'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
2017 was a year of high highs and low lows in the WWE Universe, and the pay-per-view events were no exceptions. There were 16 in total, a number that trended more into overkill territory than finding a sweet spot. Fortunately, 2018 will only have 14 such events. While still high, it's an improvement.
With the final PPV, Clash of Champions, now in the books, it's time to look back on the events that delivered and the ones that didn't. Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the WWE Network, priced much lower than the old PPV model, is that the company often feels content to slap together a card that feels more sleepy than spectacular. After all, $9.99 is much less to part with than $60 or more. Nevertheless, 2017 still gave us a few gems. The trick is finding them.
#16 Battleground (July 23)
Ask wrestling fans to rank things and the consensus is often impossible to find. At best, you get an agreement, in principle, on a rough list. Unfortunately for everyone who witnessed it, this event is easy to get a consensus on. By miles, it was the worst pay-per-view of 2017.
Battleground featured not one, but two of the five worst matches of the year. The flag match between John Cena and Rusev was truly awful, a perfect storm of all of professional wrestling's worst tropes. Not to finish there, Battleground also showed off a horrid excuse for a main event in Randy Orton meeting Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship inside a Punjabi Prison. An atrocious 30-minute borefest, it was hard to decide which was worse - the prison limiting your visibility or the fact that you would instinctively want to see what was going on inside.
The undercard was terrible too, giving us a completely unremarkable bout between Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin that dented the former's momentum and further exposed just how bland the latter really is, yet another directionless multi-woman match that featured Lana (enough said), and Sami Zayn defeating the soon-to-be invisible Mike Kanellis in a totally one-dimensional affair. Even a match featuring AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens was rather disappointing by their standards and seemed to have a botched finish.
There was one good match - The Usos vs. The New Day and that match was very good indeed, but it wasn't enough to save this disaster.
Don't be surprised if 2017's Battleground winds up in contention for the worst PPV of the 2010s.
#15 Backlash (May 21)
SmackDown was in trouble before this. Suffering from a terrible title feud between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton on the Road to WrestleMania and widely agreed to have gotten the short straw in the Superstar Shakeup, Backlash was a decisive event that set the blue brand on a perilous course for most of the remainder of the year.
It started off on a sour note with the highly anticipated main roster debut of Shinsuke Nakamura being dulled in an insipid 50/50 affair with Dolph Ziggler. With an already dimmed mood, we would go on to see Sami Zayn take on Baron Corbin in a flat match, a multi-woman match (I'm sure you guessed that) featuring the Welcoming Committee of Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina tapping Becky Lynch out to protect Charlotte and Naomi, who wasn't defending her title for some reason, a match between Luke Harper and Erik Rowan (which was pointless since they would form a tag team later), and most infamously and ominously, the massive troll to the WWE fanbase that was Jinder Mahal winning the WWE Championship in a typically flat match with Randy Orton.
All in all, this show wasn't very inspiring. Tyler Breeze's use of disguise in Breezango's match with The Usos was funny, but not funny enough.
#14 Clash of Champions (December 17)
The final PPV of the year looked like it had an underwhelming card and it lived up to that appearance. The triple threat match between Bobby Roode, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin was surprisingly the match of the night, but it ended in a confusing way, as Ziggler walked out with the gold, a booking decision that doesn't really move anything forward in the long run. It looked very much like a consolation prize for Ziggler, who seemed to trend toward leaving the company the week prior.
The lumberjack match for the women's title missed any opportunity it had to mean something by failing to have Carmella cash in her Money in the Bank contract. Inside the ring, Charlotte and Natalya had their worst match together of the year, and outside, it all devolved into a meaningless squabble. It is sadly most memorable for Natalya's angry tirade in an unnecessary post-match interview.
The fatal 4-way tag team match disappointed, given who was in it, but it's arguably the multi-man format left it with no room to get off the ground anyway. The right decision was made in The Usos retaining, at least.
As expected, the tag team match with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon as guest referees was entirely focused on authority figure shenanigans and was a very basic match for the talents involved in the ring.
Finally, AJ Styles took Jinder Mahal to a watchable match, which is good for the latter's standards. The best part of this event was the immense sigh of relief we all breathed when AJ retained his WWE Championship.
Overall, it was a very lazy show that only approached well once. There was nothing atrocious about it, but "watchable" was the best it achieved for almost the entire night.
