10 Saving Graces Of WWE Programming In 2017

2. AJ Styles

Not many notable names from other organizations have made as big of a splash in WWE as AJ Styles has, and if his 2017 was any indication, it's quite clear by this point that the company sees him as the star he is.

It's well-documented he started and ended last year as WWE champion (a feat only an elite few can lay claim to), but everything else he accomplished in between was also extraordinary. It looked as if his feud with Shane McMahon was WWE's way of under-utilizing him going into WrestleMania 33, but they stole the show with their outing, allowing Styles to then set his sights on the United States Championship.

Once again, Styles made that belt feel like the most prestigious prize on SmackDown Live (especially with the WWE title in the possession of Jinder Mahal) through his many matches with Kevin Owens last summer. He closed out the year on a high note by elevating Baron Corbin (or at least attempting to) and dethroning Mahal as the WWE champ, giving the Modern Day Maharaja his best bouts to date.

Count on Styles to make the marginal phenomenal.