As is tradition, WWE kicks off a new year of DVD releases with a collection of the best PPV matches from the previous annum. Renee Young is on hosting duties, providing links and context to some of the matches featured here. Once again, Survivor Series and the December PPV (which for 2017 was Clash of Champions) are unfortunately omitted, which is always a bug-bear for me.
Still, even without those shows, there’s a ton of action across the 3 discs, so let’s dive right into the BEST PAY-PER-VIEW MATCHES 2017!
BEST OF THE BEST!! BEST PPV hits the UK today via Amazon.co.uk; RAW/SD & NXT out soon!
DISC ONE
Royal Rumble 2017 – January 29, 2017
WWE Championship Match
AJ Styles (C) vs. John Cena
The DVD kicks off with arguably the best main roster match of the entire year. AJ and Cena had already put on some fantastic matches in 2016, but their showdown here was even better. Enhanced by the Alamodome setting, and Cena tying Ric Flair’s record of World Title wins in the process (by WWE’s counting, anyway), it’s the match that many WWE fans will most remember 2017 for.
Elimination Chamber 2017 – February 12, 2017
Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper
At a time when Randy being a member of The Wyatt Family was one of WWE’s most intriguing storylines, Luke Harper was quietly rising up the SmackDown ranks. His singles push didn’t last very long, but it did give us this contest, which featured what was arguably a career performance by Harper. This was also one of Orton’s better PPV matches during the year.
Elimination Chamber 2017 – February 12, 2017
WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match
John Cena (C) vs. Bray Wyatt vs. AJ Styles vs. The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin
A classic Elimination Chamber contest, this incarnation of the stipulation (with a new-look structure) had it all. A ton of big moves, storyline developments ahead of WrestleMania 33, fantastic performances and the shock finish of Wyatt becoming WWE Champion made this one of the very best WWE matches of the whole year.
WrestleMania 33 – April 2, 2017
AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon
The next few matches come from WrestleMania 33. The first of these is the bout that arguably stole the show that night in Orlando, as AJ Styles and Shane McMahon deliver a thrilling encounter. At the time, I was surprised to see this in the opening match slot, and given how well the match turned out, it probably would have been better had it taken place later in the (very long) show.
WrestleMania 33 – April 2, 2017
Mixed Tag Team Match
John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse
This existed purely to set up the post-match engagement between Cena and Nikki. It’s a memorable moment, but the match itself doesn’t belong here in terms of in-ring action. It’s good if you’re a fan of either Cena or The Bellas, though.
WrestleMania 33 – April 2, 2017
Universal Championship Match
Goldberg (C) vs. Brock Lesnar
Never let it be said that a short match can’t deliver the same level of excitement and drama as a long match. The perfect example comes here, as Goldberg and Brock Lesnar pack plenty of hard-hitting action into a brief amount of time, bringing an end to what I thought was a really enjoyable feud between the two destroyers.
DISC TWO
Payback 2017 – April 30, 2017
RAW Women’s Championship Match
Bayley (C) vs. Alexa Bliss
One of the better women’s matches on the main roster in 2017, this match marked Alexa Bliss’ quick-fire elevation to the top of RAW’s women’s division, a spot that she has held ever since, with the exception of an eight-day title reign for Sasha Banks in August. Though Alexa had previously held the SmackDown Women’s Championship twice, this victory was the moment when Alexa officially took her spot as the “Goddess” of WWE.
Payback 2017 – April 30, 2017
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
Honestly, I would have preferred either the Fast Lane or Great Balls of Fire bout between these two to have been on the DVD. But this is still a really enjoyable clash which really helped to establish Strowman as a major player, following the incredible angle a few weeks earlier which saw Braun absolutely decimate Roman over and over. This DVD wouldn’t be complete without an excerpt from the most memorable feud of the entire year.
Backlash 2017 – May 21, 2017
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton (C) vs. Jinder Mahal
Next, we get the moment where Jinder Mahal ascended to the top of the SmackDown mountain by defeating Randy Orton for the WWE Title. Jinder’s abrupt climb to the position of WWE Champion will be discussed, and most likely slated, for years to come, given that his reign featured few enjoyable matches and little in the way of a positive impact on business. Still, WWE was always going to feature Mahal in some way on the DVD, so it makes sense that his WWE Title victory would be chosen.
Extreme Rules 2017 – June 4, 2017
Fatal Five Way Match To Determine The #1 Contender To The Universal Championship
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Bálor vs. Bray Wyatt
We then get the Fatal Five Way main event from Extreme Rules. This tends to be forgotten in a lot of lists profiling the year’s top matches, but upon second viewing it’s a spectacular headline attraction, with every participant giving it their all. Samoa Joe getting the surprise win sets up another match later in the DVD.
