WWE's Top 25 Matches Of 2017

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE.com released WWE's list of the top 25 matches of the year and, as you'd imagine, there are some great picks, some you think should be higher, some you think should be lower and some that you think shouldn't even be on the list.

25. Raw, December 11th: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro

24. SmackDown Live, July 25th: WWE United States Championship - Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho

23. TakeOver: Orlando, April 1st: NXT Championship - Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

22. Elimination Chamber, February 12th: WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match- John Cena vs. AJ Styles vs. Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin

21. Raw, February 13th: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley

20. 205 Live, February 7th: Fatal Fiveway Elimination Match - Jack Gallagher vs. TJP vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Noam Dar

19. Royal Rumble, January 29th: WWE Universal Championship - Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns

18. TakeOver: WarGames, November 18th: WarGames Match - SAnitY vs. The Undisputed Era vs. The Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong

17. Extreme Rules, June 4th: Fatal Fiveway #1 Contenders Match - Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt

16. TakeOver: WarGames, November 18th: Aleister Black vs. The Velveteen Dream

15. WrestleMania, April 2nd: WWE Universal Championship - Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

14. Raw, May 29th: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

13. No Mercy, September 24th: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship - Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus & Cesaro

12. WrestleMania, April 2nd: Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles

11. Battleground, July 23rd: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The Usos vs. The New Day

10. Raw, May 1st: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz

9. Raw, February 20th: The Big Show vs. Braun Strowman

8. TakeOver: Orlando, April 1st: NXT Tag Team Championship - The Authors of Pain vs. #DIY vs. The Revival

7. TLC, October 22nd: "The Demon King" Finn Balor vs. AJ Styles

6. TakeOver: Brooklyn III, August 19th: NXT Women's Championship - Asuka vs. Ember Moon

5. Survivor Series, November 19th: Champion vs. Champion - AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar

4. SummerSlam Kickoff, August 20th: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The New Day vs. The Usos

3. TakeOver: Chicago, May 20th: WWE United Kingdom Championship - Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne

2. SummerSlam, August 20th: WWE Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman

1. Royal Rumble, January 29th: WWE Championship - AJ Styles vs. John Cena

As for what I think should've ranked higher: Black vs. Dream, the WarGames match, Reigns vs. Cesaro.

As for what I think was ranked too high: SummerSlam hoss fight, Big Show vs. Strowman

As for what I think should've been on the list: Hell in a Cell: The Usos vs. The New Day, Gargano vs. Ohno, Bate vs. Dunne II or III.

As for what I think shouldn't have been on the list: Goldberg vs. Lesnar, Asuka vs. Ember Moon, Shane vs. AJ Styles.

Overall though, it's a good list when you get right down to it. Styles looks to be WWE MVP again with 6 matches on the list. For me though, the biggest injustice is Black vs. Dream only being at #16, should've bee a top 5 bout in my opinion, right behind the waste of space that was Goldberg vs. Lesnar.

 

[ISkye]

Top 25 matches and only 3 or so can be considered in the top 10 matches of the year. Even at that none would even breach the top 5 maybe minus Styles v. Cena with extreme wank. Lots of good or great matches though. WWE had a good year for just straight up decent or good matches. 2016 was a bit better and even the year before to a degree. 2017 was kind of whack. I need to re watch that Miz versus Balor versus Rollins match. I think I remember that being good, but it's pretty high on the list. Even if the list is fodder in regards to content It does strike me odd I don't remember much about that happening at all. I'll probably re watch most of these actually.

 

[d_henderson1810]

WWE.com released WWE's list of the top 25 matches of the year and, as you'd imagine, there are some great picks, some you think should be higher, some you think should be lower and some that you think shouldn't even be on the list.

25. Raw, December 11th: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro

24. SmackDown Live, July 25th: WWE United States Championship - Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho

23. TakeOver: Orlando, April 1st: NXT Championship - Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

22. Elimination Chamber, February 12th: WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match- John Cena vs. AJ Styles vs. Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin

21. Raw, February 13th: WWE Raw Women's Championship - Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley

20. 205 Live, February 7th: Fatal Fiveway Elimination Match - Jack Gallagher vs. TJP vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Noam Dar

19. Royal Rumble, January 29th: WWE Universal Championship - Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns

18. TakeOver: WarGames, November 18th: WarGames Match - SAnitY vs. The Undisputed Era vs. The Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong

17. Extreme Rules, June 4th: Fatal Fiveway #1 Contenders Match - Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt

16. TakeOver: WarGames, November 18th: Aleister Black vs. The Velveteen Dream

15. WrestleMania, April 2nd: WWE Universal Championship - Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

14. Raw, May 29th: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

13. No Mercy, September 24th: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship - Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus & Cesaro

12. WrestleMania, April 2nd: Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles

11. Battleground, July 23rd: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The Usos vs. The New Day

10. Raw, May 1st: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz

9. Raw, February 20th: The Big Show vs. Braun Strowman

8. TakeOver: Orlando, April 1st: NXT Tag Team Championship - The Authors of Pain vs. #DIY vs. The Revival

7. TLC, October 22nd: "The Demon King" Finn Balor vs. AJ Styles

6. TakeOver: Brooklyn III, August 19th: NXT Women's Championship - Asuka vs. Ember Moon

5. Survivor Series, November 19th: Champion vs. Champion - AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar

4. SummerSlam Kickoff, August 20th: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The New Day vs. The Usos

3. TakeOver: Chicago, May 20th: WWE United Kingdom Championship - Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne

2. SummerSlam, August 20th: WWE Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman

1. Royal Rumble, January 29th: WWE Championship - AJ Styles vs. John Cena

As for what I think should've ranked higher: Black vs. Dream, the WarGames match, Reigns vs. Cesaro.

