WWE spared no detail, reiterating the changes to tonight’s PPV, WWE Infectious Disease, was due to medical concerns for a number of wrestlers. Despite no featured main event of Meningitis Vaccine on a Pole, we got some great matches, making TLC a top-notch show. Kudos for WWE, delivering a solid event with no doubts over match quality.
The pre-show featured a better than expected contest which sees Sasha Banks defeating Alicia Fox. While Banks winning was well-spotted, I just wondering if Fox is content with her consistent jobbing.
The main show kicked off with an expected win by Asuka over Emma. Spot of the match goes to Asuka transitioning from an ankle lock into a German suplex. Good grief there were some stiff kicks and shots throughout the match, Emma got a solid chance to shine. That’s what I hoped for, Emma, no more talking, more wrestling, because she has the talent. The loss was a respectable one.
Next up, long backstage segment with The Expanded MizTourage sharing their thoughts about the opponents lined up for tonight. Most comments directed towards the RAW GM. Strowman just wants to destroy everything.
Elias wants to sing us a song. He starts to, until suddenly, produce starts hitting him. No, no crazy fans, just Jason Jordan and a shopping cart full of groceries. Apparently it was revenge for Elias spoiling a father-son chat. This was pretty funny.
Justice done for 205Live tonight, as Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann pick up the pinfall win over Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher. I enjoy watching Jackie Boy compete in a vest and tie. Alexander needs to be the next guy to chase the Cruiserweight Championship. Swann scored an insane high 450 splash. The replay was more exciting, showing just how high he can leap off the top turnbuckle. Kendrick sells every bump with realistic precision. I am very happy they got a good amount of time. These are the matches Cruiserweights should be allowed to do more often.
Got to give credit to Mickie James, she gave it her all, even hitting her signature classic moves on Bliss, and selling all of Bliss’ strikes. Very entertaining start with Mickie slapping Alexa’s “biscuit butt” and then James doing repeated kip-ups each time Bliss knocked her down. Later on, the two went slug-happy, punching and slapping the lip gloss off each other, until a double knee-lift kick sent them both down. Very well done. Ample time given to these ladies to put on a great title bout. Alexa Bliss scores the pinfall with a DDT. Mickie gave a nice post-match interview, this won’t be her last title bout, and thanks the fans for their love and support.
Backstage: Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins present Kurt Angle with his own Shield vest.
Back in the ring, Elias returns to give a performance to the WWE Universe. The boos from the crowd drown him out twice, and the third interruption comes from the vegetable slinging Jason Jordan. Even Corey Graves approves.
Enzo Amore begins the WWE Cruiserweight Championship with a difficult promo to hear, because he’s losing his voice. I think he’s sick with something. Hoo boy. I dig Kalisto’s new ring gear and look. Fits in well. Again, the cruiserweights are getting a lot of love from WWE tonight, these guys got a lot of time to put on a nice performance. The conclusion was a bit of a bummer, but fits Enzo’s new style, has a distracted ref allows for Enzo to gouge the eyes of Kalisto, allowing Enzo to hit his finisher and regain the Cruiserweight Championship.
On Twitter, Austin Aries posted a photo of himself, with who looks like Enzo in the background with a hashtag of #WWETLC.
AJ Styles vs. “Demon” Finn Balor – Even though Bray Wyatt was taken off the card due to the illness, this didn’t change anything, as Balor held to his promise of bringing out the Demon persona to TLC. The Hoenstly, they could have saved the alter-ego for Survivor Series or the next opportunity to face Wyatt and I think the majority of fans would have been fine with it. After all, we are getting an indy or Japan dream match on WWE programming. The live crowd began chanting “This is Awesome” before the bell rang. This must have been and easy foresight, as this is easily a match of the year candidate. Words won’t do it justice, the near falls, the huge hits, the strikes, the dives, the high-risk-impact moves, Praise Primus, this was the match every wrestling fan wanted to see. It delivered. In the end, after a missed 450, followed by a barrage, Finn Balor destroyed all internal organs of AJ Styles with a massive Coup de Grace for the win.
Then, the awesome happened. Match over, Styles and Balor gazed into each other’s eyes, nodded their heads, and gave the “Too Sweet” hand gesture to an erupting ovation.
In the back, Anderson and Gallows are saying “awwww man, we should have been out there.
How can you follow up a match like that?
With Elias Tries to Sing Part III. This one turns into a match with the Lettuce Chucking Jason Jordan defeating Elias with a very sketchy pinfall. Elias goes for a suplex over the ropes, Jordan reverses into a small package, but it looked pretty clear there was a kick out of some sort before the ref hit the three. Something just didn’t look right. I believe Jordan was likely to win, but I don’t think it was supposed to happen this way.
Main Event Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match: The Olympic Shield vs. The Expanded MizTourage
Good lord. This was a destructive, chaotic match. Starts off with Shield going nuts with the chairs. Angle winds up tossing everyone with German suplxes. Rollins and Ambrose leap off ladders and put both Strowman and Kane through announce tables. The carnage is insane. Spots, destruction, geez. Big time bombs and slams. Rollins and Ambrose Strowman plows Angle through a table and he’s taken out of the match. Tide turns and Team Miz takes over, brutalizing the good guys, and then a garbage truck rolls in! Uh oh! Kane and Strowman have a miscue, which leads to them turning on each other! Things get crazy. At points the match it slows down and it’s just a mauling by Miztourage. Suddenly Strowman goes nuts, Kane goes nuts, and Kane chokeslams Strowman through a stage, and then pulls down a shishkabob of hanging chairs down, all on top of Strowman. Guess what, the Monster Among Men eventually recovers. So, the Mizzies toss him into the garbage truck, locking him in, and having it drive away. Suddenly, when it seems Miz and his cronies will get the win, Kurt Angle’s theme hits, he comes back and the heroes turn the tide, hitting finishers on the Miz and a Triple Assisted Powerbomb for the win, and yes, Kurt Angle gets the pinfall.
The match was weirdly nuts, but it made it fun. This was a fun PPV to watch. Sometimes I wish things would interfere with the normal plans, because when they do, WWE decides to just put on a solid show. Episodes of RAW during bad weather or flight delays turn into enjoyable shows free of the scripts being strictly adhered to.
It seems Strowman vs. Kane will be a feud, or Strowman vowing vengeance on The Miz and perhaps the Intercontinental Championship will soon be the first singles title for Strowman.
Overall, this was a great, great PPV. Every match got a sufficient amount of time. Nothing felt rushed or disjointed, no drama, just a plain ol’ good job done by everyone.
This PPV gets a 9 out of 10. It’s True, It’s True… It’s Damn True.
