Well, here we are again with a WWE recap. TLC had very little build, coming only 3 weeks after the Survivor Series PPV. On the preshow, they said that the only place to watch TLC is on the network. Are they not releasing the events on traditional PPV anymore? I always watch on Network anyway, so I haven’t actually looked into buying a PPV in close to 6 years now, but I did think they were still offering them on PPV. Anyway. On to the matches
1. Humberto Carillo defeats Andrade via pinfall. I didn’t see the whole match due to some TV problems on my end. I saw broken parts and the finish. What I saw looked really good. But I won’t give it a grade since I didn’t see all of it.
2. New Day defeats The Revival in a ladder match. Really good match all around. They didn’t try to do too much, which is always a possibility in these type matches (we’ll get to that in a bit). The one spot where they broke the ladder looked really bad and they went right back to it. Then Dawson got dropped on the ladder, which I suspect wasn’t supposed to happen. Really good stuff here. 4 stars
3. Aleister Black defeats Buddy Murphy via pinfall. Another solid match. My live rating for this match wasn’t great, but I checked it out again quickly, and it’s impressive. I like how Black’s finish is protected and he hit the finish quickly. Probably the most traditional match on the card. 4 stars
4. Viking Raiders and TBD went to a double countout. TBD in this case was the OC, Gallows and Anderson. Karl Anderson, I learned recently, was originally billed as part of the Anderson Family, you know the one…Ole and Gene and Arn. Explaining that is probably more highlight than this match provided. There were 4 people at ringside eating fried chicken and sides from KFC, and a giant KFC tablecloth. Or course someone (Anderson) was put through the table. Terrible match. 1.5 stars
5. King Corbin defeated Roman Reigns via pinfall. Let’s see, it took 6 throne carriers, The Revival, Dolph Ziggler, and Corbin to beat Roman. Last time I recall seeing something like that was the 1994 Royal Rumble with The Undertaker. This match needed an undertaker. 1 star
6. Bray Wyatt defeats The Miz via pinfall. What are they trying to do with Wyatt? He’s obviously popular with the crowd. But his matches have been terrible. Nothing to make anyone really care. At least the red lights weren’t on with this one. But why did Bray were the sweater? I don’t get it. The match was mercifully the shortest match on the show. 1 star.
7. Bobby Lashley defeats Rusev in a tables match. The highlight of the match was the first table completely no-selling and not breaking when Lashley tried to suplex Rusev through it. At least Lashley was sensible enough to pick him up and throw him straight through the other one. This match went 13 minutes and felt like 13 days. Rusev, who I guess is the babyface, failed to win, so does that mean we have to keep seeing more of this? I hope not. If I wanted to see two men fight over a manipulative woman (as she’s portrayed on TV, I’m sure she’s a fine person in real life) I’d just go back home and see my old buddy Jeffro down at the Willis Mobile Home Park. We could sit on his porch and have a beverage, reminisce about the old times and watch the spectacle. At least those guys fighting would be real. 0 stars
8. Kabuki Warriors defeated Becky Lynch and Charlotte in a TLC match. The second TLC match on the card…but the first one ended in a pinfall, which says a lot about this whole PPV. This was probably the match of the night, but they tried to do too much. Charlotte might have been legitimately injured after taking a powerbomb from the top rope to the floor through a table; I’ll wait on the report about that. Becky was tied to a ladder. They all did huge more after huge move after huge move. The only thing that held the match together was the huge star power of Becky and Charlotte and the great charisma from the Kabuki women. Asuka didn’t use the mist and that was about the only thing that wasn’t used. They used shinais, a fire extinguisher, a commentators chair, and just about everything else around ringside. It was a good match, but they just did too much and not enough of it was with the intention of getting up the ladder to get the belts. That said, it was a good match and a fitting end to WWE PPVs for 2019, though it could have been a little better with Becky winning since she’s the most over person in the whole company right now. 4 stars.
And so ends the last PPV of the decade. Three matches were great and 4 matches really sucked. I’m tempted to say this is the worst PPV of the decade but as I’m typing this, I remember that John Laurinitis was in the main event of a show back in 2012, so maybe it wasn’t. Surely it’s the worst for 2019. Not a great end to the year for big shows. Overall grade: C-
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