Every WWE PPV Of 2017 Ranked

After the brand split of 2016, 2017 was the first year in a decade to feature Raw and SmackDown exclusive pay-per-views, with only the Big Four of the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series being co-branded events. 

Did this fact lead to an increase in show quality? Did the red and blue crews puff out their chests, rally the troops like it was 2002 and pull together in order to prove that their show was the dominant force in sports entertainment? Yes and no. The effort was usually there but, as was so often the case during Vince McMahon’s later years at the top of WWE creative, the booking could leave a lot to be desired. 

2017 presented some great supercards, but with 16 on offer – not including standalone WWE Network specials or NXT TakeOvers — the quality varied from show to show. As well as inconsistent matchmaking and storyline development, 2017 on pay-per-view gave us main roster debuts, grand returns and plenty of title changes. 

This is every WWE PPV of 2017 ranked from worst to best.

16. Fastlane (Raw)

The only match of any interest going into Fastlane 2017 was Goldberg vs. Kevin Owens for the Universal Title, which was all said and done after 20 seconds and was preceded by five minutes of stalling.

To make matters worse, there was a distraction finish too as KO lost the belt thanks to Chris Jericho walking out, leading to a spear and jackhammer from Goldberg for the win. It was a memorable moment, but maybe not in the preferred way. 

Memorable moments were sorely lacking from what was a rather bland and inconsequential show. Of the good matches, Neville defeated Jack Gallagher to retain the Cruiserweight Title and Roman Reigns beat Braun Strowman. 

Everything else, from Bayley vs. Charlotte and Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe, to Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax and The Good Brothers vs. Enzo and Big Cass were very average. On the pre-show, Rusev and Jinder Mahal broke up and they were then jobbed out to The Big Show and Cesaro on the main card in matches that very much happened. 

15. Battleground (SmackDown)

One gimmick match that fans were not clamouring to return was the Punjabi Prison Match but WWE brought it back anyway at Battleground. 

The two previous Punjabi Prison matches in The Undertaker vs. The Big Show at Great American Bash 2006 and The Great Khali vs. Batista at No Mercy 2007 were absolutely dire, and Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton made it 3/3 with an awful match in the pay-per-view main event.

The match was 30 minutes of slow action, even by Randy Orton’s standards of that year, and the match had very little excitement outside of the Singh brothers falling from the top of the bamboo structure through a table. 

To cap off the tedium, The Great Khali returned, waddled out for the finish and cost Randy Orton the match. Khali then, for some reason, held onto the WWE Title for the remainder of the show and, thankfully, did not appear again during Jinder Mahal’s woeful title reign. 

Elsewhere, the cartoon gimmickry continued with a John Cena vs. Rusev Flag Match in the latest instalment of the United States vs. Evil Foreigner that was incredibly tired by decades by 2017. 

The only positives from the show was a decent match between Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles for the United States Championship beyond the botched finish, a spirited Five-Way Elimination Match with Natalya, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Tamina, and Lana, and the opener of The New Day vs. The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles was the best match of the night by a long distance. 

14. Backlash (SmackDown)

The show that is remembered for seeing Jinder Mahal crowned WWE Champion when he defeated Randy Orton for the leather strap.

While the reign is infamous today, Mahal returned to WWE after being released with a renewed focus and a new physique, meaning he looked and acted the part. The match in which he won the title, while not great, was certainly serviceable and set up a lengthy run with the gold. 

In the opener, Shinsuke Nakamura made his main roster in-ring debut in a spirited contest with Dolph Ziggler that could have been better, while Breezeango and The Usos produced a well-received comedy match complete with Tyler Breeze appearing as both the janitor and grandma from the much-loved Fashion Files.

Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin also had a decent match, as did Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, though both matches were forgettable in the long run. AJ Styles and Kevin Owens had the match of the night over the US Title in the beginning of their months-long feud. 

A decent show with a historic title change and a main roster in-ring debut, Backlash 2017 was not a great show but there was enough morbid curiosity to convince fans to tune in.  

