WWE TLC 2017 Review

WWE TLC 2017
Minneapolis, MN
Target Center
Brand: Raw

10/22/17

To say the build up to this PPV has been crazy would be an understatement as there hasn't been as much reshuffling of a WWE PPV card since Great American Bash 2006. While elevated liver enzymes caused the shakeup of that show it seems like either the mumps or viral meningitis was the cause of the craziness going into this show. It seems that Bo Dallas was the first to get it as he has been off tv for the past few weeks and just to be cautious WWE pulled both Bray Wyatt and Bray's current girlfriend JoJo from the road, but unfortunately it seems that Bray was also a victim of the same sickness that Bo has and will not make it to the show. In Bray's place WWE went and found what could be considered an upgrade as a replacement as it will now be AJ Styles facing off against Finn Balor at TLC. This is a first time match in WWE that sees two former leaders of the Bullet Club going against each other. It will be interesting to see if perhaps their fellow former Bullet Club members Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson have any involvement in this match. I'm not sure who I see winning this match now that AJ has replaced Bray, I could see them wanting to keep a Raw guy strong on a Raw only PPV, but at the same time AJ looks to be getting ready to start a feud with Jinder Mahal over the WWE Championship on Smackdown so it wouldn't make sense for him to get beat either. 

Leading up to this show we had the re-formation of The Shield and they were kicking every top Raw heel's ass. We were set to have a 4-on-3 handicap TLC match with the Shield going against The Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus, & Braun Strowman and then for some unknown reason and to the excitement of nobody Kane was added to the heel side to make it a 5-on-3. The match was really giving me vibes of the horrible Tower of Doom match back in WCW when Hogan and Savage went against every heel on the roster. Friday we were informed by WWE that Roman has come down with whatever sickness is going around WWE and won't be able to make TLC, WWE then had to find a replacement that would create the same amount of buzz around the match that Roman would, so instead of bringing over someone else from Smackdown or even calling someone up from NXT they decide that for the first time in over a decade the current Raw General Manager Kurt Angle will be making his WWE in ring return as the replacement third Shield member at TLC. I seriously have to question if we will in fact get Kurt Angle in the ring by the time this match happens as I could absolutely see WWE pulling a bait and switch and have Kurt get attacked in the back only for his "son" Jason Jordan to take his place. WWE have been very hesitant to clear Kurt to wrestle in the first place so I highly doubt they would want to risk a major injury by putting him in a TLC match. How and why can they clear Angle to wrestle, but not clear Daniel Bryan. I see the heels getting the win here setting up a match between Team Miz vs The Shield's team at Survivor Series.

Due to all of the upper mid card and main event guys being in the main event match the undercard for TLC will heavily feature both the cruiserweight and women's divisions. In the women's division we get Alexa Bliss defending her championship against the veteran Mickie James, I have actually enjoyed this feud (except for the segment where Mickie finds adult diapers and a walker in her dressing room) mainly because it has given Mickie something to do on the show and has allowed her to remind everyone that she can hang with the best when it comes to cutting promos as her comebacks to Alexa's insults have been pretty great. I know some people haven't liked this feud between Alexa and Mickie because they feel it's too much the same as the whole Piggy James thing that Mickie went through back before she left WWE in 2010, but I don't think this has been nowhere near as degrading as that. The whole Piggy James thing felt so mean spirited and Mickie never really got a chance to comeback at LayCool where as she has had both verbal and physical comebacks on Alexa after getting insulted by her. Perhaps it's because Alexa is better on the mic than either member of LayCool, but Alexa's insults about Mickie come off more comedic and more like Mickie is getting roasted rather than being bullied which was all that Piggy James was. In this feud Alexa does build up Mickie by saying that she is one of the greats that has had a great career, but it's just that her time is up and Mickie is coming from the fact that yeah she may be older than Alexa, but that means she's more experienced than Alexa. I predict Alexa comes out with the win that way Asuka is able to become the champion after beating a heel. 

This show will not only feature a potential return in Kurt Angle, but will also feature the Raw debut of Asuka as she will be going one on one with Emma. I'm so glad Emma has finally gotten time to shine on Raw for the last couple of months because she absolutely deserves it as she is the most underrated woman on the entire WWE roster, unfortunately I don't see her shining for too long in this match against Asuka nor should she as Asuka needs to come in and kick her head off immediately and get the win. The third women's match on the card takes place on the kick off show as Sasha Banks takes on Alicia Fox, neither of these ladies are doing much on Raw lately so there is no real interest in this match. I will pick Sasha over Alicia as she is the bigger name and her winning is a nice way to make the fans happy and excited to start the show. 

For the first time since the launch of the division last year the cruiserweights get two matches and a segment on a show which is probably being done so that WWE doesn't have anymore cruiserweights walking out of the company like Neville has recently and like Austin Aries did earlier this year. The cruiserweight championship is on the line as the newest member of the 205 Live roster Kalisto defends his championship against Enzo Amore. I thought at first that Kalisto would retain easily, but then I remembered they have started a feud with Enzo and Mustafa Ali, so I guess Enzo becomes champion again here so that Mustafa can eventually take it off of him in the future. The other cruiserweight match on the card is a tag match that sees Cedric Alexander teaming up with Rich Swann to take on Brian Kendrick and his new ally Jack Gallagher. I don't really care one way or the other about this match so I will just go with the babyface team.

