10 Best WWE Pay-Per-Views Of The Decade

9. Royal Rumble 2017

Royal Rumble 2018 Sasha Banks Trish Stratus
WWE

A tactical masterclass from WWE in removing the hex on their annual 30-man war, Roman Reigns' surprising appearance as the final entrant in 2017's topliner infuriated the mammoth San Antonio crowd enough that Randy Orton didn't have to celebrate his second Royal Rumble victory to the vuvuzela hum of irritated indifference.

The contest was loaded with distraction pieces; 'The Big Dog' took over The Undertaker's yard, Bill Goldberg again made Brock Lesnar look foolish having already squashed him like a bug two months earlier, and Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Dean Ambrose and Rusev all benefited from extended stints in the clash.

Despite this, the show was ultimately stolen by AJ Styles and John Cena. Their absorbing New Japan-style effort drew on all of Cena's cribbing of the genre whilst harnessing Styles' awe-inspiring skill.

Elsewhere, three of the four title matches on the undercard delivered, too. Charlotte's defence of the Raw Women's Championship against Bayley was enjoyably logical as a first chapter, Kevin Owens' cheap win over Roman Reigns was the best defence of his joke-heavy Universal Title tenure, whilst Neville's capture of the Cruiserweight Title set the tone for months of quality defences from the 'King' of the division.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett