This was a pretty great in-ring month: PPV matches that delivered, strong TV wrestling, and THE SHIELD. The top 3 matches here are low-end WWE MOTYC’s, while the top 10 are all really really really worth checking out.
1. Universal Champion vs. WWE Champion: Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs. AJ Styles (Survivor Series 11/19/17)
A Dream Match that completely delivered – Brock smashed, while AJ flew and bumped around and proved that even with a lackluster first half of the year he’s still one of the best in the world. It’s a classic underdog story, with Brock just owning AJ early on and a lot of great cut-offs that were legitimately demoralizing. Some real epic stuff as AJ fought back too, including Brock selling the Calf Crusher like death and an awesome near fall that had actual human beings buying that Brock Lesnar might go down to a springboard jumping elbow smash. So good.
2. The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) (Survivor Series 11/19/17)
ANOTHER Dream Match that completely delivered – six guys at the top of their game keeping things fun with awesome sequences and interactions, and then they eventually transition into a wild-ass brawl that felt like both teams NEEDED this win, which is a rare feeling in WWE.
3. WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT 11/22/17)
Is it another Dream Match that delivered? DAMN RIGHT. This is only like 10 minutes but it’s awesome – these guys do all the cool stuff you expect of a wrestler from 2017 (big suplexes, stiff kicks, crazy DDTs), but also with all the cool stuff you expect of a wrestler from 1987 (selling, working characters, getting people to give a shit about them). Always fun when a WWE match has a guy selling his FINGERS.
4. WarGames: Roderick Strong & The Authors of Pain w/ Paul Ellering vs. SAnitY (Eric Young, Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe) vs. Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) (NXT TakeOver: WarGames 11/18/17)
Great chaotic fun … it gets a little stunt show-y at parts, but it brought all the entertainment a big crazy ass WWE gimmick match in 2017 promises. Eric Young bumped all over the place, Authors of Pain and Killian Dain suplexed fools, Alexander Wolfe sliced off like half his scalp, and the Ring of Honor folk brought the kicks and the suplexes and all that jazz. Great fun.
5. RAW Tag Team Champions vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions: Cesaro & Sheamus vs. The Usos (Survivor Series 11/19/17)
BIG MATCH USOS, baby. It always delivers. Cesaro & Sheamus brought the pain, Usos bought the crazy bumps and selling, and everybody bought the insane near falls. This match also has a HOT TAG PLANCHA!!!
6. NXT Title: Drew McIntyre [c] vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (NXT TakeOver: WarGames 11/18/17)
This is the good stuff, my favorite Main Event Drew McIntyre match since the return and if it wasn’t for Johnny Gargano my favorite Almas match too. Physical, sweet counters, and Drew just has the best chemistry with lucha dudes. There’s some real jaw-dropping feats of strength from Drew here, and Almas flips around like he’s trying to get a spot at Mania 34.
7. WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz [c] w/ The Miztourage vs. Roman Reigns (RAW 11/20/17)
I say it every time – these two just have great chemistry. The matches are always over, and it’s so impressive how much Roman sells his ass off to the point where Miz looks credible against him. The big pop as Roman dives in to avoid a countout, Miz picking the knee as Roman went for the Superman punch, and the SkullCrushing Finale kickout were highlights.
8. WWE Title: Jinder Mahal [c] w/ The Singh Brothers vs. AJ Styles (SmackDown 11/7/17)
After the middling year he had, it felt SO good to see AJ Styles have a great main event match. This basically has three acts: Act 1 with AJ working as the athletic underdog around Jinder’s power, Act 2 with AJ bumping his ass off, and Act 3 where they bust out a bunch of cool spots and tease the typical Jinder/Singh Brothers bullshit finish before AJ’S TRIUMPH. The AJ title win moment puts this over the top, but this is quality wrestling all-around.
9. Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream (NXT TakeOver: WarGames 11/18/17)
A breakout performance from Velveteen Dream, and honestly Aleister Black for that matter – great character work by both, and then a piping hot finish. Dug the cartwheel DVD near fall, Dream’s crazy DDT thing that got a standing ovation, and both guys just throwing blows until one went down. Also – Dream’s Rick Rude-esque pants are INCREDIBLE.
10. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe (RAW 11/20/17)
This is Finn Balor and Samoa Joe doing everything everybody likes them for in a strong compact TV wrestling match – Joe is aggressive, Balor sells, everybody wins. Their NXT Title series wasn’t much but chop 10 minutes off and you get the good stuff. Part of this match is built around a NERVE HOLD and it actually gets over. Lots of cool shifts in momentum too, and the finish with Joe just dragging Balor off the top rope into the choke is awesome.
11. Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro (RAW 11/27/17)
This is real basic straightforward stuff – Cesaro goes after the core, Seth sells – but there’s a lot of cool highlights and it’s 15 minutes of quality television professional wrestling. Seth fighting for the abdominal stretch, Cesaro just smashing Seth ribs-first into the post, the Sharpshooter struggle, and Cesaro’s catch of the Seth crossbody into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker – awesome.
12. SmackDown Women’s Title: Natalya [c] vs. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown 11/14/17)
Wrestling is REAL when these two work together… when ya watch so much sports entertainment, it’s really cool to see a couple gals just do some legit LOCK-UPS. Nattie brings the solid offense and bitchiness and cut-offs, while Charlotte makes every attempt at a comeback count. Her stiff-ass boot on the apron and Sharpshooter sell are the good stuff.
13. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe (RAW 11/6/17)
Much like the Balor/Joe match at #10, they don’t try and do anything fancy and just do what they’re good at – Joe lays in a beating, while Balor sells and peppers in cool shit. This has a double countout finish that actually feels earned, too.
14. RAW Tag Team Title: Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins [c] vs. Cesaro & Sheamus (RAW 11/6/17)
Another good one from these guys… everything is so simple, so smooth, so beautiful. Rollins & Ambrose get a run leading to commercials, Cesaro & Sheamus beat down Dean, Seth does a sweet hot tag, and there’s a POWERBOMB DOOMSDAY DEVICE.
15. The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs. The Miz, Cesaro & Sheamus w/ The Miztourage (RAW 11/13/17)
Hey man, it’s the first Shield 6-man tag in over three years. This is fun – solid action leading to an awesome finish. Reigns vs. Cesaro is beautiful too.
16. WWE Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Elias w/ The Miztourage (RAW 11/27/17)
Just a good solid 15-minute Roman Reigns wrestling match… Reigns selling, Elias striking, crowd popping for spots, crowd shrieking for near falls. Elias also busts out an impressive sit-out powerbomb.
17. RAW Women’s Champion vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion: Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair (Survivor Series 11/19/17)
Main events, no more “Diva” term, Hell in a Cell, Money in the Bank – all great things that the Women’s Revolution in WWE has brought. But my favorite addition is that sometimes the ladies just beat the shit out of each other, and this match has that in spades. It felt at times like they didn’t pull off everything they didn’t want to pull off, but there was still enough pain and heat that this thing was a lot of fun.
18. Dean Ambrose w/ Seth Rollins vs. Sheamus w/ Cesaro (RAW 11/20/17)
A classic WWE-style TV match that flowed well and had a bunch of cool beats to it. They bust out the fun wrestling then bring it home with a hot finish, nice work fellas.
19. Elimination Match: Team RAW (Triple H, Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor & Samoa Joe) vs. Team SmackDown (Shane McMahon, John Cena, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura & Bobby Roode) (Survivor Series 11/19/17)
One of the dumbest WWE main event matches since maybe the last Survivor Series but it had too many sweet pairings to not be at least worth watching. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Triple H, for gods sakes! This is legitimately fun stuff until the last 5 or 10 minutes which just kill it dead.
