What a year for wrestling. Arguably, the most competitive year of wrestling in modern history. There were SO many amazing matches, it became hard to keep count. As far as major events and PPVs, this was an overall incredible year as well, as NJPW, NXT, and PWG among others presented classic PPVs and set new standards for the sport in 2017. With that being said, let's go with the top fifteen events of the year.
15. NXT Takeover: San Antonio
1/28/2017
San Antonio, TX
After NJPW floored the competition with WrestleKingdom 11 at the beginning of the year, it was time for WWE to see if they could start their own momentum. It was Royal Rumble weekend, but the acclaim went to NXT Takeover: San Antonio. As usual, NXT presented a more athletically compelling show than the main roster. The show was highlighted by Roderick Strong against Andrade "Cien" Almas, as well as Authors Of Pain defeating DIY to become Tag Team Champions, but the main event was Shinsuke Nakamura defending his NXT Title against Bobby Roode. Great way to start off a fantastic year for the NXT brand.
14. NJPW Wrestling Dontaku '17
5/3/2017
Fukuoka, Japan
Was there a hotter promotion in the world than New Japan Pro? NOPE. NJPW completely obliterated the game this year more than any other year in its history. One of the better events they had was Wrestling Dontaku, where the main event was the incomparable Kazuchika Okada was defending the IWGP World Title against "the underboss" of the Bullet Club, Bad Luck Fale. The majority of the event revolved around tag team matches, but the standout match was the AWESOME encounter between Tomohiro Ishii and perhaps the best wrestler in the world today, Kenny Omega. If all the tag matches didn't eventually wear you out, this was overall a great event.
13. ROH Final Battle '17
12/15/2017
New York City, New York
Ring Of Honor presented their biggest PPV of the year with Final Battle '17. The company has had a banner year, especially with the record-breaking Global Wars tour. It was time to put a stamp on this year with Final Battle, and what a night of action it was. The flamboyant Dalton Castle challenged Cody (Rhodes) for the ROH World Title, but Will Ospreay and Matt Taven stole the show, and the street fight between The Briscoes and Bully Ray & Tommy Dreamer was quite physical. This was even better than 2016's, and was definitely the best ROH event all year.
12. WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament
1/14/2017-1/15/2017
Blackpool, England
With WWE expanding its horizons with the Cruiserweight division, the announcement was made that there would be a UK division with a champion to be crowned in a tournament. The two day tournament was overall an exciting one, with the finals of Tyler Bate against Pete Dunne being the best match of the tournament. The real stars were the fans, as they chanted everything under the sun and presented an atmosphere that was electric through the screen. If you were there, chances are that statement didn't do it any justice.
11. NXT Takeover: War Games
10/16/2017
Houston, TX
When the announcement was made that NXT was bringing back War Games at its next Takeover event, it was met with both anticipation and pessimism. The event took place Survivor Series weekend, but clearly was the better event. While War Games with Authors Of Pain & Roderick Strong, SAniTy, and The Undisputed Era all damn near destroying each other in a surprisingly awesome match, the event also saw Ember Moon win her first NXT Womens Title in a very good Fatal 4 Way Match and Cien Almas win the NXT Title over a game Drew McIntyre. The event was best known for the super highly competitive match between Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream.
10. PWG All-Star Weekend '17
10/21/2017
Reseda, CA
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is possibly the hottest indie promotion in the U.S. today. This year was no exception, as they had a DYNAMITE Best Of Los Angeles tournament earlier in the year. They capitalized off the success of BOLA and presented the All-Star Weekend. As great as this two-day event was, the best match of the weekend was German brute WALTER against the best technical wrestler of the past decade, Zach Sabre Jr in a HELL of a match. There was also Ricochet winning the PWG Title from Chuck Taylor in a great match as well. This was overall another fine example to the passion, entertainment, and excitement PWG presents and this was not a disappointment by any means.
9. Progress Super Strong Style 16
5/272017-5/29/2017
Camden Town, London
One of the UK's most exciting promotions is Progress Wrestling. Specializing in British strong style wrestling, Progress has been known to produce some of the best matches all year. Most of them occurred at their Super Strong Style tournament. The finals had a heel Tyler Bate facing New Zealand's Travis Banks, but the whole weekend was filled with fantastic wrestling, with occasional over-the-top entertainment. Arguably the best moment was when Trent Seven lost to Matt Riddle in six seconds, and the fans letting him have it with every appearance from that point on.
8. NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling '17
10/9/2017
Tokyo, Japan
One of the final major events of the year for NJPW was King Of Pro Wrestling. After the historic G1 Climax of the summer, NJPW knew it had a challenge to match that kind of acclaim. KOPW came close and really provided a big time event from start to finish. The tag matches were quite good and the Ospreay/KUSHDA match was off the page. Okada defended the IWGP Heavyweight Title against LIJ member EVIL in a competitive match. This was a knockout event and presented more of the finest pound for pound action in the business.
