10 Best WWE Matches Of 2017

1. Brock Lesnar Vs. Roman Reigns Vs. Braun Strowman Vs. Samoa Joe - SummerSlam

John Cena AJ Styles RR
WWE.com

A match predicated on genuine danger, the tone was established early when Brock Lesnar dropped Samoa Joe directly onto his head with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex.

A succession of jaw-dropping power move exchanges followed, before Joe and Roman Reigns were thrown recklessly out of the ring to commence the much-anticipated Lesnar/Braun Strowman stare-down sequence. What followed that, belatedly, was a scary onslaught in which Strowman announced himself as the star in a match laden with literally gigantic star power. As awesome in itself as it was awesome to see a performer overcome Lesnar's ludicrously dominant shadow, the sight of Strowman annihilating Lesnar with a crushing running power slam - and throwing a chair at Joe and Reigns (!) with laser-precision - was glorious for those disenchanted with WWE's outmoded star-making machine.

Reigns also looked great here, demolishing Lesnar through the barricade a microsecond after Joe avoided the way of legit harm. Joe also looked great, decking Reigns with a table-assisted uranage and a full throttle elbow suicida. Lesnar, too, sold this as-advertised demolition derby with the gusto of a guy who actually gave a d*mn.

Both predictably brilliant - and surprising even better than that - this amazing Monster Mash was WWE doing WWE at its ludicrous, brilliant best.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!