Money in the Bank 2017 – June 18, 2017
Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Tamina vs. Natalya
This is followed by arguably the most controversial PPV bout of the year. The first Money in the Bank Ladder match starring women ended up with James Ellsworth unhooking the MITB briefcase for Carmella, much to the dismay of many who felt it cheapened the historic nature of the encounter! I personally didn’t mind, realizing that it was a way to get heel heat onto Carmella, though it probably shouldn’t have been done in the VERY FIRST women’s MITB match.
Great Balls of Fire 2017 – July 9, 2017
Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Samoa Joe
This is the fall-out from Samoa Joe’s win at Extreme Rules, as he received a Universal Championship shot at Brock Lesnar. If this had not been so short, this could have been a genuine classic, but even in a brief format, Joe and Lesnar put on a memorable and hard-hitting main event, one where Joe was presented as being on Lesnar’s level as a killing machine.
Battleground 2017 – July 23, 2017
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
The Usos (C) vs. The New Day
The best was yet to come between The Usos and The New Day, but this is still a tremendous doubles encounter, and a fine example as to why this was the top tag team rivalry of the year. It also provides a snapshot of Battleground, which was otherwise filled with uneventful and disappointing matches.
DISC THREE
SummerSlam 2017 – August 20, 2017
RAW Tag Team Championship Match
Sheamus & Cesaro (C) vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose
If The Usos vs. The New Day was the peak of WWE tag team wrestling in 2017, the feud between Sheamus & Cesaro and the team of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins was a close second. This bout from SummerSlam was a great doubles encounter, and the culmination of a well-constructed storyline that saw Ambrose finally find it within himself to forgive Rollins for breaking up The Shield in 2014.
SummerSlam 2017 – August 20, 2017
Universal Championship Fatal Four Way Match
Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman
Take the elements from the Roman/Braun feud and the Lesnar/Joe clash from Great Balls of Fire, put them together and throw in plenty of chaotic spots, and what do you get? You get one hell of a main event for SummerSlam, with Strowman in particular coming across brilliantly as an absolute monster. Lesnar winds up retaining, but everyone grafted to ensure that this match ended SummerSlam on a high note.
No Mercy 2017 – September 24, 2017
RAW Women’s Championship Fatal Five Way Match
Alexa Bliss (C) vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax vs. Emma
Prior to Asuka joining the main roster and Paige returning, this bout featured almost everyone involved in RAW’s women’s division (Mickie James would receive her shot at the title at TLC the following month). Similar to the SummerSlam main event, everyone had their moments to shine, and though Alexa ultimately retained her championship, she had to put up a tremendous fight to secure a victory here.
No Mercy 2017 – September 24, 2017
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns
I’ve previously written about the decision to have Cena and Reigns collide at No Mercy, despite it seeming like a natural WrestleMania main event down the line (the same applied to Lesnar vs. Strowman that night, but Cena vs. Roman was the biggest singles match WWE had yet to present not involving a name from the past). Nevertheless, this is still a strong effort by both, though I expect the two to collide again on a bigger stage in the future.
Hell in a Cell 2017 – October 8, 2017
Hell in a Cell Match
Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens
It’s amazing to see how this storyline has evolved, from Shane being a sure-fire babyface opposite the wicked KO, to Sami Zayn joining forces with Owens to disrupt life on SmackDown, to the two having caused friction between Shane and Daniel Bryan at time of writing. As we wait to see how it all culminates, it’s definitely worth checking out Shane vs. Owens under HIAC rules, with McMahon taking another huge bump, and this being the moment where Zayn surprisingly rekindled his old friendship with Owens.
TLC 2017 – October 22, 2017
AJ Styles vs. Finn Bálor
The DVD ends with the suddenly-booked encounter between Finn Bálor and AJ Styles at TLC. In the face of the card being disrupted by illnesses to Reigns and Bray Wyatt, WWE pulled some rabbits out of the hat, one of which was this thriller between two of WWE’s most popular performers. Bálor’s head is raised in the end, but again I anticipate a rematch in the near future. Might it happen at WrestleMania 34, with the WWE Championship at stake?
The Verdict
The annual round-up of WWE’s PPV highlights is nearly always a treat, and the 2017 DVD may be the best yet. Not surprisingly, most of the best matches here involve AJ Styles, but there are great performances across the board and in a variety of formats, from a friendly exhibition to a chaotic four-way brawl to a tag team clinic. It also features all of WWE’s top performers (sans Triple H and The Undertaker; it’s interesting that Taker’s presumed last match against Reigns from WrestleMania didn’t make the cut here), and shines a spotlight on most of the year’s big storylines and feuds.
