The War Report - March 03, 2021: SHAQUILLE O’NEAL

Wins don't matter in WWE, so why am I bothering to this article? It's simple, it's because they still matter to me, dammit!

Road Dogg once infamously said that victories don't mean a thing in wrestling because what we're seeing inside the ring isn't real competition. I don't know about you, but I laughed when I first saw those tweets of his and I still laugh now.

Of course WWE isn't real competition, but it's certainly simulated combat presented as if it were real. Why would fans be invested if there was no difference between their favourite Superstar winning and the implications of them losing? Why would wrestlers get in the ring and battle for championships if wins and losses didn't matter and all places on the card paid the same? Surely instead of simulating combat as if it were real and killing themselves by doing so, they'd see who could hop for the longest amount of time or something... it'd be far less painful. There are way more questions I could pose here but I really don't need to. You know the score here. Dogg's standpoint still baffles me, as I'm sure it does you.

Despite the SmackDown Live head honchos' opinion, there are still those stars who are booked incredibly strong on a week-to-week basis. For me, winning plays a big part in building a star. I reckon that if Stone Cold or The Rock lost just as much as they won back in 1997, neither man would have gone on to become the megastar they became.

Here are the 10 best win percentages in WWE throughout the entirety of 2017... And sorry to Nikki Bella (94.7% wins) but we're only including those Superstars who wrestled over 20 matches last year. It would be unfair to do otherwise. Thanks to Stefan Gorges of the

for collating these statistics.

10. R-Truth (84%)

Yes, this is a thing that actually happened last year. I know, I can't believe it either.

Thank goodness for house shows, hey? If they didn't exist then you'd have to believe R-Truth would have been struggling to reach eight matches throughout the entirety of 2017, never mind winning 84% of his 83 bouts during the last 12 months.

On television, well, we didn't see much of Truth. This will please some of you, while it will upset others. However, despite this lack of TV time - much of it down to shoulder troubles later in the year -  it was still a pretty monumental year for R-Trizzle as The Golden Truth tandem with Goldust came to a bitter end.

The likes of Truth play a pretty integral role for WWE. Superstars of his ilk are light relief, dare I say comedy, and are often booked to get a crowd-popping win early on in a house show. Got to send the fans home happy now, haven't we? And who doesn't love a good sing-song? Well done on a great year, Truth.

9. Kairi Sane (84.4%)

The Mae Young Classic winner wrestled more times for WWE than you would have imagined during the course of 2017.

Sane won 27 of her 35 matches last year, with a large chunk of them taking place in the MYC and on NXT house shows. A lack of television time hasn't stopped The Pirate Princess from making significant waves on the yellow brand as she took part in the Women's Championship match at TakeOver: WarGames - where Ember Moon came out on top in a match that also featured Nikki Cross and Peyton Royce.

It certainly looks like the impressive win percentage Sane achieved last year will be continuing in 2018, with a big push and strong performance in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match seemingly on the horizon.

8. Naomi (84.9%)

If 2016 was a breakout year for Naomi then 2017 was the year where she proved she's bonafide top-tier talent on SmackDown Live.

The gimmick tweak that saw her start to dress in neon colours has worked, and then some. As well as ending a prolonged period of inconsistency and a considerably sized streak of being passed around unsuccessful acts, Naomi exceeded expectations by capturing SD Live Women's Championship gold in February by defeating Alexa Bliss at Elimination Chamber - becoming the first African American lady to capture the title.

Injuries - both legit and kayfabe - really hampered the rest of Naomi's year, but at least she managed to win her title back in her hometown at WrestleMania 33. She ended the year with 107 wins from her 127 matches, losing only 19.

7. Seth Rollins (85.2%)

2017 was a bit of a damp squib for Seth Rollins as a singles star. After losing his spot in the Royal Rumble to Sami Zayn, The Architect's feud with Triple H was ramped up and culminated in a match at WrestleMania 33 that had no rules - despite this, Rollins decided not to use the flaming stick he had for his entrance to his advantage. He would have saved himself a lot of trouble, I'm sure you will agree.

After a brief feud with Samoa Joe - The Samoan Submission Machine injuring Seth's leg earlier in the year, of course - things really started to pick with that 'will they won't they' storyline with Dean Ambrose. Spoiler: they did. Dean got off the plane.

With a common enemy in The Miztourage getting on everybody's nerves, three-and-a-bit years after disbanding, The Shield got back together. Everyone was happy, even those male smarks who boo anything and everything just because they're cool like that.

The Hounds Of Justice were booked as strong as they ever were, Kurt Angle became the world's happiest dad to win a father son fancy dress competition at TLC and everybody had a great time. All of this joy and soggy hair contributed to two tag team title reigns for Rollins - one with current love interest Jason Jordan - and 127 wins from 150 matches.

Quite a year, under the circumstances.

6. Dean Ambrose (85.7%)

He might have lost his crown of WWE's bonafide Iron Man to Jimmy Uso recently, but that didn't stop Dean Ambrose from having a mightily impressive 2017.

The Lunatic Fringe was an ever-present once again until a triceps injury suffered on the December 18 episode of Raw ruled him out for nine months. He was able to cram 169 matches into last year, winning 144 of them.