13. Money in the Bank (SmackDown)

2017’s edition of the pay-per-view featured the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match pitting Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Tamina, and Carmella against each other. The match would end up being redone just a few days later, though, because Carmella only won the match with an enormous helping hand from a man in James Ellsworth, who climbed the ladder and retrieved the briefcase on behalf of Carmella in a terrible piece of tone deaf booking. 

The show improved from there somewhat as The Usos and The New Day had another good match that fans were really into before Jimmy and Jey decided to walk out of it, resulting in the count-out finish. 

There was some filler after this, though, in Naomi vs. Lana for the SmackDown Women’s Title the debut of Mike and Maria Kanellis with the only positive element being their banger of a theme song, and The Ascension vs. Breezango. 

Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal also continued their rivalry and, while solid, it was basically the same as every other non-Punjabi Prison match they had together, right down to the exact same finish they executed at Backlash. 

In the main event, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin, and Sami Zayn displayed new ways to hurt each other in the typically spectacular stunt show that it expected from a Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Baron Corbin won the match which, looking back years later, was very much a waste. 

12. Extreme Rules (Raw)

Despite the pay-per-view being named Extreme Rules, there wasn’t really anything too radical or dangerous to be found at Extreme Rules 2017. 

The best was saved for last, though, with Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins duking it out in an Extreme Rules match for a shot at Brock Lesnar and his Universal Title, whenever contractual obligations stipulated that he must defend it. A long and brutal match, The Samoan Submission Machine got the win to set up an intriguing dream match of sorts at a future show. 

The Miz and Dean Ambrose also had a very good Intercontinental Title match to kick off the show. The stipulation here was that The Lunatic Fringe could lose the title if he was DQ’d. Though not exactly extreme, it was well worked and the drama built and built as it wore on, with the finish playing into the stipulation nicely when the referee considered disqualifying Ambrose, giving The Miz enough of a distraction to connect with the skull-crushing finale.

Elsewhere, The Hardys and The Bar had a scrappy Steel Cage Match for the Raw Tag Team Titles, Alexa Bliss beat the smile off of Bayley’s glowing face in a Kendo-Stick-On-A-Pole Match that was awful, and Neville beat Austin Aries by submission to retain the Cruiserweight Championship in a fun encounter. Rich Swann & Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar & Alicia Fox also looks truly bizarre to have taken place on pay-per-view almost a decade later. 

11. Clash of Champions (SmackDown)

Another solid, if unspectacular, event, Clash of Champions was an all-SmackDown affair where every one of the blue brand’s titles was on the line. 

Things started with a bang – and a title change – as Dolph Ziggler beat United States Champion Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode in a Triple Threat match. Seeing those three names in the match may have been a turn-off for some, but it was good, even if the title reign went nowhere and played into a bizarre #30 entry at Royal Rumble 2018. 

Also good was the four-way WWE Tag Team Title match between The Usos, New Day, Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin, and Rusev & Aiden English. This was frantic, chaotic, and was never boring. 

Charlotte Flair and Natalya’s Lumberjack Match was fine, as was The Bludgeon Brothers' quick win over Breezango that only went 115 seconds. The Daniel Bryan/Shane McMahon saga, however, dragged on in the Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton tag team match which had the stipulation that if Owens and Zayn lost they would be banished from all of WWE for eternity as the SmackDown authority figures were co-special guest referees. It wasn’t a good match, but it wasn’t a disaster either as Bryan administered a fast count for the heels to win after he started arguing with Shane O’Mac. 

In the main event, AJ Styles retained the WWE Title against Jinder Mahal. One of The Modern-Day Maharaja’s best matches in WWE, this was a fine end to WWE’s last pay-per-view of the year.  

10. SummerSlam (SmackDown & Raw)

It took a while to get going but, once it did, SummerSlam 2017 turned into a pretty good show. Although it won’t be remembered as one of the best SummerSlams of all time, it still featured one match-of-the-year candidate, several title changes, and a couple of newsworthy results. 