Of course, it won’t be for everyone, but if you’re a collector or you simply want to relive the year that was 2017 in WWE, then this is a damn fine collection with plenty of great matches.
“Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2017” actually speaks volumes about how good the in-ring action was in 2017 that there could have been many other matches that would have slotted in nicely on this DVD; as it is, though, it’s still a really enjoyable set.
Grab a copy of WWE’s “BEST PAY-PER-VIEW MATCHES 2017”DVD…
– UK/Europe: RIGHT NOW! Get your “BEST PPV” DVD right now on Amazon.co.uk.
– United States: TOMORROW! Get your “BEST PPV” DVD very soon here on Amazon.com.
– Australia: February 21st. Your pre-order opportunity is available at Madman.com.au.
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Anyone happen to contact Amazon about the listing? I see they’ve put up the digital download, but not the physical copy. Hope this doesn’t turn into a trend.
The biggest shame is that there’s no hardy boyz in this set or on the best of raw and Smackdown live DVD even the festival of friendship wasn’t on the DVD
While their return was fun, I’m not sure The Hardys have really had any of the best matches this year as such. But yes, much like with Undertaker, I’m surprised WWE didn’t put a Hardys match on there just to slap their images on the cover.
I’m an Undertaker mark. Typically my comments include him in some way shape ot form. But in all complete honesty while I’d love to see him on this set, his small 2017 run only involved cutting promos, chokeslam, staredown, a very short time in RR match and not the best match at WM33 or his career. That’s not his fault or Roman’s fault either. Fact is 2017 has had better matches than Taker vs Reigns and Taker has had better years regardless of how long his wrestling runs were during those better years. No I’m not saying he should call it a career. That’s his choice and his choice only. He’s done so much and been around so long that I can’t and won’t think of counting him out.
I do however respect and appreciate the efforts of a broken hip Undertaker and Roman Reigns. The match I don’t think was better than people say it was. I still believe Taker’s worst WM match was vs Giant Gonzalez at WM9 and vs King Kong Bundy at WM11. Not vs Reigns at WM33.
It certainly is a shame that they always miss the last two PPVs of the year off these releases, more so this year as Brock / AJ would have been a shoe-in for this set otherwise. Maybe it will be a selling point for the AJ DVD later in the year.
I would love to know what in this above message warrants a thumbs down, lol. No flaming, no insults, no negativity, and even a bit of positivity at the end. Baffling.
There’s trolls that come on here for no other reason than to just leave thumbs down votes. It bothered me at first, but now I try to get as many thumbs down as possible. Come on, people. Let’s get this comment the most thumbs down ever. #TrollingTheTrolls
Does the Cena vs the Miz match really need to be on this set? I mean really? That match wasn’t very good at all and doesn’t belong on any best of set whatsoever in my opinion. And if this is on here just because of his proposal at the end that’s a little silly. Everybody knew it was going to happen. It was no suprise to anyone. Just don’t think this match was anywhere close to being one of best of the year. Sorry
Agreed, I am surprised the Taker / Reigns match isn’t on instead. I mean it sucked, but it’s the only way Taker’s face could’ve been on the cover to attract the casual buyer. I’m surprised WWE would’ve passed that opportunity up.
Reigns vs. Taker at WM33 wasn’t really that good so I could see why WWE didn’t want to include it, probably just want to erase it as a terrible way to supposedly end Taker’s career. Rumors are seems like WWE are trying to right that wrong with the possible Taker vs. Cena match at WM34 being Taker’s last. Sources say Taker is making an appearance at RAW 25 announcing his retirement which brings out Cena to force him into one last match at WM.
I like Reigns but he just couldn’t carry Taker, and unfortunately Taker looked like in a lot of pain and was sluggish. Cena i believe would be able to carry Taker to a great match.
I have to agree. It’s hard for anybody new to break through when an hour of time at ‘Mania is still going to The Undertaker every year (including his entrances / exits and match time). And no new star is going to be made from the rumoured Cena / Taker match this year, though I’m sure that will monopolise a hefty chunk of the show!
Though it wasn’t a great year storyline-wise, I do think this was one of the best years for actual matches. So much so that I purchased all of the PPVs on DVD, which I haven’t done since the mid-00’s. So I will probably skip this one, unless I find a deep discount somewhere down the line.
