Ranking Every 2017 WWE Pay-Per-View From Worst To Best
Super Serve Me
What even is a WWE pay-per-view anymore?
It doesn't pay the wrestlers like it used to - several have explored options elsewhere thanks to a financial imbalance on their payslip WWE have kept tight-lipped about disclosing since launching the Network in 2014.
It's categorically not the direct money-making mechanism it used to be. Their streaming service's subscriber numbers broadly trend upwards every year, but typically only the Royal Rumble-to-WrestleMania quarter reflects growth worthy of significant boasts. Vince McMahon has played the long game and will likely win in the end, but his company's insistence on clinging to a dated monthly model without the incoming revenues to justify it has diluted a television output he now relies upon for significant funds.
Since the 2016 Brand Split, the shark-infested waters have gotten only muddier. Peddling two supercards a month on numerous occasions, the apparent need to establish Raw and Smackdown as re-partitioned entities resulted in a seismic overload of sup-par product, forcing even the most ardent fans to take a breather from the sheer amount of content they'd been expected to endure on a bi-monthly basis.
2017 was subject to the burden, though lessons have apparently been learned with the binning of at least two shows next year. It was very easy to get lost or look away as another Sunday show crept up, but the sheer diversity of the modern era ensured almost every show had something noteworthy, even if it wasn't always for the right reasons.
16. Battleground
The Good: The New Day and The Usos stole the show with a spellbinding battle over the SmackDown Live! Tag Team Titles. Long before it was quite apparent how incredible the chemistry was between the squads, Jimmy, Jey, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods let it all hang out in a festival of high spots and high drama. A frenzied fightback by Woods in particular after Kingston was floored with a powerbomb outside the ring kicked off a year in which he'd confound critiques that considered him little more than a third man.
The Bad: The Punjabi Prison (and The Great Khali's one-night return) at least added something to Jinder Mahal's dull defence of his newly-won WWE Championship, as did some more suicidal Singh bumps to mask the inadequacies of the man charged with holding the top title. Mike Kanellis' prospect looked suitably doomed following a moribund defeat against Sami Zayn, whilst Kevin Owens and AJ Styles again struggled to rise above the convoluted finish needed to facilitate Shane McMahon's placement as referee in a SummerSlam rematch.
The Ugly: Rusev had already gone back on his word to abandon SmackDown Live! after Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon failed to bow to the pressure he'd put on for a title shot, and looked weaker still when John Cena flattened him in a jingoistic flag match. In an emerging pattern for 2017, 'The Bulgarian Brute' ended his one-month rivaly with John Cena in far worse shape than he started it. The less said about Shinsuke Nakamura's disqualification victory over Baron Corbin, the better.