SummerSlam is always one of WWE's biggest events and 2018 was no exception to that. The card was stacked for this show with big-name stars like Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar, as well as dream matches between Samoa Joe and AJ Styles which helped to create a fantastic event overall.
The show featured some great title matches as well as competitive contests that featured no championships. The quality of the bouts was high across the board, helping to make this one of WWE's stronger SummerSlam events in recent years, with several matches on the card being memorable in the long term.
10 Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
This match lasted just over one minute and if you blinked, you could have missed it. Barely anything happened here outside of Finn Balor completely dominating Baron Corbin from the moment the bell rang.
It's the type of contest that wouldn't have been worth having on Raw, let alone a major PPV. It was a storyline fans didn't care about at the time, but people were still expecting a little more from the match, especially with The Demon involved in the bout.
9 Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens (Money In The Bank Contract Match)
Braun Strowman put his Money in the Bank contract on the line in this match, but just like the Finn Balor and Baron Corbin match, it was brief and forgettable. This didn't last two minutes and was a basic squash match with Strowman destroying Kevin Owens.
The only reason this match was slightly better was because of the huge bumps that KO took. He was slammed onto the stage and Owens sold really well, but this wasn't worthy of being on the card despite a few exciting spots.
8 Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy (United States Championship Match)
Despite the fact this match featured two excellent wrestlers who got plenty of time to work, the actual encounter itself was a little flat. The main problem for this was the quiet audiences, with the fans not being too interested in this one.
The pacing was fairly slow throughout and it felt like a standard television match rather than them stepping it up to be worthy of a PPV encounter, which was a shame. Both men are capable of much better, but unfortunately they failed to deliver that night.
7 Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (Universal Championship Match)
Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns have competed against each other plenty of times throughout their careers, but this wasn't one of their best. Despite this being the main event, the match just didn't kick on to the next level and a lot of that was because of Braun Strowman's distractions.
He stood around teasing a cash-in and it actually took away from the action, rather than enhance it. While they managed to get some good power moves in throughout, it was a sub-standard version of their previous encounters.
6 Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Carmella vs. Becky Lynch (SmackDown Women's Championship Match)
Carmella was excellent in this match, proving herself to be more than capable of performing at this level. She brought the fight to Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch throughout the encounter, pushing them all the way.
While Flair came out on top to set up the fun face-off with Becky Lynch post-match, the encounter itself was enjoyable. There were a few sloppy moments here and there, but for the most part, this was a solid title bout.
5 Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss (c) (Raw Women's Championship Match)
Ronda Rousey proved herself to be an excellent professional wrestler during her run. She put together some fantastic matches, particularly during her title run. This one was no exception, and even though it was a relatively short match, they crammed a lot into it.
There was no waiting around here or lots of rest holds, it was simply about getting down to the action. Alexa Bliss stepped up with confidence and tried to hold her own, and overall it made for an exciting match between them.
4 The New Day (c) vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match)
While this match had a DQ finish thanks to the challengers using their mallets, everything was perfect until that point. The two tag teams who had great chemistry with The Bludgeon Brothers providing the power, and the champions bringing energy and athleticism.
This wasn't one of the longest matches of the night, but they made the most of the time given. They didn't slow down at any point, and having that fast-paced style is something that worked wonders for this encounter.
3 Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins (Intercontinental Championship Match)
This was an excellent, pure wrestling match that proved to be the perfect opener for SummerSlam. Two fantastic wrestlers just going back and forth for over 20 minutes with the Intercontinental Championship on the line made for a great bout.
Both of them looked good here and were in fine form. With fantastic reversals and several great near falls, it was a match that kept the audience hooked throughout, with a lively atmosphere to help add to the situation.
2 AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe (WWE Championship Match)
Seeing an old TNA rivalry take place on SummerSlam over the WWE Championship was amazing to see for most fans, and because they know each other so well, the match turned out to be fantastic.
They went back and forth brilliantly with a great range of strikes and technical work. Samoa Joe brought the aggression while AJ Styles tried to chop him down, with the only element holding this back being the fact that it had a DQ finish. However, even that was done uniquely, with Joe calling out AJ's wife in the audience, leading to the champion snapping.
1 Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
From the moment that Daniel Bryan returned to WWE, this was the match fans wanted him to have. Calling back to their epic Talking Smack segment, WWE finally delivered at SummerSlam, and the two long-time rivals did not disappoint inside the ring.
This was a tremendous match that allowed both men to look great. Bryan worked his usual technical and fast-paced style, while The Miz tried to be the perfect heel with his cheap tactics, and overall it created a fantastic contest between them.