2017 Superstar Report Card: The Raw roster (30 to 11)

From heel turns and face turns to reunions and retirements, the last 12 months of WWE television has seen more eventful moments than any year in recent memory.

As 2017 comes to an end, we will be taking a look at the top 50 Superstars from each of the Raw and SmackDown Live rosters over the last year, ranking them from 50 to 1 and grading them from F to A+.

In this article, the countdown continues with a look at the Superstars who took the positions from 30 to 11 on the Raw roster.

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#30 Paige

It’s still early days for Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose on the main roster, but it’s so far, so good for the recent NXT call-ups and the returning Paige.

The villainous trio, known as Absolution, have targeted every woman on the Raw roster since they formed an alliance in November and they will all have big roles to play in the women’s division in 2018.

Grade: C

#29 Bayley

When you look at Bayley’s accomplishments in the first half of 2017, she could easily have received a Grade A and featured way higher on this list than 29th place.

But, as the year went on, everyone’s favourite hugger lost her Raw Women’s title, lost momentum, lost a ton of matches and, worst of all, lost the support of the WWE Universe.

Grade: C

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#28 Big Cass

In a year of unexpected betrayals in WWE, Big Cass followed up Kevin Owens and Tommaso Ciampa’s attacks on their best friends by turning against tag-team partner Enzo Amore in June.

His subsequent feud and victory against Big Show, while not the most entertaining, showed how highly WWE rates the 7-footer, and he’ll surely be in the mix to win a championship when he returns from his ACL injury in 2018.

Grade: C

#27 Drew Gulak

If you were to line up every cruiserweight on the 205 Live roster and choose the one who least looked like a WWE Superstar, you’d probably choose Drew Gulak.

But what The Zo Train member lacks in Superstar appearance, he more than makes up for with his entertaining promos, in-ring ability and, of course, his famous PowerPoint presentations.

Grade: C

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#26 Akira Tozawa

If Daniel Bryan taught us anything, it’s that saying one syllable as loud as possible in front of a WWE audience is guaranteed to make fans love you.

Akira Tozawa’s high-flying offence and “AH!” rallying cry endeared him to fans in 2017 and helped him win the Cruiserweight Championship, albeit only for six days, from Neville in August.

Grade: C

#25 Neville

Neville was the standout star of the 205 Live roster in 2017, winning the Cruiserweight title from Rich Swann in January and going on to hold it for a combined 232 days before his shock defeat to Enzo Amore at No Mercy in September.

Since then, “The King of the Cruiserweights” has disappeared from WWE television after reportedly walking out before an episode of Raw in October, and we still don’t know if or when he’ll be back on our screens.

Grade: C

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#24 Bray Wyatt

With the Wyatt Family by his side, Bray Wyatt is one of the most powerful characters in WWE and his storylines rarely disappoint. Without them, however, his feuds are often underwhelming and he loses almost every big match he’s in.

“The Eater of Worlds” was involved in two storylines in 2017 that left a lot to be desired – first with Randy Orton, then with Finn Balor – so here’s hoping his current feud with “Woken” Matt Hardy will be a little more captivating.

Grade: C

#23 Nia Jax

From April to August, it felt like Nia Jax was a Raw Women’s champion-in-waiting. She was portrayed as the biggest threat to the title at WrestleMania, as well as in the main-event gauntlet match on Raw in June, while she even betrayed her best friend Alexa Bliss in pursuit of the gold in August.

Nia failed to win the title on any of those three occasions, though, meaning she is still yet to win a championship in either NXT or WWE since debuting in 2015.

Grade: C

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#22 Jason Jordan

Like him or loathe him, 2017 has been a good year for Jason Jordan. He rarely featured on television with Chad Gable as a member of the SmackDown Live roster, but since moving to Raw he’s become one of the most talked-about Superstars in all of WWE.

If we were to rank this article on promos alone, he’d probably be at the bottom of the list. But, fortunately for Kurt Angle’s ‘son’, the quality of his matches makes up for that and gives him a respectable 22nd placing in our countdown.

Grade: C

Joint #20 Matt & Jeff Hardy

Every WWE Superstar dreams of having their ‘WrestleMania moment’, and that’s exactly what Matt & Jeff Hardy got in April when they returned to WWE at WrestleMania 33 and won the Raw Tag Team titles.

