WWE SummerSlam 2017 Results: Ranking Fatal 4-Way and Every Match at PPV

WWE SummerSlam 2017 ran the gamut from cringe-inducing flops to spectacular displays of aggression.

Much of the undercard stumbled on the marathon pay-per-view. Rusev, Big Cass and The Hardy Boyz wrestled in matches that suffered from brevity, booking missteps or simply being boring.

Luckily, the night's top bouts mostly overshadowed SummerSlam's failures.

And it was in the most crowded rings that the most electricity crackled. Tag team bouts and a Fatal 4-Way match for the ages saved the show. When The New Day looked to fend off The Usos or Brock Lesnar fought to prevent three hosses from taking his Universal Championship, it truly felt like SummerSlam.

Based on the excitement of the action, the quality of the in-ring story and the amount of big, memorable moments, the following is a worst-to-first look at SummerSlam's card.

13. Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Randy Orton vs. Rusev officially lasted only seconds.

The Bulgarian Brute ambushed his foe before the bell. Once the bout actually began, Orton dodged Rusev, hit an RKO and ended the action in a blink of an eye.

For a match that felt like a means to push Rusev back into the spotlight, this was a major disappointment. Rusev looked like a chump here.

And where The Ultimate Warrior similarly crushed Honky Tonk Man in record time at SummerSlam 1988, that moment launched a rising star and crowned a new champ. The Viper vs. Rusev didn't accomplish anything but giving Orton another RKO to flash in his highlight reel.

The element of surprise was the only redeeming quality in a match that mostly made one stare at the screen in disbelief. 

12. The Miz and The Miztourage vs. Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz

Rusev vs. Orton was infuriating, whereas the pre-show six-man tag team match was forgettable.

This felt every bit like the replacement match it was. The Revival vs. The Hardy Boyz looked to be in the works until Scott Dawson tore his biceps tendon. WWE had to scramble and it did so here, tossing Matt and Jeff Hardy into a meaningless match with zero build.

The action was serviceable, but certainly not enough to make up for the lack of hype. 

The Miz not defending the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam was a head-scratcher. That would have at least given this some stakes to work with. 

It certainly didn't help that only a fraction of the crowd had arrived by the time this began. The wrestlers played out their drama to a mostly empty arena and earned minimal reaction has a result. 

11. Big Cass vs. Big Show

When the highlight of a match is a man stripping down to his boxers and oiling himself up, you know you don't have a classic on your hands.

Big Show and Big Cass plodded along in a collision that lacked spark. The methodical pace hurt the contest's energy. 

This was not the catapulting showcase one would have liked for Big Cass in his first SummerSlam solo showing. He underwhelmed here. And the crowd's apathy was a testament to that.

Amore spent much of the bout suspended in a shark cage. He barked from his temporary prison, adding quite the irritating soundtrack to the showdown. Him escaping via baby oil and near nudity was a funny, little moment.

That wasn't nearly enough to push this match any higher up the list, though.

10. John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

John Cena had been on a tear, delivering classics at SummerSlam against the likes of AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins. That run ended at this year's PPV with a thud.  

Cena showed off his goofy side here. He played with John "Bradshaw" Layfield's cowboy hat, sported a big grin and didn't match the intensity required of this story. 

Both he and Corbin have had far better performances. Little stood out here. Rich Kraetsch of Voices of Wrestling called it "a nothing match."

Plus, the manner in which Cena dispatched of Corbin so easily robbed The Lone Wolf of any momentum he may have had left after failing to win the WWE title days before when cashing in his Money in the Bank contract.

This was OK at best, which is enough to rank it higher than Big Cass vs. Big Show, which left one groaning.

9. Naomi vs. Natalya (SmackDown Women's Championship)

Natalya's victory over Naomi had a clear, engaging story. The challenger aggressively went after the champ, outworking her on the mat and overwhelming her with submission holds.

The technician ran over the natural athlete.

Their clash was solid. It didn't have a wealth of jaw-dropping moments, but it maintained a good energy as it went along, methodical pace and all.

The surprise of Natalya taking down Naomi to claim the SmackDown Women's Championship added to the bout. As did the prospect of the veteran gunslinger getting another tour as titleholder.

8. Akira Tozawa vs. Neville (Cruiserweight Championship)

Tozawa and Neville always have good chemistry.

They hit each other hard. They dart around the ring. The flow of their matches, including in this Cruiserweight Championship bout, is always engaging.

At SummerSlam, they didn't do anything we haven't seen in their previous encounters, though.

The first title change of many throughout the night didn't make much sense. Tozawa had only days before this won the title. The tale of him battling up the ranks to knock off the king was a far more enjoyable one than him stumbling in his first title defense.

