The first match on the Kick Off was for the Cruiserweight Championship as Cedric Alexander challenges Buddy Murphy. After some fast paced action and quick pin attempts, Murphy knees Alexander in the face, sending him out of the ring. Alexander gets back into it with a kick to the stomach and both guys try to hit their finishing moves. Alexander does hit the Lumber Check but Murphy manages to get his foot on the ropes. In the end, Murphy manages to retain the Championship after hitting Murphy's Law. This match was pretty good and I'm disappointed that it was on the Kick Off.
Winner: Buddy Murphy (1 for 1)
The second match on the Kick Off Show is an actual ladder match between Elias and Bobby Lashley. Now the rules are that whoever grabs the guitar hanging up wins. Lashley tries to get a ladder but Elias stops him and gets one himself. Lio Rush tries to stop Elias from climbing up the ladder, giving Lashley the chance to recover. Elias manages to turn it around and, despite Rush's efforts, grabs the guitar to get the win. Afterwards, Lashley and Rush beat up Elias. This match was ok and was shorter than I thought it would be.
Winner: Elias (1 for 2)
The first match is the final of the Mixed Match Challenge as Fabulous Truth take on Mahalicia. After Carmella and R-Truth have their mandatory dance break, Alicia Fox hits Carmella in the back to get the advantage. Carmella comes close with a Superkick but Jinder Mahal breaks up the pin. In the end, Carmella gets Alicia to submit to the Code of Silence and they get to enter their respective Royal Rumble matches at number 30. They also get an all expenses paid trip to WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut...? Ah ok, then. Anyway, this was a fun match between the two teams.
Winners: Fabulous Truth (2 for 3)
Next is The Bar facing The New Day and The Usos in a triple threat match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. The Bar get the advantage, wearing down Xavier Woods. Eventually, Kofi Kingston gets tagged in and Jimmy Uso tags himself in by tagging Cesaro. Cesaro gets tagged back in and puts Kofi in the sharp shooter after a giant swing but Woods stops that with a DDT. In the end, Sheamus hits Woods with a Brogue Kick to get the win. This was a good match but it was hampered by the fact that only two wrestlers were allowed in the ring even though it was a triple threat match.
Winners: The Bar (2 for 4)
We now get a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match between Braun Strowman and RAW General Manager-Elect Baron Corbin with Heath Slater as referee. Earlier in the night, Corbin was convinced that Strowman wouldn't show up. However, Strowman turns up with Finn Balor, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable and Apollo Crews. They attack Corbin with chairs and when he tries to leave, he is stopped by a returning Kurt Angle. Obviously, Corbin gets destroyed and Strowman pins him to get the win. This means that Corbin is no longer the RAW General Manager and Strowman will face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. This wasn't a match and I felt that having 5-on-1 against Baron Corbin was overkill. WWE must have liked it as they put Corbin against 6 wrestlers the following night.
Winner: Braun Strowman (2 for 5)
Next is a Tables Match between Natlaya and Ruby Riott. Early on, Natalya tries to spear Riott but Liv Morgan gets in the way and gets speared through a table. Later on, Sarah Logan tries to interfere but gets bodyslammed through another table by Natalya. In the end, Natalya gets a table with Ruby plastered on it. Natalya then powerbombs Ruby from the top turnbuckle through the a table to get the win. The match was ok but it dragged too long at times.
Winner: Natalya (3 for 6)
We now get Finn Balor taking on Drew McIntyre. McIntyre sends Balor halfway across the ring with a brutal overhead belly-to-belly suplex to get the advantage. Balor gets back into it with a twisting DDT. After they fight outside the ring, McIntyre throws Balor back into the ring then gets s surprise superkick from Dolph Ziggler. McIntyre doesn't take well and hits him with a big boot. When McIntyre tries to attack Ziggler with a steel chair, Balor hits him with a running dropkick followed by the Coup de Grace to get the win. The match was pretty decent.
Winner: Finn Balor (4 for 7)
Next is a Chairs Match between Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio. Mysterio is the first one to use a chair, attacking the stomach and back. Mysterio goes for a seated senton but misses and lands on a chair. Orton continues his assault then tries to hit him with a RKO onto the chairs. However, Mysterio avoids it and hits a hurracarrana into a victory roll to get the win. There were a couple of cool spots otherwise, the match wasn't that special.
Winner: Rey Mysterio (4 for 8)
We now get our Women's Championship match as Nia Jax challenges Ronda Rousey. Ronda tries to apply the armbar but Nia powers out of it with a sit down powerbomb. Nia then uses her superior strength to dominate Ronda. Ronda hits a crossbody to the floor to start her comeback. However, Nia hits a Samoan Drop for 2. Ronda goes for the armbar but Tamina distracts her. In the end, Nia goes for face breaker but Ronda grabs the arm and twists it in half in an armbar to get the win by submission. Afterwards, "The Man" Becky Lynch backstage goes "remember me, bitch?"and attacks Nia. This was quite a fun match to watch and it was nice to see Becky get some revenge on Nia.
Winner: Ronda Rousey (5 for 9)
Next is AJ Styles getting his rematch for the WWE Championship against "The New" Daniel Bryan. Bryan stops a forearm by Styles with a kick to the ribs then goes on to apply submission holds. The match goes back and forth before Bryan hits 2 running dropkicks and gets clotheslined when he goes for a third. Styles attacks Bryan's left leg and applies a single leg crab. However, Bryan manages to get out and apply the
Winner: Daniel Bryan (6 for 10)
The penultimate match is for the Intercontinental Championship as Dean Ambrose challenges Seth Rollins. Ambrose slams Rollins into the steel steps then onto the announce table to get the advantage. After hitting moves such as a neckbreaker with some taunting thrown in, Ambrose starts to focus on the the repaired knee and applies a cloverleaf. Rollins starts a comeback but is hampered by the injured knee. The match goes back and forth before Rollins goes for the Curb Stomp. However, Ambrose manages to hit Dirty Deeds instead to get the win. The match was pretty good, although it felt like a normal wrestling match; which was weird considering the people involved. However, the commentary bothered me as Corey Graves kept going on and on to Ambrose's wife, Renee Young during the match.
Winner: Dean Ambrose (7 for 11)
The main event is the first ever Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match for the Smackdown Women's Championship as Asuka and Charlotte Flair challenge "The Man" Becky Lynch. Highlights include: Asuka hitting a code breaker on Charlotte; Asuka powerbombing Charlotte off a ladder and through a table; Becky fucking up her opponents with a steel chair; Becky hitting a legdrop off a ladder, sending Charlotte through the German announce table; Charlotte going apeshit on everyone with a kendo stick; Charlotte spearing Asuka into the timekeeper's area; and Charlotte Flair chopping Becky to death before splashing her through a table. After Charlotte and Becky fight it out on a ladder, Ronda Rousey comes out and tips the ladder, sending them to the floor. Asuka seizes the opportunity and climbs the ladder to claim the belt and win the match.
This match was absolutely incredible and I was surprised that Asuka won the Championship. Ronda interfering made sense although I thought she would have done it earlier. If this doesn't lead to Becky facing Ronda at Wrestlemania, I will be very surprised.
Winner: Asuka (7 fror 12)
I thought that TLC was a good event. Considering some of the creative disasters that WWE have done with their events, it was nice for the year to end on a positive note. Hopefully, there will continue that as we approach the road to Wrestlemania XXXV.
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