Join “Big Natural” Stoney Keeley as he closes the book on 2017. We’ve looked at the best tag teams, rivalries, breakout superstars, and matches of 2017. Time to polish it off with the WWE’s top 10 superstars of the year. The criteria is an admittedly mixed hodgepodge of championship success, kayfabe prominence, and the body of work (quality matches, solid promos, and overall good booking).
Go ahead and get your collective eye roll out of the way, folks – Alexa Bliss deserves the recognition. She had a fucking killer 2017, plain and simple. There’s no other woman on the WWE roster who even comes close. @ me. I’ll be around. But, Little Miss Bliss stepped her game up like none other this year. I don’t actually think there’s a more improved wrestler on the WWE roster than Bliss.
And, she has the accolades to show it. I’m not crazy here, folks – Bliss won four Women’s Championships in 2017. I’m obviously not the only one in the world who has noticed her abilities. WWE has made her the cornerstone of the Raw Women’s Division.
She started the year off as the Smackdown Women’s Champion before losing the title to Naomi, and quickly winning it back after Naomi was forced to vacate the belt. Then, she moves over to Raw during the superstar shakeup or whatever that bullshit was called. Just when it looked like it was Bayley’s time to shine, Bliss comes in and steals the title from her. She would lose it later in the year to Sasha Banks, but win it back shortly after. All in all, that’s four Women’s Championships on the year. And, she became the first woman to win the Women’s Championship on Raw and Smackdown.
I hinted at this earlier, but I truly believe Bliss is the most improved superstar on the roster in 2017. Some will say she’s had some great dance partners, but we have to give her credit for being the constant across all of ’em. Her match with Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series may have been her best match on the main roster. She had a fantastic match with Mickie James at TLC. And, I’d say her match with Sasha Banks at Great Balls of Fire is one of the most underrated matches of the year.
I said earlier that she’s become the cornerstone of the Raw Women’s Division, which speaks to the faith WWE has in her and her emergence in the grand mythos of WWE. All in all, it’s the best body of work of any woman on the roster and it presents a pretty good case for ‘Superstar of the Year.’ And, if I didn’t bring it all together well enough for you, think about this….since winning her first Women’s Championship on December 4, 2016, Bliss has spent 352 days as Women’s Champion.
Amazing. Deal with it.
Championships Won: WWE Raw Women’s Championship (2x), WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship (2x)
Pay-per-view Record: (4-6)
Signature Matches: vs. Charlotte Flair (Survivor Series), vs. Sasha Banks (Great Balls of Fire), vs. Mickie James (TLC)
Signature Feuds: Naomi, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mickie James
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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