WWE Survivor Series 2017: Full Grades for Triple H, Brock Lesnar and Top Stars

The main event of WWE Survivor Series 2017 hung over the rest of the pay-per-view like a dark cloud following Sunday's show.

With Triple H, Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle three of the final four participants in the main event, fans will have been hard pushed not to feel like they had been whisked back to 2000, not 2017.

It's a shame that the ending was so controversial because Survivor Series on the whole was a thrilling pay-per-view.

There were bragging rights aplenty to be had, and some of Raw and SmackDown Live's biggest names did not disappoint.

Here are the grades for the biggest stars who competed at Survivor Series.

The Shield and The New Day

The Shield and The New Day were given the task of opening Survivor Series and kicking the show off with a bang.

They didn't disappoint.

It is great to see that, despite some fearing it wouldn't be the case, The Shield haven't missed a beat in getting back together. They look as great as they did three or four years ago, and they were the right choice to emerge as winners here.

But The New Day more than played their part in a great contest. Whether it was The New Day ganging up on one member of The Shield to try to take them out, or The Shield attacking Big E to weaken their opponents' biggest asset, it was a non-stop thrill ride.

Grades: The Shield A, The New Day A-

Asuka

Having Asuka be the sole survivor in the women's elimination match at Survivor Series felt like the most straightforward decision of the night.

Thankfully, WWE clearly felt the same.

The Empress of Tomorrow is growing into her position on the main roster, and her performance on Sunday night will give her some great momentum to move forward with.

She had some great spots and moments with stars like Carmella, really showing herself off as the most dominant female on the WWE roster right now.

That's exactly how she should be positioned after so long at the top in NXT. WWE should use that momentum to catapult her into a title match with Alexa Bliss sooner, rather than later.

Grade: B+

John Cena

John Cena's return to WWE to become the fifth member of SmackDown's team for Survivor Series should have been a much bigger deal than what it was.

Ultimately, the Cenation leader had a quiet night indeed at Survivor Series, and he didn't have much time to make an impact on the night.

He had a couple of trademark Cena spots, but Kurt Angle quickly eliminated him midway through the match.

That felt like the wrong way to use Cena. If the plan was for him to barely get any offense in and just be lost in the shuffle, it was pointless bringing him back.

This was an off night for Cena and an off night for his character's booking.

Grade: D

Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles

There was little doubting what the standout bout of Survivor Series 2017 was, and both Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles deserve huge credit for their part in it.

Fans were quietly confident that Styles could pull the very best out of Lesnar, and The Beast Incarnate himself certainly didn't disappoint.

The match was told beautifully, too. Styles was dominated in the early stages of the match and it looked like it would be an easy night's work for Lesnar.

However, Styles is made of sterner stuff than that. He bounced back and not only impressed, but left fans genuinely believing he was about to make Brock tap out in the closing stages.

Ultimately, Lesnar had enough to put Styles away. But fans certainly wouldn't be disappointed to see these two square off again.

Grades: Brock Lesnar A-, AJ Styles A+

Triple H

WWE fans could have been forgiven for thinking they'd accidentally clicked onto a retrospective show on the WWE Network on Sunday rather than Survivor Series.

Three of the final four participants were part-time wrestlers, with Braun Strowman the only exception. That in itself was hugely disappointing, but what's worse was that one of them stood tall at the end.

It made sense for the seeds to be planted for a potential Triple H vs. Kurt Angle match at Survivor Series on Sunday. That much was fine, but WWE should have made sure the segment between the two happened much earlier in the piece.

Instead, Triple H hogged the limelight for way too long and, in the ring itself, there was very little for fans to get excited about in terms of his own performance.

How silent the crowd were after the match pretty much told that story.

Grade: C