WWE
TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2018 Final Results and Grades
Tables… Ladders… Chairs… Guitars… Kendo sticks… I guess TLCGK wasn’t catchy enough. TLC 2018 is in the history books and holy Mantaur was it one of the top pay-per-views of the year. Will it top the charts this year? I guess we’ll find out.
Disclaimer:
I review these pay-per-views from a fan’s perspective. I could pretend to be an expert and rate these matches out of five stars and talk to Bryan Alvarez, but I have a soul.
(Pre-show) WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy def. Cedric Alexander to retain
Final Grade: B-
Though it wasn’t their best match against each other, it wasn’t necessarily a bad match. Let’s face it, if Murphy and Alexander were allowed to go all out on the pre-show, then nobody would really care about any of the matches that came after (that didn’t involve Becky, Charlotte, and Asuka anyway).
(Pre-show) Ladder Match with a Guitar hanging above the ring: Elias def. Bobby Lashley
Final Grade: C+
For a pre-show match, this was better than I personally expected. Since they were on the pre-show, Lashley and Elias couldn’t go all out but they still put together a fairly entertaining ladder match.
Mixed Match Challenge Finals: Fabulous Truth (R-Truth and Carmella) def. Team Mahalicia (Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox)
Final Grade: B
This match, much like the other MMC matches, should not be taken seriously. That being said, for a match meant to be fun and entertaining, this match is great. R-Truth did a dance break as is now demanded in a match of theirs. The Singh Brothers interrupted the dance break and showed off their dancing skills. R-Truth channels his inner Shanti after taking Alicia Fox’s captains hat.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Triple Threat: The Bar def. The New Day and The Usos to retain
Final Grade: C
This is an average match. Which is sad to say with three of the best tag teams in WWE today. Pay-per-view quality? Not really. SmackDown Live quality? Could be a main event on a normal SD Live.
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match: Braun Strowman def. Baron Corbin
Final Grade: A
With Braun Strowman only having one working arm, how can he possibly defeat RAW General Manager Elect, Baron Corbin? Apollo Crews, The Greatest Tag Team of All Time, Finn freaking Balor, Kurt g*damn Angle, and crooked referee Heath Slater, that’s how!
Everyone that Corbin screwed over the last few months got to have their revenge. Balor, Roode, Gable, and Crews took turns hitting Corbin with a chair. Slater punched him in the face. After a string of finishing moves, Strowman made the cover with just his boot. 1-2-3, Corbin is out of power and Braun gets his title shot at Royal Rumble.
Tables Match: Natalya def. Ruby Riott
Final Grade: D+
Liv Morgan saves this match from an F for her sick table bump on the outside.
Other than that, this match was painfully bland for something that should’ve been a great match. Nattie won with a second rope sit-out powerbomb into a table with Ruby’s image stuck to it. A solid match in terms of what Liv and Sarah did to make this somewhat entertaining. Ruby’s skill is great. But this match had no build to it and the addition of Jim Neidhart into this nothing feud just made things feel awkward.
Finn Balor def. Drew McIntyre
Final Grade: C-
Nothing wrong about this match. It was just average. Maybe if they were given more time, this match would’ve stood out.
Chairs Match: Rey Mysterio def. Randy Orton
Final Grade: A-
A match that was a hundred times better than it had any right to be. Orton and Rey brutalized each other with chairs, and chairs and… chairs. Orton hit Mysterio out of the air with a flying chair. Mysterio attempted a sit-out senton but Orton moved at the last moment and sent him into a chair. A reverse hurricanrana roll-up from a stack of chairs decided the bout in favor of Mysterio.
RAW Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey def. Nia Jax to retain
Final Grade: B
Was this Ronda’s best singles match in WWE so far? That can be argued. Since Nia is twice Ronda’s size, it makes sense that she was able to trade blows with her and not tap out in fifteen seconds. Ronda won with the armbar.
WWE Championship: Daniel Bryan def. AJ Styles to retain
Final Grade: C+
We’ve seen this match a few times before. That being said, this was most likely the least entertaining meeting between these two wrestlers. It was still fun to watch with Bryan’s new hard-hitting, unrelenting offense. But it misses a higher grade because it feels like it’s missing something.
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Dean Ambrose def. Seth Rollins to win the title
Final Grade: C
When two bitter rivals finally get their hands on each other, what kind of match should they have? A bone breaking brawl that ended in a bloodied mess? No, apparently they would try to put on a technical masterpiece. They did, in theory, but that wasn’t the kind of match this should’ve been. Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds.
SmackDown Women’s Championship TLC Match: Asuka def. Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch to win the title
TSJ101Sports Match of the Night Winner
Final Grade: A+
Even though this ended in a controversial fashion, this TLC match is the match of the night. Maybe even one of the matches of the year. Charlotte tackled Asuka through the barricade. Becky Lynch hit a leg drop from the top of a ladder. Charlotte hit a moonsault to the outside. Asuka brought out a kendo stick and beat Becky into the ground.
Finally, with Charlotte and Becky atop a ladder, Ronda Rousey took to the ring and pushed it over. Asuka, the last woman standing, climbed the ladder and took the title down.
Overall TLC 2018 Final Grade: B-
All in all, this was a really good pay-per-view. Some will say it was a one match show, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
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Bringing a kendo stick to a conference meeting is apparently only acceptable in professional wrestling…
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