10 best WWE superstars of 2017

The stated purpose of a WWE superstar is to entertain the audience. That's why they're employed. Much of what WWE does thoroughly fails to entertain and many superstars just can't be entertaining, no matter what they do.

These ten, however, were gold. Whether it was through good booking, success despite bad booking, or their own personal qualities, they shined through. They produced the best segments, matches, and moments of the past twelve months. So...which superstars were best at their jobs in 2017?

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#10 Rusev

It's a remarkable feat that Rusev ends 2017 as one of the most over guys on SmackDown, despite an entire year of terrible booking that saw him in a go-nowhere tag team with Jinder Mahal, separated from Lana, partake in one of the worst matches of the year at Battleground, and get squashed by Randy Orton in 10 seconds at SummerSlam.

Then came Rusev Day and a partnership with Aiden English. The act got surprisingly over, with the duo being the clear crowd favourites at Clash of Champions. Just this past week, Rusev was a key ingredient in making a typically terrible attempt at holiday humour genuinely entertaining. The Newark crowd was totally into it.

What does it all prove? Rusev manages to be greatly entertaining despite being saddled with a mountain of crap. Imagine what he could do if he actually got a genuine push?

#9 Elias

Elias hasn't had the best close to the year, as he fell somewhat by the wayside around Survivor Series, but despite his more limited appearances, he's still made the most of them. He proved he can go in the ring during an enjoyable match with Roman Reigns a few weeks ago, but where he really shines is in his pre-match segments, where he continues to get massive heat.

Elias turned the cheap heat of insulting the cities he happened to be in into a golden gimmick. He's one of the few that gets genuine heel heat in today's era and deserves a push in 2018 that sees him win a mid-card title.

#8 Neville

Neville's departure in October is one of the big blots on WWE's record this year. One of the best performers in the company, he carried the Cruiserweight division for most of 2017 and never failed to put on a good match. He was also keen to show the world that he could be relied on to cut a good promo. His rundown and beatdown of Enzo Amore in defence of the Cruiserweight division are one of the underrated segments of 2017.

Negotiations between Neville and WWE seem to have broken down but we can hope he'll return in 2018 and get the upper mid-card push he's proven he deserves.

#7 Asuka

2017 was a dark year for women's wrestling in WWE. After taking a step in the right direction in 2016, it regressed this year, as questionable booking and multi-woman match after multi-woman match made few programs feel like they mattered. There were also more than a few terrible feuds and segments within the division that left the wrong kind of memories to highlight the year.

There was one woman, however, who could reliably bear the torch. Asuka partook in the two best women's feuds and matches of 2017 in her bouts with Nikki Cross and Ember Moon, and though she's only been on the main roster for two months, she electrified Survivor Series and helped to breathe new life into an incredibly stale division on RAW, quickly becoming one of its more over performers, despite a rocky first few weeks.

Asuka is the clear choice to lead the RAW women's division in 2018 and it should begin with her victory in the first women's Royal Rumble.

#6 Cesaro and Sheamus

One of the hallmarks of 2017 was the resurgence of tag team wrestling in WWE. The tag team divisions more often than not put on the best matches of WWE's pay-per-views and had feuds which were, at worst, good.

The red brand's tag team division was carried by Cesaro and Sheamus. They were indeed the bar on Monday nights. Their rivalry with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose was consistently the show-stealer in the second half of 2017 and despite its repetitiveness, must be considered one of the best feuds of the year.

No one will ever forget No Mercy, where Cesaro smashed his teeth in and finished the match anyway, adding an even greater adrenaline shot to a typically excellent contest.

As The Revival returns, expect more good things from this team heading into 2018.

#5 Chris Jericho

Despite being in his late 40's, Chris Jericho managed to have one of the best years of his career, proving just how good he is. Throughout the first half of 2018, he was a key highlight of any show he was on and saved Kevin Owens' Universal Championship reign from being a completely forgettable experience.

And of course, who could forget the Festival of Friendship, the undisputed best segment of the year? That seems to have been entirely Jericho's baby and it showed just how good of an instinct he has for entertaining an audience. This is the man, after all, who managed to make a clipboard, a pen, and a piece of paper one of the most over things on RAW as 2017 kicked off.

#4 Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

After a year spent largely in the doldrums, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn managed to heat up in the home stretch. Kevin Owens' feud with Shane McMahon gave SmackDown a much-needed kick in the rear after a dreadful summer, while Sami Zayn's heel turn at Hell in a Cell tuned the program up a notch.

Since then, watching the two of them troll Shane McMahon and the entire SmackDown roster in the most obnoxious manner possible has never failed to bring a smile to this viewer's face. It helps that both of them can more than hold their own on the mic and that, combined with their wrestling ability, hasn't produced a bad segment or match yet.

#3 Samoa Joe

If Monday Night RAW had Rookie of the Year and MVP voting, Samoa Joe would emerge as the winner of the former award and the runner-up for the latter. So in that way, he's the Aaron Judge on Monday nights in 2017.

Kicking off a tremendous summer for the red brand with his excellent feud with Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe has since been among the top acts of the show. A late summer injury and a marginal Survivor Series showing didn't halt his momentum at all, as he ends the year nearly as hot as he was at his peak.

Not giving up his reputation as The Destroyer for a second, Samoa Joe has been the biggest threat to The Shield in the final weeks of 2017, choking Roman Reigns out, putting Dean Ambrose on the shelf, and being such a hated object that Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan are fighting each other to get revenge on him.

Samoa Joe is easily the best choice to succeed Roman Reigns as Intercontinental Champion. Here's hoping that he picks up the gold at the Royal Rumble and goes on to have a good showing in the Rumble match itself.

#2 The Usos

In this year of fantastic tag team wrestling, The Usos stood out. They were the best of a series of great tag teams. Their resurgence has been nothing short of sublime and they as a duo are the easy choice for the MVP of SmackDown in 2017.

The Usos' feud with The New Day carried the blue brand throughout its dark summer. Every match and segment delivered.

This was the year The Usos also proved how great they can be on the mic. They turned an act that had go-away heat into one of the greatest on the roster, proving themselves time and time again. In a whitewashed era, they showed some much-needed attitude.

The Usos really did have the tag division on lock in 2017 and every second of it was great.

#1 Braun Strowman

2017 was the year of Braun Strowman. The man who had been dismissed by fans in 2016 as another generic monster that would soon devolve into a comedy character saw himself become the most over performer on Monday Night RAW. In any other year, he would be a world champion, but unfortunately, WrestleMania plans being what they are, he hit a ceiling that was imposed from the outside, not one of his own making.

Entrancing crowds with his sheer talent for breaking things and people, Braun Strowman got the loudest cheers, the most YouTube hits, and the most memorable moments on RAW this year. His disappointing match with Brock Lesnar at No Mercy only managed to damage him temporarily, proving just how over he's really gotten.

A true organic success story, Braun Strowman still hasn't reached his peak. Here's hoping he captures a world title in 2018.