I‘m not sure we’ve had a year like 2017 for quite some time, the quality of in-ring action has been so fantastic from start to finish. It has been a truly difficult task narrowing down the candidates to just 5, but giving all of these a second watch has been a pleasure and should any of you readers need to play catch-up, then I’m sure you’ll have a blast.
The following are in no particular order and are all credible contenders, make sure to leave your votes down below.
1. John Cena vs AJ Styles – Royal Rumble 2017
I personally think that the sheer brilliance of the Cena/Styles storyline isn’t praised enough. The feud reached its climax at the first pay-per-view of the year in an epic finale to a trilogy of brilliant matches. It was no shock that both Cena and Styles matched each others intensity and brought the best out of each other in the half hour bout.
Most of Cena’s big-money matches can be trusted to be some of his best, especially when he starts bringing out some impressive new twists to his typical spots/routines. Although what made this match so spectacular was the sheer amount of near falls which genuinely surprised the vocal audience. Both men were given sufficient offence and neither walked away from that match looking weak.
Not only did this match exceed the expectations of many, but it made history for being the night where John Cena tied Ric Flair’s iconic 16 world title reigns. I couldn’t have wished for a better start to the incredible year to come.
2. Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate – TakeOver: Chicago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h95WN4pjRm4
The United Kingdom Championship and its cohort of British grapplers didn’t have the most stable of beginnings in the WWE. Following the UK title tournament which took place in January, plans for a weekly episodic show were put on ice and the championship was left under a cloud of confusion and rare appearances. No disrespect to Tyler Bate, but he had no momentum going for him.
Enter The Brusierweight and his ascension at TakeOver: Chicago. Most people have looked back on this match similar to how we did Zayn/Nakamura last year, a match that featured outstanding chemistry and the desire to make a name for themselves.
Dunne and Bate of course have connections outside of the UK title scene, so fans of the UK independent scene were anticipating a stellar contest despite having little build behind the match aside from a couple of profile-building VTs. The Chicago crowd were treated to chain wrestling, stiff-looking strikes and shocking near falls throughout the entire match. There was no part of this match which fell flat, the two Brits certainly made the most of their valued opportunity for exposure.
Without a doubt, the match stole the show, which is a huge achievement when the NXT cards are usually stacked beyond belief. The UK title scene became an overnight hit and has since skyrocketed in popularity. Expect a match of similar standards to be making its way onto the Network before the year closes, as a rematch between the two has been taped for NXT TV.
3. Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe vs Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman – Summerslam 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-XGnrtT1Hs
As is the trend now, Summerslam was jam-packed full of content which really wore down the Brooklyn audience. Thankfully, all was building to this absolute car-wreck of a main event featuring four of the biggest names on the Raw roster. Akin to main events of old, all names involved had their moment to look strong and it was a treat for fans to just sit back and have fun with.
When you consider just how poorly the Universal Title was introduced at the 2016 Summerslam, this year’s match was definitely a step up and one in the right direction for the big red belt. Braun Strowman near-enough took Bork out of the match by powerslaming him through announce tables and then tipping one on top of his lifeless body, Roman Reigns was living up to the moniker he’s been given and Samoa Joe… well he was there.
If I were to recommend anyone a match from this year to show their friends who have no clue what WWE’s about, then I’d show them this one. It had everything to make you fall in love with modern wrestling and created a perfect story which made the Universal title and its champion look fantastic.
4. Asuka vs Nikki Cross – NXT TV
It took me a while to narrow down all the women’s division matches to one candidate for MOTY, in terms of wrestling, this year has been the absolute best for the female roster. It was hard to decide between Ember/Asuka and this one, but I personally believe I hadn’t had as much fun as I did with a women’s match as I had with the Last Woman Standing contest from NXT TV. Nikki Cross has been an understated part of the NXT women’s division, not truly being treated as a major player but certainly making the effort to stand out in a steadily growing division.
This was certainly her breakout moment and Asuka’s biggest accomplishment to date. The two designed the match to emulate any of the gents Last Man Standing matches, with violent and crazy spots not usually found in any standard match. The match peaked and concluded with a superplex off a ladder, through the announcers table at the top of the stage which sent the fans into a craze.
Kudos to both women involved for creating such an intense match which really helped bring out the best in Cross’ character and the diversity in Asuka’s ability.
5. The New Day vs The Usos – Hell in a Cell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKXEUzo_XH0
Tag Team wrestling isn’t praised nearly enough as it should be and these two teams especially have gone out of their way to create a feud which has only become better and better. Not a single match between the two stables met bad reviews, their chemistry allowed them to create innovative spots which helped make each of their different stipulation matches seem unique. There was definitely no better match to help describe this than their final match at Hell in a Cell.
Compared to previous Cell matches, there wasn’t much in the way of gore, but the lengths the four men involved went to brutalise one another in ways which wouldn’t usually been found in no DQ matches made this one of the best Cell matches from recent memory.
So which of those gets your vote for Match of the Year? Make sure you leave your response in the poll below and keep an eye out for a few more categories before the years out.
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