Well it exists or we wouldn’t have comments like from Timothy below, the photos last week or this review 🙂 Hang on for Amazon, I’m sure WWE or Warner Bros will sort it out.
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This DVD is not that good. How come Triple H vs Seth Rollins WM33 match wasn’t on this disc
Anyone happen to contact Amazon about the listing? I see they’ve put up the digital download, but not the physical copy. Hope this doesn’t turn into a trend.
These people on here thinking there little thumbs down hurt save your energy
The biggest shame is that there’s no hardy boyz in this set or on the best of raw and Smackdown live DVD even the festival of friendship wasn’t on the DVD
While their return was fun, I’m not sure The Hardys have really had any of the best matches this year as such. But yes, much like with Undertaker, I’m surprised WWE didn’t put a Hardys match on there just to slap their images on the cover.
I’m an Undertaker mark. Typically my comments include him in some way shape ot form. But in all complete honesty while I’d love to see him on this set, his small 2017 run only involved cutting promos, chokeslam, staredown, a very short time in RR match and not the best match at WM33 or his career. That’s not his fault or Roman’s fault either. Fact is 2017 has had better matches than Taker vs Reigns and Taker has had better years regardless of how long his wrestling runs were during those better years. No I’m not saying he should call it a career. That’s his choice and his choice only. He’s done so much and been around so long that I can’t and won’t think of counting him out.
I do however respect and appreciate the efforts of a broken hip Undertaker and Roman Reigns. The match I don’t think was better than people say it was. I still believe Taker’s worst WM match was vs Giant Gonzalez at WM9 and vs King Kong Bundy at WM11. Not vs Reigns at WM33.
I definitely agree about The Hardyz though.
Agree. Thought the Iron Man tag team match was top notch. Still, a good list of matches.
It certainly is a shame that they always miss the last two PPVs of the year off these releases, more so this year as Brock / AJ would have been a shoe-in for this set otherwise. Maybe it will be a selling point for the AJ DVD later in the year.
I would love to know what in this above message warrants a thumbs down, lol. No flaming, no insults, no negativity, and even a bit of positivity at the end. Baffling.
There’s trolls that come on here for no other reason than to just leave thumbs down votes. It bothered me at first, but now I try to get as many thumbs down as possible. Come on, people. Let’s get this comment the most thumbs down ever. #TrollingTheTrolls
I just gave you one, lol. Nothing personal you understand; purely because you wanted it. 🙂
Much appreciated
Does the Cena vs the Miz match really need to be on this set? I mean really? That match wasn’t very good at all and doesn’t belong on any best of set whatsoever in my opinion. And if this is on here just because of his proposal at the end that’s a little silly. Everybody knew it was going to happen. It was no suprise to anyone. Just don’t think this match was anywhere close to being one of best of the year. Sorry
Agreed, I am surprised the Taker / Reigns match isn’t on instead. I mean it sucked, but it’s the only way Taker’s face could’ve been on the cover to attract the casual buyer. I’m surprised WWE would’ve passed that opportunity up.
Reigns vs. Taker at WM33 wasn’t really that good so I could see why WWE didn’t want to include it, probably just want to erase it as a terrible way to supposedly end Taker’s career. Rumors are seems like WWE are trying to right that wrong with the possible Taker vs. Cena match at WM34 being Taker’s last. Sources say Taker is making an appearance at RAW 25 announcing his retirement which brings out Cena to force him into one last match at WM.
I like Reigns but he just couldn’t carry Taker, and unfortunately Taker looked like in a lot of pain and was sluggish. Cena i believe would be able to carry Taker to a great match.
Taker should stay away. All these matches involving legends at Mania killed the careers of Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt and a few others.
I have to agree. It’s hard for anybody new to break through when an hour of time at ‘Mania is still going to The Undertaker every year (including his entrances / exits and match time). And no new star is going to be made from the rumoured Cena / Taker match this year, though I’m sure that will monopolise a hefty chunk of the show!
Though it wasn’t a great year storyline-wise, I do think this was one of the best years for actual matches. So much so that I purchased all of the PPVs on DVD, which I haven’t done since the mid-00’s. So I will probably skip this one, unless I find a deep discount somewhere down the line.
It’s still not on Amazon for the United States this release has to be a joke.
I ordered my copy the third and it came today via Best Buy. I’d go that route if you can.
Oh I ordered it through best buy to and they lost it figures
So an update received my copy in the mail thursday
Well it exists or we wouldn’t have comments like from Timothy below, the photos last week or this review 🙂 Hang on for Amazon, I’m sure WWE or Warner Bros will sort it out.