#13 No Mercy (September 24)
This was very much a one match show. The tag team championship match between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro and Sheamus, was as customary, excellent (and still fresh at that time). Everything else was flat and that's what makes it so egregious. This show felt like the RAW-exclusive WrestleMania, with two main events that were indeed worthy of the Show of Shows, as Michael Cole took pains to beat into our heads during the build. The fact that it didn't live up to those expectations, seemingly by design, is just another depressing example of how often this company gets in its own way.
The nadir was when Neville defended his Cruiserweight Championship Enzo Amore in a losing endeavour. It was a 10-minute snoozefest, with Enzo eventually winning the strap with a low blow and a roll-up. It was a depressing end to Neville's dominant run.
Aside from that, Jason Jordan's terrible gimmick was exposed once again after his failure to capture the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz, as he was serenaded with boos during a post-match interview.
Nia Jax put on the best performance of her career in a fatal 5-way match for the RAW women's championship, but it was all squandered in the weeks afterwards thanks to bad booking, and Bayley took the pin, completing an anticlimactic comeback from injury.
Finn Balor beat Bray Wyatt in a match that would only continue their awful feud.
Finally, there were the disappointing main events. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns started off slow and ended with the former "guy" looking all washed up against the current "guy," with no other real story being told, squandering what could have been a mega-match. Then came the biggest disappointment when Brock Lesnar engaged in yet another slow, mailed-in Suplex City match against Braun Strowman, which nearly succeeded in halting the momentum of the hottest act in the company. Fans went in expecting a war between the two based on their incredible performance at SummerSlam and got a dud.
If there was a "biggest disappointment" Slammy, No Mercy would take it.
#12 Fastlane (March 5)
This event was most infamous for the return of Goldberg to squash Kevin Owens and win the Universal Championship. The match itself wasn't bad. Most people who were mad at it hated the booking, but time has ultimately proven that the title change was the right call.
That said, there were some other very strange decisions at this event. Ending Charlotte's vaunted PPV streak on a whim really further spoiled what should have been a massive WrestleMania moment for Bayley. Roman Reigns defeating Braun Strowman was, as customary, a great showing from them, though it upset some that it meant the end of his undefeated streak. Sasha's seemingly random victory over Nia Jax garnered a similar reception.
The event also saw Cesaro meet Jinder Mahal in one of the worst matches of the year and another terrible match afterwards between Rusev and the Big Show.
Neville vs. Jack Gallagher was a good one, as was Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe, but the controversies surrounding this show ultimately dragged it down.
#11 Great Balls of Fire (July 9)
This show was far more notable for the build going into it rather than the event itself. While the build was red hot, no match on the card was truly outstanding. Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar proved to be an intense one, but compared to the build, it underdelivered, ending in less than 7 minutes (not counting the pre-match attack by Joe). Though not as disappointing as the No Mercy match with Braun Strowman, it was still a letdown.
Aside from the main event, the other matches on the card were a bit random. Bray Wyatt scored an empty victory over Seth Rollins in an empty feud. The Miz and Dean Ambrose would, fortunately, conclude their lengthy feud at this event, but it wasn't a climactic ending. Putting Big Cass and Enzo Amore against each other is a sure recipe for disaster, and that's what happened.
We did see a relatively good match between Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss, but it also ended anticlimactically.
The highlight of the show was the tag team title ironman match between The Bar and the Hardyz, but it was far from the best work in that division this year.
Overall, Great Balls of Fire wasn't a terrible event, but nothing really stood out either.
#10 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (October 22)
This show could have been much, much worse, and it is a credit to WWE that they made the most out of a bad hand dealt with them with the outbreak of a viral infection. The said outbreak also saved us from having to see Bray Wyatt as Sister Abigail, dressed in drag, and that alone saved the show from being ranked much lower.
The card was weak going in, but the addition of AJ Styles strengthened it considerably.
The event was notable for the main roster debut of Asuka, but the match didn't live up to the hype. It was a damaging 50/50 affair, and particularly obnoxious in that Emma was released a week later, so no one benefited. The middle of the card was also very weak and forgettable.
Numerous appearances of Jason Jordan throwing vegetables at Elias didn't help matters. They only served to highlight just how weak the former's gimmick is compared to the heat magnet that is Elias, and their match on the piss break spot on the card was dull.
The main event TLC match featuring the return of Kurt Angle was an enjoyable car crash, but it was a bit long and overbooked. It is notable that it set up the babyface turn of Braun Strowman, which will be important in 2018.