That in part held the clash back from being one of the night's best. But on a PPV with so much filler and flops, it was easily better than much of the undercard.

7. Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Championship)

Shinsuke Nakamura gave Jinder Mahal one of his better matches to date.

The King of Strong Style's hard-hitting offense and electric charisma made for entertaining wrestling early on.

Nakamura's strike-heavy style and Mahal's more throwback, grinding approach meshed well together. This was a fresh matchup that clicked at times.

The finish was anti-climactic, though. And not only was it a flat apex to their battle, it was an unoriginal one.

Mahal's championship matches have all ended the same.

He looks to be close to defeat. The Singh Brothers interfere. He pounces. Rinse, repeat. 

6. Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

Finn Balor emerged as The Demon to take down Bray Wyatt.

The build had little teeth. The story of why these two are fighting in the first place leaves a lot to be desired.

But at SummerSlam, spectacle made up for some of that. Balor's entrance stood out as one of the more fun moments all night. As ProWrestling.net's Jason Powell noted: "The crowd was up for Balor's Demon persona and popped for the finish."

In the ring, Balor and Wyatt did well against each other, even if they didn't tear down the house. 

It would have been great to see WWE toy with the supernatural element of both characters more and make this a wilder, stranger affair. Still, it was one of the more solid offerings all night.

5. Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship)

The Raw Women's Championship felt unfinished. Banks and Bliss didn't push each other far enough. They didn't fully get to dive into their animosity, a result of an overpacked card.

The Boss and Bliss, though, had great chemistry.

Their bad blood was palpable. Their clash was nasty and vicious as both warriors' desire to win shone through the screen.

Banks and Bliss jelled better in the ring than Balor and Wyatt and many of the night's other pairs of rivals. The stakes were high and clear here. Banks scored an emphatic title win in a rivalry that feels as if it is just beginning to hit a high gear.

4. The New Day vs. The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Championship)

Never mind that The New Day vs. The Usos was on the pre-show. It felt like one of the most important matches of the entire event.

The two teams delivered once more. 

The Usos' aggressive, underhanded offense thrilled. Big E and Xavier Woods provided a ton of adrenaline for the bout. The rivals' back-and-forth battle whirred.

Convincing near-falls powered a bout that would have stolen the show on many a PPV. The tag team title bout, though, got edged out by referee-centered drama and another showing of tag team excellence.

3. AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens (United States Championship)

Styles and Owens had yet to fully thrive against each other, their previous battles not quite hitting their high points.

That changed at SummerSlam. The Phenomenal One and Owens had their best battle to date.

KO's frustration boiled over. Styles' athleticism thrilled. The opponents tapped into their chemistry more than they had previously.

The addition of Shane McMahon as referee bolstered the drama.

His presence added a reason for Owens to explode in anger. He nearly cost each man a victory. He was the source of great chaos and emotion.

And thanks to his issues with Owens, WWE came out of this with a prime time feud ready to go.

2. Cesaro and Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins (Raw Tag Team Title)

No match on the SummerSlam card satisfied emotionally like the Raw Tag Team Championship match.

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins' slow, hesitant reunion had been the best story going on Raw. Their unity against the champs stirred up memories of The Shield's heyday. Their victory was the natural climax to that tale.

Along the way, Ambrose and Rollins clicked extremely well with Cesaro and Sheamus.

A fast-paced match buzzed throughout. Ambrose gutted it out against the heels' bruising style. This was just as exciting as The New Day vs. The Usos, but with a bigger, more vocal crowd adding energy to it.

And as a bonus, Cesaro went into the crowd and tore up a beach ball in his hands. Consider that the icing on the cake. 

1. Universal Championship Fatal 4-Way Match

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe lived up to the massive hype.

The battle began with the four hosses smashing each other, obliterating their surroundings like Godzilla-sized monsters in the heart of Tokyo. By the end, ring steps were left bent, tables were destroyed and The Beast Incarnate charged back into the fray after being carried off on a stretcher.

And this was Strowman's latest star-making performance. He was the centerpiece of a collision for the ages.

As AV Club writer Matt Gerardi pointed out: "Braun Strowman looked like an absolute star here, destroying everyone and everything in sight to the roaring delight of the Brooklyn crowd."

This was exactly what it should have been, a foot-on-the-gas slobberknocker. 

Some fans will bemoan the fact that Lesnar retained and WWE didn't give Joe or Strowman their crowning moment. It's hard to get too down about that, though, when his victory was a part of a Match of the Year candidate. 

Without this Fatal 4-Way bout, SummerSlam would have felt like more of a bust, With it, the event felt more massive, more important and more memorable.