After a 27-minute stint in the Royal Rumble and an appearance in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match, Ambrose's year was about four main feuds. The first with Baron Corbin (including an attempted murder by the Lone Wolf with a forklift), a seemingly never-ending series of matches with The Bar alongside Seth Rollins, The Miz, and The Miz and The Miztourage and their pals as part of the Sheild.

Plenty of entertaining matches, but an absolute sickener to round off the year. It's going to be interesting to see what kind of Dean Ambrose we get when he eventually returns with rumours of a massive heel turn already circulating.

5. Roman Reigns (86.6%)

You what? You're shocked this isn't 100%!? Oh, you...

Despite still being Vince McMahon's golden goose, Roman Reigns lost a staggering 18 matches during the course of 2017. This is a statistic dwarfed by 116 wins, but still, that's more losses than I thought he'd have.

With the likes of Samoa Joe proving to be his equal in the ring, the latter part of 2017 has seen Reigns brought back down to earth a bit after a silly start to the year. I know you're still trying to forget that number 30 entrance in the Royal Rumble after competing for the Universal Championship earlier in the night, but I have to mention it. That felt like WWE were rubbing our faces in it at the time, but actually proved to be an effective tool to make Randy Orton's win feel better than it was.

At the end of the day though, Roman Reigns seemingly retired The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. There's no real point in mentioning the rest of his year because it doesn't get any better than that. It's something he'll be able to dine out on for the rest of his life.

He won more than he lost. Arguably the most popular team of the decade got back together of which he is a part of. It's been another good year for The Big Dog, so good for him.

4. Finn Balor (88.9%)

The fourth most wins in the company last year and he

still

isn't over? And you don't see countless message boards on the internet bemoaning the fact he's shoved down our throats despite the fact he isn't? There's something not right here...

(he is over)

Because of the injury suffered at SummerSlam 2016, Finn's 2017 didn't start until late February when he assisted Shinsuke Nakamura in a battle against Bobby Roode and Andrade "Cien" Almas. He took part in a few house matches over the next month or so before making his television return on the Raw after WrestleMania 33.

Since then, it's all been a bit 'meh' for the leader of the Balor Club. He's had fleeting feuds with the likes of Bray Wyatt and Elias, and came within touching distance of the Universal Championship at Extreme Rules. He still managed to win 112 from 127 matches last year though...

I suppose we have his surprise match with AJ Styles at TLC and the reformation of his version of Bullet Club to savour - and the fact we didn't actually get to see The Demon take on Wyatt... it would have been awful, I think we're all in agreement on that. But I look back on the cancellation of that match with a hint of sadness. It would have been like driving past a pretty hefty car crash. You know you shouldn't look, but you do anyway. Oh well...

3. Drew McIntyre (89.9%)

You look at the likes of Baron Corbin making waves on the main roster while Drew McIntyre is down in NXT and all you can do is sit back and scratch your head. He's the complete package, and is enjoying the kind of success his hard work over the three years prior to his re-signing deserves.

Despite severely injuring his bicep in the match against Andrade "Cien" Almas at TakeOver: WarGames, it looked like the finish went as planned. You'd have to believe that without the NXT Championship, Drew would have been promoted to the main roster. I'm not saying he's wasted in NXT, I'm just saying he's capable of doing his thing on a far larger scale.

I believe the reactions he received while he was champion proves he's a main roster talent. That's not because they were deafening, quite the opposite. Look at the likes of Elias thriving on Raw after doing nothing in the yellow brand to see what I mean here. While the likes of Adam Cole and Tommy Aleister End Black are what those Full Sail crowds crave, McIntyre isn't. That's no knock on Drew, it's just a case of horses and particular courses.

So yes, he made it back to WWE, won the NXT Championship, lost the NXT Championship, and suffered a pretty big injury. Taking the sour ending out of the equation it was a fantastic year for Drew, who won 62 of 69 matches wrestled for his new employers.

2. Aleister Black (91.6%)

Aleister Black is a cool cat, isn't he? He's a cool cat who had arguably the biggest year of his storied career in 2017.

After a shocking appearance at the United Kingdom Championships in a showcase match with Neville at the very start of the year, Black finally made his televised NXT debut at TakeOver: Orlando, capturing the imagination with one of the best entrances in the company today. It's worth noting he defeated Andrade "Cien" Almas in that match - the current NXT Champion.

After that, 2017 was a tale of two main rivals for Black, winning the respect game against Hideo Itami before giving Velveteen Dream the respect he deserved by finally

saying his name

at TakeOver: Wargames.

This Superstar has been simmering for long enough now. I think it's time we brought him to the boil.

While the majority of his matches came at NXT house shows, Aleister still managed to win 87 of 95 matches throughout 2017. With his feet well under the table after a pretty prolonged period of settling into life in Orlando, you'd expect The Dutch Destroyer to win numerous championships - whether they be in NXT or on the main roster - over the next 12 months.

1. Asuka (97.9%)

Quelle surprise, as the French would say. Asuka didn't win every single one of her matches in 2017 as two of the 94 were ruled no contests. That's still a pretty decent record though...

There isn't too much to say here other than this is a very impressive woman doing very impressive things. While a select number of Superstars came sorta close to ending her record-breaking undefeated streak, it was never really under any real threat. It'll be interesting if things get ROWDY with Asuka as 2018 rolls on...

That was terrible, I know. But Ronda Rousey is surely the women to end the streak, isn't she?