WWE News: AJ Styles comes first in WWE.com list

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And Another One!

What's the story?

WWE Champion AJ Styles has been named first in a WWE.com article titled 'The 10 Superstars who defined 2017', beating RAW Superstar, Braun Strowman.

Styles was recently given the honor of Match of the Year by WWE.com for his match with John Cena for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble 2017 PPV too, so this is his second recognition from the company for his hard work.

In case you didn't know...

AJ Styles' 2017 has been a Phenomenal One, even better than his 2016 (which was his first year in WWE).

Here are some of the accomplishments that saw WWE.com's Antonio Benigno recognize him as their top guy of this year:

#1 His Match Of The Year with Cena at the Royal Rumble.

#2 Styles has been a WWE Champion twice.

He was champ at the start of the year (until he lost the title in that MOTY with Cena), and he is now champ again at the end of 2017 (which he defeated Mahal for in November, on an episode of SmackDown Live in Manchester, England).

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#3 Styles won the US Championship twice during his feud with Kevin Owens.

#4 Styles was victorious in a spotlight-stealing match with Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 33.

#5 Styles has become the 'cornerstone' of SmackDown Live (according to Benigno).

The heart of the matter

The other Superstars that WWE.com said 'defined' 2017 (in order from 9th to 2nd) were Enzo Amore, Brock Lesnar, The Shield, Kevin Owens, The Miz, Jinder Mahal, The Usos and The New Day, Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman.

This list definitely included all the right names, but maybe the order of the list was a bit surprising, as The Miz was only 6th.

However, there is no doubt RAW's Braun Strowman and SD Live's AJ Styles were the most important guys on their respective brands.

Strowman has become a real star this year (especially with his feud with Roman Reigns), and he has been turned from a villain to a fan favorite, but probably finished behind Styles because he has not won any championships.

In regards to the Women's Division, it was nice to see WWE give Alexa Bliss her due, placing her in a very respectable third place.

Bliss has been a champion most of the year (on SmackDown and then when she moved to RAW).

Despite there being those who think Bliss has held onto the RAW Women's title for too long, I really don't think anyone better could have held the title.

Naomi was another woman who deserved to be in the Top 10 in my opinion. 2017 was a breakthrough year in her career, and she excelled on SmackDown Live, becoming two-time Women's Titleholder.

What's next?

With the WWE Championship now in his hands for the second time, 2018 is AJ Styles' oyster.

It looks like in the Phenomenal One's next title defence, he will face Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble PPV 2018 which will likely be confirmed on next week's SD Live episode on January 2nd (the first one in 2018).

Author's take

One thing's for sure, AJ Styles has become a WWE Guy, and he is not just that ex-TNA and NJPW wrestler that people expected him to be in the company.

Styles is the worthy winner of WWE.com's Top 10 Superstars who defined 2017, and his achievements speak for themselves.

I believe the WWE.com list gives the WWE Universe a good inkling as to who the WWE sees as their big stars in the present and future.

Next year, I would hope to see Styles up near the top again, but Strowman should be WWE's main focus in 2018.

Others like Bobby Roode, Baron Corbin, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Balor need to be put to better use in 2018.