WWE SmackDown Live: Examining The Best and The Worst of the Brand for 2017

Best Superstar: AJ Styles

Bookending the year with reigns as WWE Champion, AJ Styles has had a great 2017. Styles debuted in WWE at the 2016 Royal Rumble, and before that year ended he had become WWE Champion for the first time. It was one of the greatest first years for any WWE superstar.

To say he followed it up successfully would be an understatement. At the first pay per view of 2017, he had undoubtedly one of the greatest matches in all of 2017 with John Cena. Styles kicked off the main card at WrestleMania with a great match against Shane McMahon. He basically put the brand on his back and was the guy on Tuesday nights for the entire year.

There was a United States Championship victory at Madison Square Garden, out of the blue. How about pulling triple duty during TLC weekend – Styles filled in for an ill Bray Wyatt to have a fantastic match with Finn Balor, then subbed in on Raw the next night before returning to SmackDown.

He became the first man to win the WWE Championship outside of North America when he defeated Jinder Mahal in November. That put him in line to face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series on short notice. And all he did was have – again – the match of. the night, and possibly the best Brock Lesnar match of the past few years.

Entering 2018 as world champion again, the sky is the limit for Styles – a guy who many thought would never make it to WWE. Now, he topped his phenomenal rookie year with an even better 2017. What could be next?

Honorable Mention: Charlotte Flair

Charlotte joined the SmackDown roster as part of the Superstar Shake Up after WrestleMania. Immediately, she was thrown into the mix for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. She competed in both Money in the Bank Ladder Matches, a fatal five way match at Battleground, and multiple main event matches.

After a hiatus due to her father Ric’s health, Charlotte returned and wasted no time working her way back to championship contention. On November 14 in her hometown, Charlotte defeated Natalya to finally become SmackDown Women’s Champion. So now she’ll enter 2018 the same way she entered 2017 – as champion.

Next: 25 Greatest Entrance Themes in WWE History

Okay, folks, what do you think of this? Who did I snub, or elevate too high, or forget completely?