With Jeff set to return from his shoulder injury in April and Matt recently debuting his “Woken” character, expect to see a lot more of the Hardy Boyz in 2018.

Grade: B-

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#19 Kane

If this list was made in September, Kane would be nowhere to be seen. He wouldn’t have made the top 50 – top 60 or 70, even – and nor would he receive a grade anywhere near as high as this.

But, WWE being WWE, they sprung a surprise on us when “The Devil’s Favourite Demon” returned to the company in October, defeated Finn Balor clean and entered into a feud with fellow monster Braun Strowman.

The fact that Kane has stayed relevant for over 20 years is a testament to the man behind the character, Glenn Jacobs, and we shouldn't really be surprised by rumours that he could soon be challenging for the Universal title.

Grade: B-

#18 Sasha Banks

The last 12 months of Sasha Banks’ career will probably be remembered for the things she didn’t do rather than the things she did do.

Many expected her to turn against Bayley, which didn’t happen, and many expected her to retain the Raw Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss, which she also didn’t do.

Still, it’s not been a terrible year for “The Boss”, who made history in December when she and Alexa became the first women to compete in a match in Abu Dhabi.

Grade: B-

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#17 Big Show

If anybody had a right to be annoyed with their booking in 2017, it was Big Show. “The World’s Largest Athlete” had got himself in the best shape of his career to face Shaquille O’Neal at WrestleMania 33 in a match that, in the end, never even happened.

The veteran competed in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal instead and went on to have a feud with Braun Strowman which is a legitimate contender for Rivalry of the Year.

Grade: B

#16 Elias

When Elias lost a Loser Leaves NXT match to Kassius Ohno in March, you’d have been forgiven for thinking that the man formerly known as “The Drifter” was actually going to leave NXT and WWE for good.

However, despite being used infrequently during his time in NXT, the guitar-playing Pittsburgh native has been a huge success on the main roster and he showed how good an in-ring performer he is when he challenged Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship in November.

Grade: B

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#15 Enzo Amore

Enzo Amore hasn’t done much in 2017 to prove his in-ring doubters wrong but, purely from a character perspective, the two-time Cruiserweight champion has had one of the best years out of anyone in WWE.

“Smacktalker Skywalker” has been a constant presence on our screens over the last 12 months and, as good as Neville was as “The King of the Cruiserweights”, it was Enzo who made the other members of the 205 Live roster actually seem relevant.

Grade: B

#14 Kurt Angle

One of the best WWE stories of 2017 saw Kurt Angle not only return to the company as a Hall of Famer and Raw General Manager but also as a member of the roster again.

Of course, if he was a full-time competitor, he’d undoubtedly be much higher on this list, but 14th place will have to do for the Olympic Gold medallist and one-time member of The Shield.

Grade: B

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#13 Finn Balor

It’s been another mixed year for Finn Balor. The Irishman has feuded with the likes of Samoa Joe, Bray Wyatt and Kane since returning from injury in April but, crucially, he’s yet to get in the ring with Universal champion Brock Lesnar and maybe never will.

The Irishman had to relinquish the title in August 2016 and is yet to be granted a one-on-one rematch, with recent reports claiming Vince McMahon does not believe he is “over” enough to go toe-to-toe with “The Beast”.

Grade: B

#12 Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss has only been on WWE’s main roster for 18 months but she’s already a four-time Women’s champion (Raw x2, SmackDown Live x2).

Overall, 2017 was another brilliant year for “Little Miss Bliss”. She’s been on our screens almost every week and, forgetting the ‘This Is Your Life’ segment, she is among the most believable performers on the mic every time she speaks.

Grade: B+

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#11 Dean Ambrose

If you’re challenging for the WWE Championship in December, you don’t expect to be on the WrestleMania kickoff show four months later – but that’s exactly what happened with Dean Ambrose in 2017.

Fortunately, “The Lunatic Fringe” went on to have more good moments than bad as the year went on, with the biggest highlight coming in October when The Shield finally reunited as a trio.

Grade: B+

Check back on Saturday, 16 December to see who we ranked from 10 to 1 on the Raw roster in 2017.

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