WWE Survivor Series 2017: AJ Styles, The Shield and Biggest Winners and Losers

Braun Strowman, AJ Styles and The Shield were among the big winners at the 2017 Survivor Series, an event that showcased some extraordinary talents but in the end, wound up the breeding ground for yet another McMahon family soap opera.

Those Superstars waded through the creative muck late in the show to enjoy fruitful nights.

Not everyone was quite so lucky.

Becky Lynch, Bayley and The Miz all suffered from disappointing booking, their characters and credibility done a great disservice early in Sunday's broadcast.

On a night that starts the long, arduous journey to WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, the aforementioned Superstars stood out for all the right, and wrong, reasons.

Delve deeper into their nights and find out why they earned the recognition they did with this recap of Sunday's extravaganza.

Winner: AJ Styles

There was no question about AJ Styles' greatness heading into Survivor Series. He is, arguably, the best professional wrestler in the world. Sunday night, he strengthened his claim to that title, delivering the best match on the pay-per-view card with universal champion Brock Lesnar.

Styles worked overtime, taking some serious bumps off enormous suplexes from The Beast Incarnate and selling his stiff and unforgiving offense. But The Phenomenal One got his own stuff in, delivering a slew of Phenomenal Forearms, a springboard 450 and his trademark Calf Crusher as he sought to upset the destructive force that is Lesnar.

While he ultimately lost the match, the contest was laid out and booked in a manner in which Styles was portrayed as a legitimate threat to Lesnar. He looked like a Superstar who could defeat The Beast Incarnate, despite the size and strength differential.

It was, in many ways, the most significant performance of his WWE career to date.

Before, we knew he was a world-class competitor capable of hanging with John Cena and winning WWE Championships.

After Sunday night, we know WWE officials see him as a Superstar worth investing in and booking as strongly as he was against the biggest box-office attraction the company has to offer.

Losers: Becky Lynch and Bayley

The two most surprising eliminations of the Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown women's match Sunday night occurred early on as both Becky Lynch and Bayley were dismissed in mere minutes.

Two of the storied Four Horsewomen, not to mention two of the best female wrestlers under the WWE umbrella, were eliminated without pomp or circumstance, signifying just how far they have fallen in the year since last year's show.

Lynch, in particular, has become something of an afterthought on the Tuesday not roster. That is a shame considering she is, arguably, the best worker on that show. Her connection with the audience is strong and the marketability of her steampunk look should make her an invaluable piece of the roster.

Instead, she has been overshadowed and undervalued by management.

Bayley, on the other hand, has had everything charming and enjoyable about her character stripped away to the point that she is just another face in a crowded women's roster. Constantly losing and underdeveloped, she has had her relationship with the audience strained by a writing team that has zero clue as to what made her so beloved during her time in NXT.

Another loss, to Tamina Snuka of all Superstars, does her no favors.

The treatment of those two women Sunday night stood out from an otherwise OK match.

Winner: Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman continues to be one of the most intriguing and engrossing characters on the WWE roster. While he was his typical destructive self throughout the main event of Sunday's pay-per-view, it was what happened after the match that earned his status as one of the biggest winners from the Survivor Series spectacular.

Confused by the betrayal of general manager Kurt Angle by Triple H, then the revelation that The Game just wanted to pin brother-in-law Shane McMahon himself, Strowman stood with a dumbfounded look on his face as The Cerebral Assassin celebrated his victory.

After figuring out that he had been played like the rest of the WWE Universe, he issued a stern warning to his superior, complete with his hand around the COO's throat.

When Triple H made the unfortunate mistake of a sneak attack, Strowman obliterated him with two straight powerslams and ripped the Raw shirt from his own chest, signifying that he belongs to only one team: Team Strowman.

The question now is whether or not The Monster Among Men becomes the main foil to The Authority.

The booking of Sunday's match suggests Angle will eventually be at odds with The Game, but could Strowman take on the role of anti-Authority antihero?

It remains to be seen, but after a stunning close to the show in which Strowman was the last man standing, it seems as though the big man is poised to take on a more defined role as a fan-favorite on Mondays.

Loser: The Miz

The Miz was fueled by rage over SmackDown Superstar Baron Corbin's comments about his wife, Maryse, and their unborn child. That should have been enough to bring out an aggressive and intense side of the intercontinental champion we have never seen before.

Instead, fans bore witness to the same Miz they see every Monday night on Raw.

There was no sense of urgency, no real rage or fury directed toward Corbin. Instead, they wrestled a perfectly acceptable match that would not be out of place on either Raw or SmackDown. While the quality of the match was a nice surprise, the inability to channel his rage during the match hurt the overall presentation and made it feel more like filler than an actual grudge match.

That Miz lost after two straight months of some of his finest work only further solidified his status as one of the biggest losers from Sunday's show.

Winners: The Shield

The Shield returned to Survivor Series, the event they debuted at some five years earlier, and defeated The New Day in an explosive opener.

Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins knocked off Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in a match that started too slow but picked up exponentially by the end, concluding with a visually stunning super triple powerbomb from the top rope to Kingston.

The Shield looked like the dominant force they once were, though with new elements added in.

Each Superstar hit their signature stuff and brought to the match their own unique personalities, which they have spent the time since their breakup in 2014 developing and perfecting.

The crowd was hot for them and greeted their victory with a massive pop, suggesting the reunion is working.

It should be interesting to see what course the trio takes next and whether or not Big E's vision about them turning against each other ahead of WrestleMania season rings true or not.