Fave Five WWE Matches of 2017

2017 is coming to an end which means its time as always to look back on the year that was. Questionable booking decisions and storylines aside no one can deny its been a quality year of action in WWE. Whether it was on PPV, TV or a network exclusive tournament, 2017 gave us a number of memorable matches. Here I am going to list my five favourite matches from WWE this year which I think are all worthy of being called match of the year.

1. Seth Rollins Vs Triple H (w/Stephanie McMahon) - Unsanctioned Match (Wrestlemania 33)

Say what you will about Triple H, when it comes to Wrestlemania matches from a presentation point of view he always brings it. The awesome promo package before hand featuring Metallica and the epic entrances really set the stage for this anything goes grudge match. This was a classic bout between one super cool evil heel with his wife helping him out going against the constantly resilient babyface who is desperately trying to overcome the odds. Rollins was coming into the match with a knee injury which thankfully wasn't as bad as his first. HHH spent most of the match working over the knee with the help of multiple chair shots. Seth tried to pedigree HHH through the announce table but was countered into a SICK looking DDT which didn't even make the table budge. Seth got back into the breaking out the awesome Superplex/Falcon Arrow which he tends to do in big matches. Seth tries to hit HHH with the Sledgehammer but is stopped by Steph who distracts Seth long enough to allow HHH to hit the pedigree but only gets the two. Seth counters out of a potential Avalanche Pedigree and hits HHH with a picture perfect Pheonix Splash but again only gets a two. Steph holds Seth in place for HHH but avoids contact and ends up superkicking HHH into Steph who goes crashing through a table set up on the outside which draws one of the biggest pops of the show. An enraged HHH turned around and ate a Pedigree from Seth for the win. Really enjoyable match with one of my current favourites and one of my all time favourites.

2. Tyler Bate (c) Vs Pete Dunne - WWE UK Championship Match (NXT Takeover: Chicago)

The WWE UK Championship tournament was one of the highlights of the WWE Network this year which culminated in a match between these two in the final. That was a really good match in its own right but this one in Chicago somehow managed to top it. Jim Ross was on commentary for this match with Nigel McGuiness that made this feel even more important. The crowd was super hot throughout really into everything these guys were doing and even gave them a standing ovation twice during the action. Some great high impact moves with believable near falls that were sold perfectly. The fact that at this time Tyler Bate is 20 and Pete Dunne is 23 is astonishing to me. The Corkscrew 450/Spiral Tap from Bate was the best move of the match. Bate was combining high flying with strong power moves you don't expect from a smaller guy. Dunne is a ruthless brawler hitting Bate with some stiff looking shots and breaking him down with painful submissions. Bate goes for one too many flying moves to the outside and fails to connect which Dunne takes advantage hitting The Bitter End for the win. Hell of a match from these guys hope to see many more from their long futures in the business!

3. Asuka (c) Vs Nikki Cross - NXT Womens Championship Last Woman Standing Match (NXT Episode 6/28/17)

2017 was another big year for Women's Wrestling with some more big firsts and standout matches. On an episode of NXT that was Mauro Ranallo's first one calling the main event was an absolute barn burner for the Women's Championship. With the combination of Asuka's strong striking and Nikki's chaotic brawling the two held nothing back and took advantage of the 25 minutes given to them. Asuka hits Nikki with a dropkick while she has a trashcan on her before both women take it in turns to throw each other into piles of chairs. Nikki drops Asuka on the pile of chairs with a powerbomb which looks utterly savage! Both women are really selling the brutality of the match and its getting closer and closer to the ten count. A ladder is brought out and set up by Nikki and they both end up brawling on the top of the ladder until Asuka suplex's Nikki off the top of the ladder through the announce table! HOLW COW!! Asuka barely makes it up at 9 which is enough to get her the win. Asuka's reign has been one of the best title reigns in WWE history and this was another great match of many she had. Nikki is one of the best characters the women's division has and I hope for big things for and the rest of Sanity in 2018!

4. The New Day (c) Vs The Usos - Smackdown Tag Title Hell in a Cell Match (Hell in a Cell)

There has been some excellent tag team matches this year in WWE and no feud has been quite as intense as the one between The New Day & The Usos. Similar to the feud between Charlotte & Sasha Banks last year the matches got better and more intense as the belts changed hands and the stakes got higher. It all ended inside the Hell in a Cell in the most violent match of the series by far. Just when you thought that you had seen every kind of spot in a Cell match they surprised us with some very creative violence. Big E hits his terrifying spear off the apron into the cell which always looks great. The New Day had some fun using various musical weapons to hit The Usos with. Kendo sticks, steel chairs and even hand cuffs were used to up the violence even further. Jey Uso was trapped in the corner of the cell using four kendo sticks which was a terrific visual. Lots of really close near falls as both teams amp up the intensity trying to put each other way. Big E was almost taken down by the sequence of double super kicks and double splashes before Woods breaks it up jumping on the pin while he was handcuffed. He is obliterated by Kendo Sticks for his troubles before Big E receives another double splash with a chair on him this time for the win. One of the best opening matches I've ever seen on WWE PPV.


5. Sanity Vs Undisputed Era Vs AOP/Roderick Strong - WarGames Match (NXT Takeover: WarGames)

After years of asking for it and wondering if it will ever happen, WWE finally brought back the WCW classic match War Games. Under the NXT banner WWE brought a new evolution of this legendary match up and in the process made huge stars of the 9 men in this match. Adam Cole, Eric Young & Roderick Strong started the match pretty evenly until Undisputed joined the match and they tripled teamed Young & Strong. Authors of Pain came next and destroyed everyone with power moves even launching their partner Strong into their opponents. Sanity came in and the chaos began with Alexander Wolfe & Killain Dain bringing weapons into the cage. There was so many incredible spots in this match I'm just gonna pick my 3 favourite! Dain hits some incredible moves including a Coast to Coast on O'Reily which was amazing for such a big dude. Wolfe hit a German Suplex through a table which busted him open on the back of the head but he still continued for another 10 minutes. The spot of the match undoubtedly though was Strong Superplexing Cole off the top of the cage onto all the other participants. Definitely a candidate for Holy Shit moment of the year! In the end with everyone brutalised Cole kicks a chair into Youngs face for the win. All 9 of these guys are main roster ready right now and I think it can only be a matter of time before we see the WarGames match joining them!




So that was my five favourite WWE Matches of 2017! What did you guys think? What are your favourite matches from this year? Let me know on twitter @chris_dons or in the comments. Thanks for reading!