.

Rating: 4 Stars

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

WWE

First things first: Everything about The Fiend was perfect. The entrance, the music, the lantern. Ditto for the exit.

The journey in the middle was great too.

In the ring, fans got a glimpse of The Fiend in all his brutality. Finn Balor got some offense in too, but what was 10 times more interesting was seeing the man formerly known as Bray Wyatt battle with himself a bit, visibly talking to himself and arguing about how to proceed in the match.

And look, everybody knew Wyatt was walking out a winner. WWE has spent far too long hyping this in-ring debut for him to go out and lose. Balor's upcoming hiatus isn't much of a secret either and he didn't bring out The Demon.

But as far as predictable outcomes goes, this was superb for both guys.

Rating: 4 Stars

Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton

WWE

This one hurts. 

WWE smartly went all-in on playing up Randy Orton's past treatment of Kofi Kingston and how it impacted the current champion's career. 

Then Sunday happened. What WWE was trying to do made sense: They don't want to let go of this feud just yet, so use this as a way to unlock a bit more of Kingston's character. 

But the execution was just...off. Orton glanced menacingly at Kingston's family at the barricade while winning the match, Kinston snapped and beat the tar out of him. After quite a while, the announcers chime in with a "by the way the referee called a double count-out."

WWE has been doing a good job of making Raw and SmackDown feel chaotic lately, giving it an "anything can happen" vibe. It feels like that was the goal here but it didn't really work. It was nice to see Kingston be more aggressive, but there were much better ways to extend this feud without botching it in a way that even left the live crowd dissatisfied. 

Rating: 2 Stars

Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

WWE

Yet again, Brock Lesnar put on another great match. His character and random appearances might not be something every fan enjoys, but he's had superb fights over the years with the likes of Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Daniel Bryan, to name a few.

And Seth Rollins, of course.

Sunday night's main event was another one of those. The pace started out blistering and faked a few early endings. It devolved into Rollins showing some of his architect-esque ways by working down Lesnar, then doing a few high-flying spots to really sell the damage.

From an overarching standpoint, it was nice to finally have a full Rollins-Lesnar match where they went all out. No foul play, either, just a clean finish. If this means Rollins is back to fun feuds and the title stays on television, this was indeed worth the final spot on the card. 

Rating: 4 Stars