10 Best WWE Pay-Per-Views Of The Past Decade
9. Royal Rumble 2017
A tactical masterclass from WWE in working to remove 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's hum of irritated indifference.
The contest was loaded with distraction pieces too; '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 benefitted from extended stints in the clash.
Three of the four title matches on the undercard would go on to be some of the most underrated all year too. Charlotte's defence of the Raw Women's Championship against Bayley was enjoyably logical, Kevin Owens' cheap win over Roman Reigns was the best defence of his 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.
Howeber, the show was undeniably 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. Not forgotten as year-end polls landed many still considered it WWE's best match of 2017 nearly 12 months on.