Monday, December 17, 2012

Some Thoughts From TLC



HO-LEE SHIT!!!  That was one hell of a night!!!  Check after the jump for some of my thoughts on what will go down as possibly the best TLC event to date!


The Shield Of Awesome


Okay, I have to start of by saying what a hell of a thrill ride the Six-Man Tag TLC match was.  The Sheild are now officially three of the reasons to watch the WWE and they were easily the most exciting part of last night's show. 

Each member played their role to perfection. With Reigns as the brooding powerhouse, Rollins as the high flying daredevil and Ambrose being the sick freak that we've all come to love.  The resulting dynamic between the three is something fresh and unique to any stable we've seen in a long, long time and tonight they went out there and tore the house down in a match that will become even more significant with each members individual successes.   

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Dean Ambrose is an amazing talent.  The guy just "gets it" and his facial expressions are some of the best in the biz.  Everyone knows how good he is, same goes for Rollins, who took some incredible bumps in this one, but the breakout star of the group has to be Roman Reigns for the simple fact that no one really saw him coming.  

Reigns has all the tools to be a top draw for the WWE someday and his calm and soft-spoken demeanor is a brilliant contrast to his intensity in the ring.  He reminds me a lot of Batista in that manner and I make that comparison being a huge fan of The Animal. 

I can't praise enough how truly awesome they all looked tonight and this match may not win any Match Of The Year honors, but it's now my personal favourite.  I can't put into words how excited and on the edge of my seat I was through the whole thing and it's a high I'm still feeling now several hours later. 

I loved Ryback and Kane being taken out to leave Daniel Bryan to fend for himself against these three rabid dogs.  Bryan's HBK-esque never-say-die attitude made for some awesome moments and the white hot crowd made every spot memorable.  This is the type of impact you need your young stars to make to establish themselves in the sea of sharks that is the WWE. 

Everything about this match was flawless from the brutality, to the spots, to the booking it was the best WWE TLC match I've seen since the Hardyz/Dudleyz/E & C era.  Like those matches, you could feel that special vibe in the air and you just knew that everyone involved was going to benefit tremendously from this one.  Brilliant match.  Just wow.


Match Rating: ****3/4




Dolph Ziggler Wins Money In The Bank.....Again


The Ziggler/Cena match was noteworthy as well even though they had the unenviable task of following the amazing 6-man tag.  Ziggler came out of this match looking better than he has all year long and I think it's safe to say that finally he has cemented his main event status with the biggest win of his career.

AJ Lee continues to shock and awe as she has done tremendously all year and she is the most valuable woman in the sport right now bar none.  Few (if any) divas have ever had the air of unpredictability that she has and she's pretty much a lock to win the Divas title in the coming months. 

The whole affair was drama filled and they made the right call from a booking perspective as Cena never really needed a briefcase to begin with.  The Brooklyn audience was about 95% pro Ziggler and they brought it all through the match. 


Match Rating: ****





Some Other Thoughts


This was far from a two match show as the rest of the card was pretty solid.  Rhodes Scholars vs. Mysterio/Cara was a decent enough opener, Naomi made a surprising challenger to Eve's Divas Championship, Cesaro is still one of the WWE's brightest stars, the Barrett/Kingston match was as good as you'd expect it to be and the Big Show/Sheamus WHC battle was yet another high mark for both men this year.  Just a fantastic show from top to bottom.   What a hell of a way to end the year!

 
Overall PPV Score: 8/10

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