A quick review of the most historic TLC event ever.
Here are my thoughts from the WWE's fifth annual TLC event live from the Toyota Center in Houston, TX:
3-On-1 Handicap match: CM Punk vs. The Shield (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose) - This was just about as good as I expected to be, but it won't be on anyone's list of the best matches of the year. You pretty much get everyone hitting their usual spots with some nice teases at future matchups. Punk vs. Rollins is on my short list right now. There was some further teasing of the inevitable Shield split. Reign's eventual face turn isn't as tantalizing as Batista's was during the final months of Evolution, but he's getting there.
Punk surprisingly defeats The Shield after Roman Reigns accidentally Spears Ambrose, effectively costing his team the win. [***1/4]
Divas Championship match: AJ Lee(c) vs. Natalya - Nattie (who was fresh off of a spectacular showing against NXT Divas Champion Paige) has arguably, more momentum than any other WWE diva right now and this is a match Ive wanted to see since AJ won the title over 180 days prior. I'm pleased to say that these two lived up to my expectations and gave us what could very well be the best divas match (aside from NXT) of the entire year. My only complaint is that this match was only six minutes long and you couldn't help but feel as if they had only scratched the surface of how great this matchup really could have been.
AJ retains via. roll-up pin. [***]
Intercontinental Championship match: Big E Langston(c) vs. Damien Sandow - This was pretty much a nothing match. Not any different from a midcard match you'd find on an episode of Monday Night Raw. Not great, not terrible, but it'll be forgotten by next year.
Big E Langston def. Damien Sandow with the Big Ending. [**]
Fatal-4-Way Elimination match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: The Rhodes Bros. (Cody Rhodes & Goldust)(c) vs. Big Show & Rey Mysterio vs. The Real Americans (Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro) vs. Rybaxel (Curtis Axel & Ryback) - I was very disappointed to see The Usos were not included in this match as I feel they would have brought in much more excitement than Rybaxel (ugh). Still, given the dynamic of two "good guy" vs two "bad guy" teams, I can see what they were going for here. In all honesty, I was pretty bored with this match until the final minutes between The Rhodes' and Show/Mysterio. That bit of action was absolutely fantastic. And regardless of the skeptics, I think it's safe to say that the WWE's tag division is BACK! One of the better matches of the night.
The Rhodes Bros. pick up the win after Cody hits the Cross Rhodes on Mysterio. [***1/2]
R-Truth w/Xavier Woods vs. Brodus Clay w/Tensai & The Funkadactyls - Meh, this was another match I could have done without. I really have zero interest in a Brodus Clay heel turn right now. I'll really be amazed if he can somehow become a convincing monster again, but I'm not holding my breath.
R-Truth gets the win here with a roll-up. [*]
No DQ match: The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston - I'm still confused as to whether or not we're supposed to be booing The Miz at this point. Regardless, this little rivalry has actually been rather good. Kudos to these guys to be able to generate the amount of interest they had going in while being given so little to work with. That being said, I found their match at the Survivor Series pre-show to be far better than this one. And given the "boring" chants, I'd say the crowd wasn't too high on it either. Ah well.
Kofi picks up the win after Trouble In Paradise. [**]
3-On-1 Handicap match: Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Eric Rowan) - For my money, this was the most fun match of the night. With how little Wyatt wrestles, it really adds much more spectacle any time he steps foot into the ring. I was instantly captivated by the dynamic between him and Bryan and perhaps it's why I found this match tremendously enjoyable. I would give this one a recommendation regardless of your entanglement into the storyline. This was Bray Wyatt's coming out party on the main roster match-wise.
Bray Wyatt gets the pin over Bryan after Sister Abigail. [***3/4]
TLC match both the World Heavyweight & WWE Championships: WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. World Heavyweight Champion John Cena - I have a lot of mixed emotions with this match. I do feel that the right man won, but I can't help but feel a bit slighted for some reason. I don't know if it's because Orton has been such a dick lately & that it's hard to be happy for the guy or if I feel let down with the match as a whole. Don't get me wrong, I really felt that both men gave a great effort here, but Triple H had put an impossible amount of hype on these two going into this and dammit if I wasn't drinking just a little bit too much of his Kool-Aid. Perhaps in retrospect, this match will go on to be much more appreciated because I can't really put my feelings on this into words. I do believe it was a terrific match and on any other TLC event, I would have likely been raving over it, but the greatest match of all time? I don't think so (hell, this wasn't even the greatest match of the year). That being said, I would give this a solid recommendation.
Randy Orton defeats John Cena to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion after nearly 25 minutes of action. [****]
Overall PPV Score: 7/10
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