Monday 19 December 2016

WWE TLC 2016 Review

WWE TLC took place on Sunday 4th December at the American Airlines Centre in Dallas, Texas. The last couple of PPVs have been a mixed bag so will Smackdown end the year on a high? Let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was the team of American Alpha, The Hype Bros and Apollo Crews taking on The Asecension, The Vaudevillians and Curt Hawkins. The match goes back and forth before Chad Gable gets worn down. Eventually he gets the hot tag to Jason Jordan and in the end, they go on to hit Simon Gotch with Grand Amplitude to get the win. It was a bit short for me but I enjoyed it.
Winners: American Alpha, The Hype Bros and Apollo Crews (N/A)

The first match of the PPV was for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship as Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt with Luke Harper challenge Heath Slater and Rhyno. Wyatt, thanks to Harper distracting the referee, pulls Slater off the ring apron to get his team the advantage. Slater does manage to get the hot tag but it was not enough. Rhyno goes to spear Orton on the outside but Harper moves him out of the way and takes the hit. Rhyno slides back in and is distracted by Wyatt's upside down walk and Orton slides in and hits the RKO to get the win. I was quite surprised that Orton and Wyatt but it's probably the  right decision as they both need this.
Winners: Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt (0 for 1)

Next is a no disqualification match between Carmella and  Nikki Bella. Carmella does a head scissors sending Nikki into the steel steps. She then focuses on Nikki's left leg, hitting it with a kendo stick. Carmella does go on to do the Code of Silence but Nikki hits her with the kendo stick. Nikki does get back into it, hitting a brutal roundhouse kick from the barricade. She then goes on to use a fire extinguisher for what seems like a year before hitting the Rack Attack 2.0 to get the win. Afterwards, Carmella tells Nikki that it was Natalya that attacked her at Survivor Series. The match was ok but I'm interested to see how they play with what happened after the match. Hopefully, it was Carmella who attacked Nikki and she's just fucking with her. Knowing WWE tho, it would turn out that Carmella was telling the truth.
Winner: Nikki Bella (1 for 2)

 Now a match that I was really looking forward to: Dolph Ziggler challenging Hollywood Miz (with Maryse) in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. Highlights of the match include: Ziggler doing a tornado DDT sending Miz onto a ladder; Miz dropkicking a ladder into Ziggler; and Miz focusing on Ziggler's legs. Miz hits the skull crushing finale onto a ladder then climbs up. However, Ziggler takes the ladder, leaving The Miz hanging before he falls down, injuring his knee. In the end, Miz and Ziggler climb up on different ladders and Ziggler punches Miz off. The Miz, however, recovers and kickes Ziggler in the balls then grabs the belt to win the match. Afterwards, Miz decidates the match to Daniel Bryan and calls the Dallas crowd losers.

This match was really good and a great way to end the feud. Hopefully, The Miz can continue with someone else in the new year.
Winner: Hollywood Miz (2 for 3)

 Next is Kalisto facing Baron Corbin in a chairs match. Kalisto immediately goes at Corbin with but it's dealt with it quite quickly. Corbin goes on to be dominant for a lot of the match. Kalisto does a seated senton onto a row of chairs but Corbin responds by reversing a suicide dive into a deep six on the outside. Corbin then wins the match after hitting The End of Days onto a pile of chairs. Quite a good match between the two.
Winner: Baron Corbin (3 for 4)

The penultimate match is Alexa Bliss challenging Becky Lynch in a tables match for the Smackdown Women's Championship. The match goes at a fast pace before Alexa starts to be dominant. Becky tries to suplex Alexa through a table a few times, In the end, they end up fighting on the apron and Alexa manages to powerbomb Becky through a table on the outside to win the match. Although the finish seemed to come out of nowhere, this was quite a good match. I've become a big fan of Alexa over the last year but I didn't think that she was ready to be Champion just yet. Hopefully she can prove me wrong.
Winner: Alexa Bliss (3 for 5)

The main event is a TLC match for the WWE World Championship as Dean Ambrose challenges AJ Styles. Highlights of the match include: Ambrose running a chair into Styles while he was on the barricade; and Styles side suplexing Ambrose onto a row of chairs. There was a great spot where Ambrose put up a ladder on the German announce table and elbowed Styles from there through the English announce table. Later on, Styles hit a springboard 450 splash, sending Ambrose through a table. Styles goes on to climb up the ladder but stops when he sees James Ellsworth walk down the aisle. Styles attacks him but Ambrose stops him and hits dirty deeds onto the stairs. Ambrose looks like he's going to win it but Ellsworth tips the ladder sending Ambrose through 2 tables on the outside. Styles then climbs the ladder to grab the belt and win the match.

I enjoyed the match even though it was a bit of a weird ending. Ellsworth's reasoning for his decision, which he said on Talking Smack, does kinda make sense. He beat Styles twice so he wants him to be Champion. Sure, he had Ambrose's help in those victories but he has a point. I suspect that Ambrose will get his revenge in the near future.
Winner: AJ Styles

I thought that TLC was a good event and I was happy to see 2 new Champions. However, RAW will follow suit with Roadblock: End of the Line.


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