The real highlight of the show was AJ Styles taking on Finn Balor as the demon. The match is overrated in my opinion, but it was still very good, and a true gift from heaven compared to what we otherwise would have gotten. It's a shame Finn Balor's hard-fought victory was squandered via Kane the very next night.
#9 Money in the Bank (June 18)
The strengths of this card were the Usos vs. the New Day (though it was far from their best work), and the men's Money in the Bank match. Those two bouts saved the show from a night that could have been far worse. With Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, and Shinsuke Nakamura in it, there's no real way it could disappoint from a work rate perspective, though it did have a disappointing finish in that the wrong man won (Baron Corbin).
The most exciting thing about the match itself was the brief exchange between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, which was done perfectly to tease a future mega-match.
Everything else on the card looked rather random, with Breezango defeating the Ascension and Naomi having a forgettable title defence against Lana of all people. Most infamously, the first-ever women's Money in the Bank match ended in controversial fashion with James Ellsworth grabbing the briefcase for Carmella, a finish that was so controversial that WWE saw the need to do a rematch on SmackDown. Again, it was a case with the wrong winner.
Then there was a Jinder Mahal title defence, a match type which is always awful unless it features AJ Styles.
#8 Hell in a Cell (October 8)
This was very much a two match show. The two cell matches, featuring The Usos and New Day, and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens, were excellent, among the best of the year. They brought a bit of attitude back to what has sadly become a match type that is more formulaic than climactic.
Everything else on the card was mediocre or, in Jinder Mahal's case, terrible. There's not much more to say about it, though getting the US title off AJ Styles (without being pinned) so he could become WWE Champion a month later was a smart booking decision.
#7 Extreme Rules (June 4)
There were some random matches on this card, like Kalisto vs. Apollo Crews and Alicia Fox and Noam Dar vs. Sasha Banks and Rich Swann, and some of the matches were a drag. Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz was another continuation of their painful feud, and the Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley kendo stick match was truly awful.
Yet, we saw an excellent main event in the fatal 5 way featuring Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe. Joe's victory that night was a surprise at the time, but it was ultimately the right decision as it set up one of the best feuds of the year in his rivalry with Brock Lesnar.
There were also two strong matches between Neville and Austin Aries and The Bar vs. The Hardyz in a cage.
Extreme Rules was a show of high highs and low lows, much like 2017 itself.
#6 WrestleMania 33 (April 2)
It's a rather damning indictment that WWE's biggest show of the year is ranked so relatively low. There were some great matches in Neville vs. Austin Aries, AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon, the tag team ladder match with the return of the Hardyz, and Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg.
Unfortunately, there were also a lot of drags on the show, and a major weakness showed itself in the sheer length of the event. Had it been an hour shorter, it would rank much higher, but it had to drag on, and suffered as a result, an outcome that mirrors the most notable moment of the night.
There were two multi-woman matches that felt meaningless, possibly the worst WWE title match in WrestleMania history in Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton, a disappointing affair between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, and the usual plodding Triple H match with his 20-minute entrance, among others.
Most notably, mirroring the drag that was the length of the show itself, there was the sad "retirement" of the Undertaker after a match with Roman Reigns that was painful to watch. In contrast to the retirement of Ric Flair nine years earlier in the same building, this one felt like going to the vet to euthanize your dog who could no longer walk and kept crying out in pain. It only made you wish that Undertaker had gone out in 2012 in what was billed as "the end of an era" match. For all our sakes, let's hope this was indeed his last match.
WrestleMania could have ranked far lower. Thankfully, the four aforementioned matches gave it a tremendous boost.
#5 Payback (April 30)
This show is infamous for hosting the House of Horrors match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt, the worst bout of 2017. This is unfortunate, because that truly horrifying match wrongly overshadows a genuinely good card. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Bar, Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins, and Austin Aries vs. Neville can't exactly make for a bad lineup, and Jericho and Owens exceeded their WrestleMania encounter. Then there was Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns, who always deliver together.
Aside from the aforementioned House of Horrors match and the humiliation of Bayley in her hometown (negatives which are too big to rank this any higher), it was a stronger show than it was a weaker one.
#4 Elimination Chamber (February 12)
A good show with a strong card, its only real crime was that it set up the awful Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt feud by virtue of the latter's surprise title victory in the Elimination Chamber itself, but that shouldn't be held against the show.