As for what I think was ranked too high: SummerSlam hoss fight, Big Show vs. Strowman

As for what I think should've been on the list: Hell in a Cell: The Usos vs. The New Day, Gargano vs. Ohno, Bate vs. Dunne II or III.

As for what I think shouldn't have been on the list: Goldberg vs. Lesnar, Asuka vs. Ember Moon, Shane vs. AJ Styles.

Overall though, it's a good list when you get right down to it. Styles looks to be WWE MVP again with 6 matches on the list. For me though, the biggest injustice is Black vs. Dream only being at #16, should've bee a top 5 bout in my opinion, right behind the waste of space that was Goldberg vs. Lesnar.

I would have included,

A.J. Styles (c) v John Cena- WWE Title, Royal Rumble

Both of the Hardys v The Bar matches (Steel Cage and 30-Minute "Ironman" Tag Match)

Shane McMahon v Kevin Owens -HIAC Match- Hell-In-A-Cell

3 v 5 TLC Match-Tables, Ladders & Chairs

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

Bate vs Dunn was Match of the year in my book, of any/all promotion(s).
I had watched the UK tournament and I couldn't care less for any of them, after some of the matches I had watched. With that said, Bate vs Dunn at Takeover completely changed my opinion. AJ vs Cena was good, but imo, it doesn't come close to the chemistry that Dunn/Bate had.

One thing I found interesting was the lack of matches with Neville involved. He had MOTN at quite a couple ppvs. Thought his match at Fastlane vs. Jack Gallagher or his match at Wrestlemania vs. Austin Aries would have been on the list.
The Hardy boys vs Sheamus and Cesaro in the ironman match deserves to be on the list as well. I would argue that it was the Hardy's best tag match since wwf, and should be on here more than Roode vs Nakamura, Lesnar vs Goldberg, and Show vs Strowman, just to name a few.

 

[#hamler]

Not a terrible list. However, there are some glaring options that make me scream obscenities at whoever decided their places.

16. TakeOver: WarGames, November 18th: Aleister Black vs. The Velveteen Dream

Get the fuck out of here with that mess. 16? Really? The 16th best match of WWE's year? This match ranks below Strowman vs Big Show? Lesnar/Goldberg? Styles/McMahon? Come on! Dream vs Black was the epitome of the classic mind games wrestling match — something that is severely lacking in anything the WWE does nowadays. While I agree is should not be number one or anything close to it, it's definitely top five material.

15. WrestleMania, April 2nd: WWE Universal Championship - Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Here's another problem I have. While the match was decent considering who was in the ring, it's not better than anything else on this list. No one was looking forward to this match. There was no hype behind it. No one's going to go back and watch this match on the WWE network because it wasn't that good of a match. Everyone's expectations were set pretty low at the beginning and Lesnar/Goldberg did better than expected. That's all.

4. SummerSlam Kickoff, August 20th: WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The New Day vs. The Usos

The Usos/New Day rivalry was definitely a strong point for not just Smackdown, but the entire WWE this year. I won't complain of this selection because these two teams have been absolutely magical this year. Their confrontation at Hell in a Cell definitely deserves to be mentioned here though.

3. TakeOver: Chicago, May 20th: WWE United Kingdom Championship - Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne

Bate vs Dunn was Match of the year in my book, of any/all promotion(s).
I had watched the UK tournament and I couldn't care less for any of them, after some of the matches I had watched. With that said, Bate vs Dunn at Takeover completely changed my opinion. AJ vs Cena was good, but imo, it doesn't come close to the chemistry that Dunn/Bate had.

^^This^^

It's quite the accomplishment for Bate/Dunne to be ranked so high but in my honest opinion, there isn't a match that deserves to be number one more than this one. This match brought the house down. Pair that up with the crowd reaction of the NXT audience and we've got ourselves a classic here. Match of the Year for me. Number 3 may not seem low for any match but for this one, it is. Maybe their names aren't established enough and the WWE is embarrassed these two young guns out performed every single member of their roster this year. Whatever the case, Bate/Dunne is #1 for me.

1. Royal Rumble, January 29th: WWE Championship - AJ Styles vs. John Cena

The best main roster match of the year undoubtedly. It doesn't really come as a surprise as this feud kept me in tuned to wrestling for the early part of 2017. This match alone is why i would definitely be ok with seeing a repeat for Wrestlemania. To make your debut one year and face John Cena for the WWE title the next is proof why Aj Styles debut year may be one of the best in WWE history. Aj is the best performer of our generation and I can see why he's all over this list. And while John Cena has had many match of the year candidates throughout his career, this might be one of his best.