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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 SmackDown Live roster.
#30 Tamina
Out of her eight years in WWE, 2017 was Tamina’s best so far. She might not have done enough to warrant a one-on-one feud over the SmackDown Live Women’s title but her impressive showings at Money In The Bank and Survivor Series made her seem like the unstoppable force that she should be presented as more often.
With Lana in her corner, perhaps 2018 will see Tamina rise even further up the SmackDown Live ranks.
Grade: C
#29 Chad Gable
While Chad Gable showed in his singles matches against AJ Styles and Rusev that he possesses the in-ring ability to be a huge star in WWE, his promos and tag-team chemistry with new partner Shelton Benjamin have left a lot to be desired.
Let’s hope WWE has bigger and better plans for the former Olympian in 2018.
Grade: C
#28 Harper
The last 12 months are a case of ‘what could have been’ for Luke Harper – or Harper, as he’s now known.
Rumour had it that WWE was seriously considering adding him to the WWE Championship match with Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33, making it an all-Wyatt Family affair, but they decided against it and he ended up in the kickoff show Battle Royal.
Harper will probably never get the chance to feature in a match of that scale again, but the future still looks bright now that he’s reunited with Rowan.
Grade: C
#27 Dolph Ziggler
This snippet from Dolph Ziggler’s recent interview with NBC Sports sums up his 2017 rather well: “I've been very lucky in that I've been able to make the most out of those [bad] situations.”
Of all the grades given in this 50-person list, Ziggler’s was the most difficult to decide on. From a booking perspective, it’s been a horrible year for “The Show Off”, but he remains a brilliant in-ring talent so, for that reason, he gets a respectable Grade C for his work in 2017.
Grade: C
#26 Aiden English
Many fans expected Aiden English to be thrown on the SmackDown Live scrapheap when his Vaudevillians tag-team partner Simon Gotch was released by WWE in April.
But, as it turned out, “The Drama King” had a career resurgence after going solo and his recent alignment with Rusev has been one of the most entertaining things on Tuesday nights in recent weeks.
Grade: C
#25 Nikki Bella
You know it’s a good year when you get engaged at WrestleMania, release your own clothing line and make it to week six of the biggest celebrity dance show on American television.
Had Nikki Bella wrestled a few more matches in 2017, she’d undoubtedly feature higher on this list.
Grade: C+
#24 Natalya
After a six-year wait, Natalya finally had a WWE title around her waist again when she defeated Naomi at SummerSlam to win her first SmackDown Live Women’s Championship.
As an in-ring talent, “The Queen of Hearts” remains one of the best female performers in all of WWE. As a character, however, a villainous cat lady gimmick just isn’t what fans need to see right now.
Grade: C+
Joint #22 Fandango & Tyler Breeze
In the last six months, Fandango and Tyler Breeze have had just one televised match on SmackDown Live (a Fatal 4-Way in October), yet they remain more popular than half of the current tag-team division.
It just goes to show what two police outfits, a horse’s head and old movie references can do for a couple of underused mid-card guys in WWE in 2017!
Grade: C+
#21 Mojo Rawley
Looking back at Mojo Rawley’s 2017, two obvious moments stand out: WrestleMania 33, where he won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and the November episode of SmackDown Live when he turned against Zack Ryder.
While he wasn’t exactly a constant presence on television throughout the year, Rawley showed plenty of charisma in his promos and segments on Talking Smack and it’ll be interesting to see how he’s used in 2018.
Grade: C+
#20 Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode began 2017 by winning the NXT Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura at TakeOver: San Antonio and he’ll end it by challenging Baron Corbin for the United States title at Clash of Champions.
It’s been a good year for "The Glorious One" and he’s by no means among the worst call-ups from NXT over the last 18 months. The only real negative is that his feuds with Nakamura, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler were all very, very underwhelming.