7. PWG Best Of Los Angeles Tournament '17
9/1/2017-9/3/2017
Raseda, CA
The most acclaimed tournament in the country is the PWG BOLA tournament. An open invitation for the best indie wrestlers in the world, this is subsequently like their Wrestlemania, only a three day event. Regarded as the best BOLA tournament in the twelve year history of the tournament, there were constant highlights and show-stealing matches. None more captivating then the EPIC encounter between Donovan Dijak and Keith Lee that has been heralded as one o the greatest PWG matches ever. This was a no lose event and one that continues to show PWG's cult following and why it continues to expand.
6. NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III
8/19/2017
Brooklyn, NY
For the past three years, NXT's biggest Takeover event has been Takeover: Brooklyn, which coincided with Summerslam weekend. Every time, the event would take some to a lot of the thunder from Summerslam because of how excellent the event would be. This year was as good as the prior two, with every match being special. From tje phenomenal Almas/Gorgano match to one of the single best Women's Title matches all year in Ember Moon against Asuka to the great NXT Title match between McIntyre and Roode, the event was on fire. Not to mention the debut appearance of The Undisputed Era of Kyle O' Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Adam Cole (BAY BAY!!!)
5. NJPW G1 Climax 27
7/17/2017-8/13/2017
Various cities
The G1 Climax is the highest regarded tournament in the world. Stars have been made and legacies have been solidified at this very event. Stars such as Nakamura, Okada, Tanahashi, Kojima, Goto and Magabe have all won this event with Masa Chono as the one with the most wins. This year's Climax was regarded as the best of all-time on a match per match basis. Matches such as Ibushi/Naito, Ishii/Tanahashi, Elgin/Omega, and Omega/EVIL were just outstanding, but it reached a WHOLE new level when Okada faced Omega on the last night before the finals in what was arguably the greatest G1 Climax of all-time. The finals between Omega and Naito was almost every bit as superb. This was the new bar of wrestling for the year and nothing any promotion for the remainder of the year could even come close.
4. Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Tres
9/27/2017-10/18/2017
Boyle Heights, CA
Lucha Underground is one of television's hottest programs. In spite of only being a kayfabe promotion in lieu with the show, the matches that have been produced this season have been great to unbelievable. As awesome as the first two Ultima Lucha series have been, this one was the most violent and aggressive. Highlighted by the unreal carnage of Killshot and Dante Fox, but also the bloodletting og Ivalese and Katrina, the brutality of Crane/Muertes/Cage, and the graphic nature of Fenix and Moth Martinez, this event had it all. With Pentagon Dark coming away as new champ, this event was among the most vicious ever seen on television.
3. NXT Takeover: Chicago
5/20/2017
Chicago, IL
The most acclaimed of the Takeover events this year belonged to NXT Takeover: Chicago, which was highlighted by the brutal Ladder Match between Authors Of Pain and DIY for the NXT Tag Team Titles. This marked the first time the tag belts were in the main event, but they deserved to be with the action of both teams. Plus the shocking ending of Tomosso Ciampa turning on partner Johnny Gorgano in aggressive fashion. The event also saw arguably the greatest match all year under the WWE banner with Tyler Bate against Pete Dunne for the UK Title.
2. NJPW Dominion '17
6/11/2017
Osaka, Japan
In the eight year history of NJPW Dominion, none were as amazing, from a match to match standpoint, as 2017's version. While matches like Tanahashi vs. Naito were nearly flawless and KUSHIDA and Takahashi had a hell of a match, it centered around the much anticipated rematch of the decade involving Kenny Omega and Kuzuchika Okada for the IWGP Title. Their first encounter was beyond words, but this rematch was even better. Dominion proved to be one of the best events in recent company not named Wrestle Kingdom.
1. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11
1/4/2017
Tokyo, Japan
Whenever the name Wrestle Kingdom is mentioned, it's regarded as the overall finest night, match per match, in the business. It matches WWE Wrestlemania in terms of pomp and pageantry, plus it's New Japan's most lucrative show. In 2017, this Wrestle Kingdom was home to the greatest match in modern history in Kazychika Okada vs. Kenny Omega. This match set a new standard of wrestling that nobody could outdo except...well...them at Dominion. However, matches like Tanahashi vs. Naito and Goto vs. Shibata were just exceptional. This was far and away the best event of the year, as the past several have been as well. What Wrestlemania provides in entertainment, Wrestle Kingdom does for wrestling, and this one was absolutely no different.
Honorable Mentions
NJPW G1 Special In USA
ROH War Of The Worlds: UK
ROH Global Wars: Chicago
ROH Global Wars: Chicago
NJPW Sakura Genesis '17
NJPW Best Of the Super Juniors '17
NJPW World Tag League '17
NJPW Best Of the Super Juniors '17
NJPW World Tag League '17
WWE Wrestlemania 33
WWE Summerslam '17
WWE Survivor Series
WWE TLC '17
ROH Best In The World '17
RevPro High Stakes '17
CMLL 84th Anniversary Show
WCPW World Cup '17
WCPW Refuse To Lose '17
ROH 15th Anniversary Show
WWE Mae Young Classic
What a historic year for the sport. We have never seen such an outstanding year of wrestling, possibly of this era. These events and more brought back hoe incredibly awesome wrestling can be. It became less about antics and more about good ol' fashioned wrestling. Right now, from an artistic and competitive standpoint, is in its best place in a very long time and here's to hoping 2018 will go even further. Until next time folks.