The Universal Title main event with Brock Lesnar defending against Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe was everything you would want from four big monsters going all-out on a big stage in front of a hot crowd and doing whatever possible to entertain. Everyone involved came out of this match looking better than when they went in and it was a perfect way to finish one of the biggest shows of the year. 

Other quality action was provided in the form of another AJ Styles and Kevin Owens US Title match (this time with Shane McMahon as guest referee) and The Bar vs. a reunited Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, which was as memorable for Cesaro ripping up a beach ball that was circulating the arena as it was for the Shield members winning the Raw Tag Team Titles.  

Titles changed hands in both women’s championship matches, with Sasha Banks capturing the Raw version from Alexa Bliss and Natalya getting the blue belt after defeating Naomi. 

"The Demon" Finn Balor successfully matched weirdness with Bray Wyatt in a decent enough match, but the battle of the bigs in Big Cass and The Big Show with Enzo Amore suspended above the ring in a shark cage was less good. John Cena also beat Baron Corbin just days after Corbin lost the Money in the Bank briefcase in what felt like a burial job amid rumours of heat on Corbin. 

All in all, a mixed show and not the best SummerSlam ever, but the main event was fantastic. 

9. TLC (Raw)

The TLC 2017 card was thrown into turmoil just days before the event when Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt were both forced to pull out due to a viral infection. 

Making the best of a bad situation, WWE opted to replace them with SmackDown’s AJ Styles and Raw GM Kurt Angle, marking his first WWE in-ring appearance in over 11 years. 

Styles would face Bray’s original opponent, Finn Balor, and Angle would team with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as an honorary Shield member for the night, taking on Braun Strowman, The Miz, Kane, Cesaro and Sheamus in a 5-on-3 Handicap TLC Match. 

The personnel changes added intrigue to the show and, thankfully, the two matches fulfilled their potential. AJ and Balor had a great match that saw them throw up the Too Sweet afterwards, paying tribute to their Bullet Club connections, while the TLC main event was full of carnage and kept the attention for the duration, especially with the novelty of seeing Kurt Angle dish out Angle slams on WWE TV as he won the match for the faction. 

On the rest of the show, Asuka made her main roster in-ring debut in the opener, taking on and defeating Emma, Alexa Bliss retained her Raw Women’s Title over Mickie James, and Enzo Amore regained the Cruiserweight Title by defeating Kalisto in a match that certainly happened. Also rubbish was Elias vs. Jason Jordan. 

Better 205 Live action came from the Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann vs. Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher tag match, even if nobody in the audience cared. 

8. No Mercy (Raw)

During his second WWE run, you never quite knew which Brock Lesnar you were going to get in any given match. When motivated and booked appropriately, he was untouchable and undoubtedly one of the best wrestlers in the company. When that motivation was lacking, however, he could be one of the most disappointing talents in World Wrestling Entertainment. 

Unfortunately for Braun Strowman at No Mercy, Brock Lesnar was leaning towards the latter and their Universal Title match was a massive letdown, especially after their exchanges in the car crash main event of SummerSlam just one month prior. This was a shame, too, as Braun Strowman was amidst a push at the time and all this did was halt his momentum.

Beyond the main event, though, No Mercy featured a number of entertaining matches. The build to John Cena vs. Roman Reigns hadn’t been great but they had their working boots on at the pay-per-view and produced a serviceable encounter. Reigns winning and then having Cena raise his arm felt like a passing of the torch, even if it was when fans had still yet to accept Reigns as WWE’s golden boy as he remained an uninteresting babyface. 

Elsewhere, The Bar had a great match with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, with Cesaro losing his two front teeth after colliding with the ring post. The Miz and Jason Jordan also had a solid IC Title match, Finn Balor beat Bray Wyatt, Alexa Bliss retained her Raw Women’s Title in an energetic Fatal Five-Way, and Enzo Amore won the Cruiserweight Title from Neville. 

7. Great Balls of Fire (Raw)

Number seven is Great Balls of Fire and it was a varied show, to say the least. 

The match of the night was Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman in an Ambulance Match. Something like an Attitude Era throwback, this was an arena-wide brawl that ended with an attempted murder, just like in the 1990s. 

