Going into the PPV, I didn’t exactly know what to expect out of a few of these matches. Some matches delivered, some didn’t do nearly what I expected. I feel like some matches deserved to have other stipulations attached to them, while others worked perfectly fine. All in all, it was a decent PPV, but it could’ve been quite a bit better. Below are the results of the TLC PPV.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match - Singles

Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander

I was expecting this later in the card, due to the marvelous show that the Cruiserweights have been putting on as of late. The last few they have actually been later in the card, but in this PPV they kicked off the pre-show. The match was a little over 10 minutes and they made the most of every second. Once again, they put on a good show, but in my opinion, it was lacking slightly, but I think it was because it was in the pre-show. Buddy Murphy retained the 205 Live belt and has been a great champion thus far. The Cruiserweights need to be showcased more, but for now, what they’re doing is working.

GRADE: 8/10

Ladder Match

Elias vs. Bobby Lashley

This match went about as I expected. It wasn’t an absolute train wreck, more like a three-car pile-up. It was the last match of the pre-show and I’m glad they didn’t put this on the main card. These guys aren’t ladder guys to start with and you put them in match where they’re grabbing a guitar? Come on now… The match had no flow and lasted just over 6 minutes. The biggest part of the match was reduced to a small screen as the match went on commercial break. There was absolutely nothing at stake here, except maybe a slight change in momentum for Elias. If they’re trying to build these two up, it isn’t working. I hope in the future, they can be put in better spots to succeed.

GRADE: 2.5/10

1. Mixed Match Challenge Finals

Carmella and R-Truth vs. Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal

The Mixed Match Challenge Finals kicked off the PPV and I was not really expecting that. It was entertaining in a sense, but the match quality was not good. It seems like Carmella and R-Truth really have a natural chemistry and I hope they continue to do spots moving forward. It was not a lengthy match and it shouldn’t have been. The two earned a spot at number 30 in the Royal Rumble next month, although if R-Truth would happen to even be close to winning, it would be awesome, but obviously that isn’t going to happen. Carmella probably has a shot of winning, but right now, nobody is expecting her to. This match was not great, because the MMC was not great, it’s just that simple. I’m not sure if we will see another season or not, but my guess is that we won’t.

GRADE: 4/10

2. SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match – Triple Threat

The Bar vs. The New Day vs. The Usos

I expected a decent showing out of these teams and that is exactly what we got. Nothing over the top, but it was just a good match to solidify the PPV flow going forward. The obvious choice in this one was The Bar, but my gut reaction was to pick The Usos. You can’t really go wrong with a title retain in this situation, because they haven’t held the title for very long, but these teams are honestly the best of the best in the WWE and personally I feel in this situation, if the title changes hands a few times within this group, it would make for a more exciting tag team division. Again, the match wasn’t outstanding, but it didn’t need to be. It did the trick.

GRADE: 6/10

3. TLC Match

Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin

I wasn’t sure about the status of this one heading into the PPV. Braun Strowman made his appearance, but did not fight in the match. Instead, he reiterated that a TLC match is a no DQ match and that if he brought backup, he couldn’t be disqualified. Apollo Crews, Finn Bálor, and the team of Chad Gable and Bobby Roode initially came to his aid. Heath Slater was the referee in this one and took off his ref shirt to join in the beating of the GM elect. This was wonderfully executed, and it got superstars that aren’t involved in bigger stories a chance to remind the WWE Universe that they can be relevant. Kurt Angle also made an appearance to show his displeasure for the Interim GM. After the beating, Slater put his shirt back on and started the match. Strowman pinned Corbin for the 3 count and the match was over. It wasn’t a match in the sense of a normal match, but it did the job and then some. Corbin has taken a lot of heat over the past few weeks, but that was the goal in mind. Obviously, the goal wasn’t for RAW to endure the worst stretch of their show’s history, but the goal was for him to be hated and they did their job and more with this. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens on RAW and Corbin’s role moving forward.

GRADE: 8.5/10

4. Women’s Tables Match

Natalya vs. Ruby Riott

Initially, I wondered why this match was on the card, but this match was very solid. I personally didn’t think there was enough buildup for it to be on a PPV, but these two competitors made this one very interesting. Making this a tables match added to the intrigue and I figured that the Riott Squad would be more involved, but I’m glad they weren’t. Natalya and Ruby Riott showed that they could easily be considered among the top female superstars on RAW in this one. I chose Ruby Riott prior to the PPV, but I knew going into the match that it would be a very slim chance that she would walk away the winner. Natalya shined in this one and this would’ve made The Anvil a very proud father.