20. Fatal 4-Way Match – NXT Women’s Title: Ember Moon vs. Kairi Sane vs. Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce (NXT TakeOver: WarGames 11/18/17)
Look – this was a Fatal 4-Way. Not much room for character work or epic moments, but they kept it moving with fun spots and everybody got at least one chance to shine. A fun TakeOver match.
21. Street Profits vs. Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss (NXT 11/15/17)
This is an AWESOME 3 minutes, just the most ideal WWE Performance Center tag team match. They kept it high energy and every moment counted, either working tag formula or each guy showing off their stuff. Montez Ford sold well and is just insanely smooth and athletic, Moss and Tino were aggressive and Moss especially bumped his head off, and even Dawkins did a kind of mind-altering leapfrog. And it ended with a PUNCH. Tremendous.
22. Johnny Gargano vs. Fabian Aichner (NXT 11/1/17)
Fabian Aichner is just this muscular bald dude who shows up with zero build and gets these showcases where he absolutely crushes it. He’s got smooth matwork, crazy power, and the ability to do a springboard backflip and land on his feet. And he’s working Johnny Gargano, who rules and just kind of peppers in fun spots around Aichner being a freak. Fun stuff.
23. Titus O’Neil w/ Apollo Crews vs. Samoa Joe (RAW 11/27/17)
3 minutes of awesome… Joe takes like one bump and all they do is SLAP EACH OTHER. And it ends with Joe punching Titus in the face and choking him out. Amazing.
24. Intercontinental Champion vs. U.S. Champion: The Miz w/ The Miztourage vs. Baron Corbin (Survivor Series 11/19/17)
This is here because neither guy was in an ideal spot – they were padded by a way more interesting card, it was heel vs. heel, and there really wasn’t much build outside of a couple promos via cell phone. And STILL – they kept things moving, the action was always solid, and the crowd was into it. Maryse and Miztourage at ringside brought a fun dynamic too.
25. WWE U.S. Title: Baron Corbin [c] vs. Sin Cara (SmackDown 11/14/17)
And here’s a Corbin match that did miraculously feel like a big deal as there was some actual build to it. It was a good solid match – they kept it moving, Cara flew around, and they pulled off an amazing Deep Six and End of Days. Sin Cara is the definition of underrated.
Honorable Mentions: No DQ Match: Sami Zayn Banned From Ringside – No DQ Match: Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens (SmackDown 11/28/17), Elimination Match: Team RAW (Alicia Fox, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Asuka & Nia Jax) vs. Team SmackDown (Becky Lynch, Naomi, Natalya, Carmella & Tamina) (Survivor Series 11/19/17), Ember Moon vs. Mercedes Martinez (NXT 11/15/17), Kassius Ohno vs. Lars Sullivan (NXT TakeOver: WarGames 11/18/17), Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander vs. Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher (205 Live 11/14/17), Triple Threat Match – Winner Becomes 5th Member of the RAW Women’s Survivor Series Team: Bayley vs. Mickie James vs. Dana Brooke (RAW 11/13/17), Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Pete Dunne & Mark Andrews (NXT 11/29/17)
Street Fight: Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak (205 Live 11/21/17), Kofi Kingston w/ Big E and Xavier Woods vs. Sami Zayn w/ Kevin Owens (SmackDown 11/7/17), Jimmy Uso w/ Jey Uso vs. Chad Gable w/ Shelton Benjamin (SmackDown 11/14/17), Gran Metalik vs. Brian Kendrick (Main Event 11/22/17), The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable (SmackDown 11/28/17), Drew Gulak w/ Enzo Amore vs. Kalisto (205 Live 11/14/17), The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowan) (debut) vs. The Hype Bros (SmackDown 11/21/17), Nikki Cross vs. Taynara Conti (NXT 11/1/17), Handicap Match: AJ Styles vs. The Singh Brothers (SmackDown 11/28/17)