Other highlights included Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt having a fine opener, Big Cass absolutely squashing Enzo Amore, Alexa Bliss grossing everyone out by showing her dislocated elbow trick in her match with Sasha Banks, The Miz and Dean Ambrose having a tidy encounter, and a gripping 30-minute Iron Man match between The Hardy Boyz and The Bar. 

Then there was the main event between Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe. The dream match started hot, with Joe attacking Lesnar and putting him through the announce table before trying to choke the former UFC Heavyweight Champion out. Brock ultimately rallied and won the match in routine fashion, but what we did see was, while short, very good and whet the appetite for future confrontations. Those future confrontations, at least in a singles match anyway, never happened. 

6. Hell in a Cell (SmackDown)

While the dilution of Hell in a Cell with its own pay-per-view did the gimmick match no favours in the long run, the cell matches at the 2017 edition of the show were, at least, very good. 

The Usos and The New Day’s SmackDown Tag Team Title opener inside the cell started out wacky and off-the-wall and turned violent and evil towards the end. Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens then constructed an epic that spilt outside and on top of the cell, with Shane O’Mac missing his giant elbow from the top, always a stunning sight to see, after Sami Zayn pulled Kevin Owens to safety, allowing KO to pick up the win and reuniting the two real-life best friends on WWE TV. 

Elsewhere, Randy Orton pinned Rusev again, but the match was longer than seven seconds on this occasion. Jinder Mahal also retained the WWE Title over Shinsuke Nakamura in a so-so match that was the same as every other Mahal title defence. 

Baron Corbin also won a Triple Threat against AJ Styles and Tye Dillinger to capture the United States Title. While it sounded like a random WWE 2K match, it was perfectly entertaining. 

5. Elimination Chamber (SmackDown)

Most of Elimination Chamber 2017 was not a good show but it finishes so high on this list on the strength of the amazing main event and the really good Luke Harper vs. Randy Orton match. 

The WWE Title Elimination Chamber Match – featuring AJ Styles, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin, The Miz and Bray Wyatt – was genuinely one of the best of its kind, packed with action and drama and a big first WWE Title win for Wyatt. 

Everything else on the show outside of Orton vs. Harper was filler, from Dolph Ziggler vs. Apollo Crews & Kalisto in a Handicap Match, to Nikki Bella vs. Natalya, to Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James, to a Tag Team Turmoil Match won by American Alpha to remain SmackDown Tag Team Champions. Naomi defeating Alexa Bliss to become SmackDown Women’s Champion was at least a nice moment. 

4. Payback (Raw)

If Elimination Chamber was saved primarily due to one match, Payback could have been sunk thanks to one particularly terrible match, with the House of Horrors clash between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt going down in history as one of the biggest WWE creative missteps of the 2010s. 

It likely sounded like a decent idea during a table read and a good way to embellish Bray’s spooky character and add to his backstory, but it turned out to be a rubbish mini-movie and poor match that made WCW’s White Castle of Fear look like Gone with the Wind. 

Aside from that, every other match was at least enjoyable and several were really very good. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens kicked us off with a US Title match that was better than their WrestleMania effort, with Jericho picking up the win being a nice surprise. Austin Aries and Neville also had their habitually good match, as did The Hardys and The Bar.

Alexa Bliss beat Bayley for the Smackdown Women’s Title, Seth Rollins beat Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman defeated Roman Reigns in the main event, all of which were good and combined to create one of the most consistent pay-per-views of the year. 

3. Survivor Series (SmackDown & Raw)

Unlike at other pay-per-views in 2017, Brock Lesnar was motivated for Survivor Series, and he had an absorbing Champion vs. Champion Match with AJ Styles in the latest edition of BRAND WARFARE. Brock sold well for his opponent and made him look like a credible threat before sealing the victory himself. 

Elsewhere on another night that was all about brand supremacy, The New Day and The Shield opened up with a thrilling moves fest in what was a dream match for some. The SmackDown vs. Raw women’s Elimination Match succeeded in making Asuka look like a total killer and a future star as she was the sole survivor and notched three eliminations on her own. 

