18 Biggest Wrestling Stories Of 2017

Headliner headliners.

Undertaker WrestleMania 33
WWE.com

It was always a point of some amazement that the amount of news happening each day was just enough to perfectly fit the morning's newspapers. Since the emergence of the internet - and with it, its infinite column inches - the quantity of newsworthy stories has ballooned to almost unspeakable proportions. Barely an hour goes by without that 'BREAKING' ticker getting an outing, trailing the latest idiotic comment by your Foreign Secretary/President of choice, or the death of a psychic octopus.

Wrestling's had an ankle lock on the internet news mill for some time, squeezing out stories on a daily basis since the early days of the Pro Wrestling Torch and WON online. From the outset of the web's ubiquity, there was probably no community as active - or content hungry - as the IWC. They've been well fed.

Like every other year, 2017 has seen a constant stream of squared circle scoops. Between all the comings, goings, injuries and suspensions, not to mention the odd ill-advised Twitter post, the last twelve-months have been crammed with news tighter than a 60-man battle royal.

Not all of it has been important. We probably didn't need to know about Natalya celebrating National Cat Day, or that Scott Steiner has apparently bested one of Ric Flair's scrutiny-defying records (no, not the world title one). Some stories, though, got the whole wrestling world talking - and with good reason. Whether it was a legend retiring or one returning, these headlines had trending written all over them.

17. January - Omega And Okada Break The Scale

Undertaker WrestleMania 33
NJPW

Just four days into the new year, it seemed the Match of the Year title was already wrapped up, like January sale presents bought in premature readiness for the following Christmas. Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada's colossal Wrestle Kingdom clash wasn't just good: it crushed Dave Meltzer's star rating scale in the manner of an elephant at a WeightWatchers meet.

Citing it as the "greatest in pro-wrestling history", Meltzer awarded the match six prestigious asterisks - one whole more than the system's maximum score. It was some accolade, but in the process downgraded every Big Dave rated match ever by an entire star. Some people were not best pleased, tediously highlighting the Wrestling Observer doyen's apparent NJPW 'bias' and bewailing the 'fact' it wouldn't have received the same number had it took place in a WWE ring. That Meltzer is a 58 year-old journalist and far beyond such childish partisanship was irrelevant.

Bias or not, the match was phenomenal. The wrestling equivalent of Celtic claiming the SPL title in the second week of September, it seemed we could write the year end award copy twelve months early. Or could we?

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.