10 Best WWE Matches Of 2017 (So Far)

2. AJ Styles Vs. John Cena (Royal Rumble)

Royal Rumble 2017 presented the third singles bout between AJ Styles and John Cena, with ‘The Phenomenal One’ going 2-0 in the previous encounters. Having taken on a more focused and borderline arrogant new persona upon returning in December, Cena was hell-bent on overturning his rival for the first time, and with a shot at matching Ric Flair’s long-held record of 16 world titles on the line, the stakes were through the roof.

WWE’s top two ‘big match’ performers didn’t disappoint. They took the great work they’d put forth in their previous bouts and built on it, summoning a number of callback spots throughout, without getting lazy and regurgitating old sequences. The pace was a little slower, but that didn’t make it any less exciting. The near-falls were exceptionally close, and Cena told a great story by teasing heelish tactics as his frustration grew throughout.

The finish saw John survive a Styles Clash, before putting AJ away with two successive Attitude Adjustments. The match loses some shine for devolving into a textbook WWE finisher kickout-fest towards the end, but that’s a minor complaint. It was two of the absolute best wrestlers in the world doing their thing on one of the year’s biggest shows, and the results were close to perfect.