Less thrilling and more average was the US Title vs. IC Title Baron Corbin-The Miz match. The Bar and The Usos picked up the pace in a clash of the Raw and SmackDown tag team titleholders, while Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss was fine, if not a little long for what it needed to be. 

The main event men’s Elimination Match was a star-studded and fast-moving affair that had many twists and turns and served as a worthy show-closer, with the match also seeing Triple H turn on Kurt Angle and then be annihilated by Braun Strowman after the contest. 

2. Royal Rumble (SmackDown & Raw)

Had the actual Royal Rumble itself been better – not that it was terrible by any means, but it could have used a couple of surprise entrants and a meatier final four segment – then this pay-per-view would have been an all-timer. 

Returning to a stadium setting for the first time since 1997, where the event was also held in San Antonio’s Alamodome, the increased attendance gave the show a real big-time feel that was complemented by some absolutely first-class action. No match on this show was bad, and a couple of them were contenders for the best bout of the year. 

The show kicked off with Charlotte Flair successfully defending her Raw Women’s Title against perennial rival and fellow horsewoman Bayley in a very good and lively match. That was followed by Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns going hell for leather in a No DQ Universal Title match, with Owens’ ally Chris Jericho suspended above the ring in a shark cage.

Up next was the freshly heel Neville beating Rich Swann for the Cruiserweight Title, setting up a banner year for the future/former PAC that would end with him walking out of the company before a Monday Night Raw taping. 

John Cena also captured gold, beating AJ Styles in an absolute classic to win his 16th WWE Title and tie Ric Flair’s record for most world championship victories. A great example of the WWE main event style done right, Cena and Styles built on their previous matches with each other and kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the false finishes. 

Randy Orton also won his second Royal Rumble, last eliminating Roman Reigns. There were some memorable moments, like Braun Strowman’s elimination spree and Goldberg ousting Lesnar and then facing off with The Undertaker, but very little happened until the final minutes when the big boys entered the ring. 

1. WrestleMania 33

The biggest and most hyped show of the year turned out to be the best. 

Was it overly long? Yes. Was every match a knockout? Not quite. On balance, though, WrestleMania provided enough superior action and talking points to claim the top spot. 

The main card opened with AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon, a great showing for both in what was probably Styles’ best-ever WrestleMania match. That was gamely followed by Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho, a US Title match that had a great feud leading into it but didn’t quite hit the heights many – including Vince McMahon, apparently – thought it was capable of on the night. 

The match would also have major ramifications as it would be a major factor in Chris Jericho deciding to leave WWE and explore outside opportunities, with that NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 match against Kenny Omega being the match that would prompt Tony Khan to launch All Elite Wrestling.  

The Raw Women’s Title Elimination Four-Way was pretty damn good and a nice showcase for some of the cornerstones of that division. After that, there was supposed to be a three-team Ladder Match for the Raw Tag Team Titles, before hosts The New Day informed everyone that another team was being added to the mix, resulting in a monster pop for The Hardy Boyz’ return and creating a true WrestleMania moment that was capped off by Matt and Jeff winning the gold. 

As a match, The Miz and Maryse vs. John Cena and Nikki Bella was what fans would have expected and was more geared towards the E! audience than the casual WWE one. Cena then proposed after the match as he and Nikki got engaged, but they would ultimately later split up. 

Seth Rollins and Triple H had a long and psychologically sound grudge match that may or may not hit depending on how much you like seeing a man’s knee get worked over for 20 minutes. Another polarising match was the Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt WWE Title match that featured maggots being projected on the ring canvas on Orton’s way to ending Wyatt’s reign after just one month. 

Much better was the monster movie in match form that came in the shape of Brock Lesnar and Golderg’s Universal Title match, which managed to be as exciting as any five-minute match ever and erased the memory of their stinker from 13 years prior. 

The SmackDown Women’s Title Six-Pack match was short but full of activity and finished with a nice win for hometown girl Naomi.