The Elimination Chamber match showcased some strong wrestling. The real highlight of the show was Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper, which was probably the Viper's best match of an otherwise awful 2017. You had a tag team turmoil match with a bunch of talented wrestlers, a match between Mickie James and Becky Lynch, and a title victory for Naomi that may have been counted as something of a surprise.
Natalya vs. Nikki Bella was a bit of a drag, but every WWE PPV has one such match.
#3 Survivor Series (November 19)
This show looked like it would be abominable at first, but then, when WWE actually put in an effort for once, a card emerged that was stacked from top to bottom. Looking at the final lineup, it should have been the runaway show of the year. That it wasn't is yet another example of how often WWE gets in its own way with atrocious booking.
The night started off on a high note with The Shield beating The New Day in a very good match.
Next came the 5-on-5 women's elimination match. The action there wasn't spectacular, but the match did what it needed to do in getting Asuka over as the sole survivor, which has boosted her main roster run immensely.
A series of champion vs. champion matches followed. The Miz vs. Baron Corbin exceeded expectations, and there was no way that The Bar vs. The Usos couldn't be a very good match, which it was. The Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte match was the worst of the series. Seeing the diminutive Bliss being so dominant against the much larger Charlotte just didn't feel right and the pace of action was slow.
The champion vs. champion series concluded with AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar, which, for once, saw a recent Lesnar match live up to the hype. It was spectacular - the match of the night and one of the best of the year.
The show fell off a cliff with the 5-on-5 men's elimination match. In a torrent of bad booking that centred on more McMahon family drama, Shane McMahon was the last man standing on the blue team, while Triple H scored the final pinfall over him. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens' interference did succeed in setting up Randy Orton's elimination, but it was far more ineffectual than it should have been. The one saving grace was that Braun Strowman got the most eliminations, was left standing tall at the end, and destroyed Triple H afterwards, but the match left too many people with sour tastes in their mouths. What year was this again?
#2 SummerSlam (August 20)
SummerSlam was the ultimate show of high highs and low lows. There were a ton of stinkers in Brooklyn this year. Big Cass vs. Big Show was truly awful. Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is a sad chapter in the history of WWE Championship matches at SummerSlam. John Cena's victory over Baron Corbin was trite and Randy Orton's burial of Rusev in nine seconds was yet another insult to a good talent that deserves much better. Naomi vs. Natalya for the SmackDown Women's Championship was incredible only in how flat it was, a moniker that accurately describes many other matches on the card.
Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss was a decent match, but it was surrounded by a lot of bad elsewhere on the card.
SummerSlam ranks so high, however, because it also boasted three genuine match of the year candidates that pulled the event up from the gutter and got it airborne, even with all the bad. That's how good they were.
The Usos vs. The New Day was a spectacular tag team title match that was criminally relegated to the pre-show. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins' long-awaited reunion ended in a title victory over The Bar in a match that was almost as good.
Finally, there was the main event featuring Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe, and it was every bit the total war that we were pining for. The 20-minute adrenaline rush had everyone leaving satisfied, which is more than can be said for many WWE shows.
#1 Royal Rumble (January 29)
More by the process of elimination than a clear victory, the Royal Rumble emerges as the strongest main roster PPV of 2017.
The Royal Rumble match itself can always be counted on for fun, even if the endings in recent years have been sour ones. Randy Orton's victory by last eliminating Roman Reigns gave the fans something to be happy about in that moment at least, even if he wasn't the guy that needed that win the most.
The real highlights of the show were the two title matches. Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens had a very enjoyable, chaotic, no disqualification match for the Universal Championship. The shark cage with Chris Jericho inside was a bit of a distraction, but it generally didn't make the match any worse. Afterward, we saw John Cena defeat AJ Styles for the WWE Championship in the best main roster match of the year. Contrasting well with the car crash of Reigns and Owens, this one was a display of work rate wizardry. Its biggest flaw, if it can be called that, was the finisher spam, but that's, unfortunately, par for the course in WWE these days. The audience in the Alamodome was entranced, giving both performers, even Cena, a unanimous standing ovation.
The undercard also featured some strong matches in Charlotte vs. Bayley and Neville vs. Rich Swann, where the former would become the new Cruiserweight Champion and begin his dominant run.
With good matches and not many glaring weaknesses to speak of, the Royal Rumble takes the gold medal.