Grade: B-
#19 Naomi
Whether you’re a glow-feeler or not, it’s pretty obvious that 2017 was the best year of Naomi’s career. She won the SmackDown Live Women’s title twice, she received a huge chorus of “you deserve it!” chants and, best of all, she had her own custom title.
Barring the knee injury she sustained in February, the last 12 months couldn’t have gone much better for Naomi.
Grade: B-
#18 Becky Lynch
Despite having very few meaningful storylines in 2017, Becky Lynch still stood out as one of the best female in-ring performers in WWE over the last year.
The likeable underdog of the SmackDown Live women’s division has recently been written off television so she can film The Marine 6: Close Quarters. When she returns, expect her to begin her pursuit to become a two-time Women’s champion.
Grade: B-
#17 Rusev
What looked like a bad year for Rusev has been rescued by his recent alignment with Aiden English and the birth of the greatest chant in WWE today: “Rusev Day! Rusev Day!”
“The Bulgarian Brute” claims every day is Rusev Day, and if fans continue to rally behind the former villain the way that they have been of late, then expect many more happy Rusev Days in the weeks and months to come.
Grade: B-
#16 Shane McMahon
"The prospect of AJ Styles versus Shane McMahon does absolutely nothing for me," said commentator Corey Graves on WWE Network show ‘Bring It To The Table’ shortly before WrestleMania 33.
With many sharing Corey’s opinion, the pressure was well and truly on for Shane O’Mac when he met Styles at “The Show of Shows”, but not only did he prove his doubters wrong, the two had Match of the Night. Oh, and he jumped off the 20ft-high Hell In A Cell again in October!
Grade: B-
#15 Shinsuke Nakamura
Let’s face it, SmackDown Live hasn’t been a great year for major star power in 2017, which is why someone as horribly misused as Shinsuke Nakamura still features as high as 15th despite his massively underwhelming first year on the main roster.
There have been a few positives – his clean victories over John Cena and Randy Orton, for example – but if his 2017 was judged on storylines alone and not his incredible talent, he’d probably get an F.
Grade: B-
#14 Randy Orton
With a second Royal Rumble victory and 13th WWE Championship reign under his belt, 2017 should be classed as a great year for Randy Orton.
But, as the man himself recently admitted, if even he’s bored of playing a babyface character, it’s no wonder fans haven’t been fully invested in his storylines over the last 12 months.
Grade: B-
#13 Chris Jericho
If this article covered a typical WWE year (April to March) rather than the calendar year, then Chris Jericho would’ve not only ‘made the list’ but he probably would’ve topped it.
Unfortunately, WWE fans haven’t seen much of Y2J since his feud with Kevin Owens finished in May, but that rivalry alone was brilliant enough to earn “The Ayatollah of Rock-N-Rolla” 13th spot on our list.
Grade: B
#12 Sami Zayn
Remember when Sami Zayn found himself a little lost in the big-name shuffle on Raw and everyone thought he’d be much better suited to SmackDown Live?
Well, for a few months he was just as lost on the blue brand's roster as he was with the red brand. Then, thankfully, his 2017 was rescued by a long-awaited heel turn in October at Hell In A Cell, where he appeared out of nowhere to help bitter enemy Kevin Owens defeat Shane McMahon.
Grade: B
#11 Baron Corbin
When Baron Corbin became Mr Money In The Bank in June, he was well on his way to earning himself a Grade A and a spot in the top five of these SmackDown Live rankings.
But after his failed cash-in on Jinder Mahal, which was rumoured to be because he spoke out of line in a meeting about concussions, “The Lone Wolf” has to settle for 11th place. Still, it’s not been a bad year – he had a singles match at WrestleMania, albeit on the kickoff show, and now he’s the United States champion.
Grade: B
Check back on Saturday, 16 December to see who we ranked from 10 to 1 on the SmackDown Live roster in 2017.
For latest WWE News, live coverage and rumours visit our Sportskeeda WWE section.
Also if you are attending a WWE Live event or have a news tip for us drop us an email at [email protected].