GRADE: 8/10

5. Men’s Singles Match

Finn Bálor vs. Drew McIntyre

I guess they’re just throwing the idea that McIntyre is a near unbeatable force out the window, but honestly, if they’re going to pick someone to take down McIntyre, Finn Bálor is a good choice. At this point, Bálor’s character just would not work as a heel. He is beyond over with the fans, as a face, and many of us think that he deserves to be in contention for the brand’s big title. These two made the most of a thrown together feud and they deserve better than what they’re getting at the moment. In my prediction, I said that they only way that McIntyre loses is if Ziggler interferes. That happened and he lost. I don’t know how far the Ziggler and McIntyre thing will go on, but it certainly deserves more attention than I feel like it will ultimately receive. For a match with nothing at stake, they did a good job with this one.

GRADE: 7.5/10

6. Chairs Match

Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton

I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary in this one and it didn’t provide anything out of the ordinary. This was just a match between two of some of the best to ever step inside a WWE ring with a bunch of chairs involved. There were a few good moments in the match that made it interesting, which I fully expected with these two. I expected more cringe-worthy moments out of Orton, but there wasn’t anything unusual from him. I did not think Rey Mysterio would win this match, but the ending was good enough to be believable. It filled the void, but certainly didn’t stand out.

GRADE: 6.5/10

7. RAW Women’s Championship Match- Singles

Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax

I cannot really convey how underrated this match was. Ronda Rousey is proving why she is the champ in every single match she is in. She delivers big in PPV matches and shows a style that is unique to her character. Some of the credit, however, has to go to Nia Jax. Their chemistry was on point and selling the match was a huge success. This barely had any resemblance of a wrestling match, it looked like a fight, and that is a great compliment. At times, Ronda looks like she is a veteran in the ring, but we all know how experienced she is and that is just incredible to think about. She has brought so much to the table for the women’s division and the competition is only going to continue to get stronger. I don’t know what is next for these two competitors, but they really impressed me in this one.

GRADE: 8.8/10

8. WWE Championship Match – Singles

Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles

These two men put on a great show in this one. I totally expected that, but I feel it needed to be said. These two superstars have natural chemistry and the flow of the match was very fluid. It was the longest match on the card and it deserved to be honestly. For a long match, it did not seem overdrawn and that was excellent for all involved. This match did not need anything else attached to it, a singles match for the WWE title was good enough. No matter the stakes, these two superstars will put it all on the line and they certainly did that again. It was no shock that Bryan retained, but I’m interested to see AJ Styles’ role moving forward.

GRADE: 9/10

9. WWE Intercontinental Championship Match - Singles

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

When you hear chants from the crowd saying, “This is boring”, something isn’t working. That goes without saying, but it’s true. This match was slow, uneventful, and the crowd wasn’t lying, it was boring. I expected so much more from these two competitors, but they didn’t deliver in this one. It was the second longest match on the card, but it felt like the longest by a good margin. Ambrose took the title, which I predicted, but I wish the match between the two would’ve been better. I don’t anticipate that the quality of this match will hinder these two competitors going forward, but it will certainly be on the minds of the ones making decisions. This match was the worst match on the main card, by a mile, and I didn’t think that would be the case heading into the PPV. This whole storyline had so much potential, but has come up empty-handed at every single point. It will be interesting to see their path moving forward, but man, was this match upsetting.

GRADE: 3/10

10. SmackDown Women’s Championship Match – TLC Triple Threat

Becky Lynch vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte *Match of the Night*

Heading into the match, it was billed as Match of the Year worthy, and unsurprisingly it didn’t disappoint. This was the most anticipated feud beforehand and it looked the part. I wasn’t totally sure if they were going to make this the main event, but I’m glad they did. Truth be told, all of these women deserve to be champion, but obviously only one can be the champ. I might be overselling it, but I don’t think I am when I say that this was the best women’s match I have ever seen. Every competitor was at the top of their game and made the most of the time they were given. This match didn’t steal the show, because they already owned it. It would not surprise me to see Charlotte Flair to take a couple weeks off, because she took some hellacious bumps, I would be surprised if she didn’t crack a rib honestly. She kept on with the match, so hopefully she is fine. All of these women sold wonderfully in the match, but Asuka climbed to the top and became Women’s Champion for the first time in her career. I predicted that she would, but I’ll be honest, it still felt like a surprise. Asuka deserved this, because she is one of the best performers in the whole company and if she left the WWE without anything to show for it, except the streak, it would’ve been a huge disappointment. I hated to see Becky Lynch lose the title, because The Man and the title are synonymous, but this was the perfect time for her to drop it and I knew that going into the match. Vince McMahon is appearing on RAW and we don’t know exactly what he will do, but if I had to guess, it will be to move Lynch and/or Flair to RAW to create a massive build for possibly the first WrestleMania main event to feature women. We were expecting this, but if it is put forth into motion, I can’t wait to see this. It is going to be an exciting 4 months on the Road to WrestleMania.

GRADE: 10/10

Yacs

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2018 TLC Results