Ranking every WWE pay-per-view main event from 2017 - Part 1
WWE is done with pay-per-views and Network Specials for 2017 and many WWE fans have strong feelings regarding the year that was.
On one hand, 2017 gave us the Mae Young Classic, the WWE UK Specials, fantastic tag team wrestling, the resurrection of War Games and the breakout year for Braun Strowman. On the other hand, 2017 was also responsible for the “Bayley: This is Your Life” segment, the House of Horror match, a man basically winning the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, the resurrection of the Punjabi Prison and a rumored retirement of one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time in a match that didn’t do him justice.
To say that WWE in 2017 had its ups and downs is a gross understatement reflecting on a year that some fans are calling one of the worst in recent memory. And some while fans argue that declaring 2017 one of the worst years is an exaggeration, some of the main events from this year don’t help 2017’s case - especially from their bigger shows.
Main Events are often the biggest matches on the card and the matches every fan expects to deliver. They don’t necessarily have to be the best match on the card, but they have to meet fan expectations and a lot of WWE’s 2017 main events were a mixed bag.
So, to get a better sense of how well the year went, this article will review the main events from Raw and SmackDown pay-per-views, Takeover Specials, and other big shows on the WWE Network.
Between pay-per-views, Takeover Specials and the tournaments, there were a total of 24 main events this year and the first 12 mentioned on this list will primarily be the worst matches from 2017.
#12 Fastlane - Kevin Owens(c) vs. Goldberg (Universal Championship)
Following Goldberg’s defeat of Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016, the former World Heavyweight Champion set his sights on Kevin Owens with the goal of taking his Universal Championship. Jericho accepted the challenge on behalf of Owens and this decision led to Owens attacking Jericho weeks later at the Festival of Friendship.
The “match” lasted 20 seconds with Goldberg hitting a Spear and a Jackhammer on a distracted Owens to win his first world title in over 14 years.
It made sense for Owens to lose to the man who defeated Lesnar, but 20 seconds for a pay-per-view main event during WrestleMania season is pathetic.
Ultimately, the match served to set up the action-packed rematch between Lesnar and Goldberg at WrestleMania 33, but it’s a shame it had to come at the expense of the longest reigning Universal Champion at the time.