10 Best WWE Wrestlers Of 2017 (So Far)
AJ Styles deserves way more credit for 'Mania 33...
When separating the best from the rest, it's important to remember that WWE is more than just monthly pay-per-view specials. Episodes of Monday Night Raw, SmackDown and NXT must be taken into consideration, because those programs often house some of the best matches each year.
TV is also the place where the cream of the crop distance themselves from everyone else on the roster and prove why they're amongst the elite. It's on these shows that WWE's greatest often display why they're in that bracket and regularly produce the best matches regardless of opponent. That's what makes a top WWE star.
Every individual fan will have their favourites, but just who has been the best during the first half of 2017? More crucially, what makes these performers the greatest and why are they included? It takes more than just one killer match to make the cut.
These folks have done it consistently...
10. Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode has continued the top form this year that made him such a key signing for the NXT roster in 2016. Matches against Shinsuke Nakamura and Hideo Itami have been excellent, and Roode even nailed it with Kassius Ohno and Tye Dillinger, amongst others. There's such a reliable quality to the guy's matches.
At some point, WWE must be tempted to promote Roode to the main roster. Away from actual matches, he's a terribly underrated promo man and has a wealth of experience. Right now, the only reason he's on NXT is to maintain some star power on the developmental brand. Otherwise, Roode would surely be on Raw or SmackDown.
The aforementioned matches with Nakamura at NXT TakeOver cards in San Antonio and Orlando were aided by Roode's mic work. He was also booked strongly, giving the SmackDown-bound Japanese star his first clean one-on-one defeat under the WWE banner.