The 10 Best WWE Matches of 2017

#6 Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns (SummerSlam)

This war shook the Barclays Center on its foundations.

After the depressing WWE Championship match between Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura, this all-out war was exactly what SummerSlam needed. Along with the two tag team title matches, it saved the show. It was the culmination of a red hot program that had lit RAW's main event scene on fire all summer long. The only thing that hindered the build was the stipulation that Brock Lesnar would leave WWE if he lost. It made it a bit too obvious, sprinkled with some catnip for those fans who like to talk about backstage goings-on (with the idea that Brock may want to fight in the UFC again, in this case). Whatever. At least we got the war. Corey Graves said it best: "this thing may flatten the entire city!"

Brock Lesnar established dominance early on, suplexing Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns. Then came the confrontation we were waiting for, as Lesnar and Braun Strowman faced off. Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe came back to spoil the moment the fans wanted so badly, but were quickly swatted away, leaving us back with the Beast and the Monster. The Monster got the better of the exchange, throwing Lesnar out of the ring, and then total chaos descended on the Barclays Center.

Samoa Joe put Brock Lesnar into the Coquina Clutch, only for Roman Reigns to spear the Beast through the barricade, with Joe avoiding the attack. After some more bumps outside, Braun Strowman powerslammed Brock Lesnar through the furthest announce table, and the crowd went wild. After Roman temporarily took Braun out of action and Joe dived through the ropes onto him, the Monster responded by throwing one of the announcer's chairs at both of them, then powerslammed Brock Lesnar through the second announcer's table.

The mob viciously chanted for "one more table," but Braun Strowman surprised even them by flipping over the third table and dumping it onto Lesnar instead. That's when the Beast was temporarily taken out of action by EMTs. Braun mocked it all, beat Joe and Roman with the steel ring steps, then threw them over 20 feet into the ring for good measure.

Unfortunately, that's when things began to slow down a bit...by the standards of this match, anyway. We still did get a ton of high impact offense, including a double chokeslam by Braun on Roman and Joe. Brock Lesnar came back shortly afterward and more offense was traded, including a really horrible looking spear by Roman on Lesnar. Roman followed this with a general spam of Superman Punches that got somewhat tiresome, and the match in general saw a big trading of signatures and finishers at this point. Ultimately, it ended with Brock Lesnar delivering the F5 to Roman Reigns for the pin, which was surprising, as many thought Joe would take the fall.

Braun Strowman was the star of the match. It established him without doubt as a bona fide main eventer. Though the subsequent No Mercy match with Brock Lesnar was a big disappointment, this match was not only great, it helped to elevate a new talent permanently to the main event picture. That's what a great match should do.