Kick Off Match
Sasha Banks def Alicia Fox via Submission

This match was a lot more fun than I thought it would be for the sole reason that I can't help but smile and laugh when Alicia Fox is on my TV as she is so entertaining. If it were anyone else I would probably criticize them for all of the over the top acting, but Alicia does it in a way that keeps me compelled the entire time she is on screen. This was a really hard hitting match with Sasha taking a couple of nasty looking bumps from the inside to the outside of the ring. There was a point where Fox tried to pin Sasha outside of the ring and given that her character is bat shit crazy this actually works for her. Fox puts up a good effort as she hits two beautiful northern lights suplexes, but in the end Sasha locks in the Bank Statement and Fox has no choice but to tap out. This was one of the more exciting kick off matches and I wouldn't mind seeing these two go against each other again. Rating: **1/4

Match #1
Asuka def Emma via Submission

I have very mixed feelings on this match because on one hand I love that Emma got to shine more in this match than I thought she would as I'm a big Emma fan, but at the same time I hate that she got in so much offense as this match should have been a total showcase for Asuka to show the main roster crowd just how much of  bad ass she is and you can't do that with both participants sharing 50/50 control of the match. I have to say that every time Emma is in the ring she always has a way to make her moves look intense and vicious. I hope that since they did let Emma get in so much offense (instead of just getting squashed) this means they have plans to use her more and hopefully she gets in the title picture soon, I wouldn't be opposed to her being one of the survivors for the Raw women against the Smackdown women at Survivor Series. It's a bit of a shame that it took this long before Emma got her first singles match on a main roster PPV. This was a good hard hitting match that would have done a better job if Emma didn't get in quite as much offense. Rating: **1/2

Match #2
Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann def The Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher via Pinfall

This match was fun for the first few minutes with Cedric flying all over the place and then I kind of lost interest during the middle portion, but they brought me back with the finishing sequence. I liked how Swann broke the Captain's Hook that Kendrick had on Cedric by hitting a Phoenix Splash. I don't like that they changed Gallagher's music now that he is a heel, but him wrestling in a full suit is pretty impressive. This was an ok match, but nothing I will remember. Rating: **1/4

Match #3
Alexa Bliss (c) def Mickie James via Pinfall (Raw Women's Championship)

Earlier during the Kick Off show Mickie was in the social media lounge answering questions and I'm not sure exactly what it was about the way she answered the questions, but I found it a tad bit cringe worthy. One thing I didn't find cringe worthy however was Alexa's promo backstage before the match as she was great like she always is. If you know me you had to know how much I enjoyed her talking about how she doesn't know what a biscuit butt is, but she likes her butt and thinks it's cute. This got me wondering if Alexa has a biscuit butt then what would you call Mickie's butt because she has a nice one as well and furthermore given the red gear she was wearing tonight Emma's looked like a nice juicy tomato or apple, but I digress. I love how Mickie took blue jean pants and cut them off below the knee just so she can stitch on the flappy part at the bottom like the rest of her ring gear. 

I absolutely loved this match and it may be my favorite main roster women's match of the year and quite possibly my favorite match Alexa Bliss has had in her entire career. The fact that Mickie was the one that finally got the high quality match out of Alexa that I have been wanting to see makes me even happier that they brought her back into the WWE. I knew this match was going to be good, but it was even better than I expected. I loved the limb work that Alexa was doing on Mickie's arm and Mickie did a great job of selling it as I don't believe she used that arm at all in the later stages of the match. To add even more greatness into the match the hurt arm actually played into the finish of the match. I like how in all of Alexa's matches she finds a sneaky way to catch her opponent off guard for a second so she is able to quickly hit the DDT to finish them off. I loved the baby face fire that Mickie showed in this match, especially the rapid forearm shots to the face that she delivered to Alexa. I can't say enough great things about this match, bravo to both ladies for putting on a great match. Mickie cuts a promo after the match saying this isn't the last time they will see her competing for the Women's Championship. Rating: ***1/4

Match #4
Enzo Amore def Kalisto (c) via Pinfall (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)

According to Wikipedia this match was 8:45, but watching it felt a lot longer especially after the great women's match that I was still buzzing about. Tonight we learned that Enzo will find the time to run his mouth even when he almost has no voice at all. Enzo is doing a good job of embracing his role as a heel. I didn't think this match was anything special and it had a couple of botches which made the quality even worse. Enzo regains the Cruiserweight Championship after poking Kalisto in the eye and hitting the JawDonZo. Rating: **

Match #5
"The Demon" Finn Balor def AJ Styles via Pinfall

I first want to say that I hope Bray recovers soon from the viral infection that he has, with that being said I now have to say thank God we didn't have to sit through some stupid Sister Abigail vs The Demon bull shit and we got this fantastic match instead. The match started out a bit slow and I was wondering if it was gonna live up to everyone's expectations, then once they were finished with the initial feeling out process the pace picked up and we started to get the match that we always imagined we would get from these two. At the point in the match where Styles locked Balor in the Calf Crusher the match felt like it kicked into yet another gear and from that point on this match went from a good match to a great match. I don't think I've ever seen a spot like when they did the double down and then popped back up only to clothesline each other back down again. I also liked how both men were trying to hit the 1916 and kept reversing it until Balor was able to hit it. In the end Balor was able to pick up the win. In what should've been a really cool moment after the match Balor and AJ throw up the Bullet Club sign and Too Sweet each other, but it isn't that feel good moment like it should be as you know Vince only got them to do that to rub it in the faces of all the current Bullet Club members.  I couldn't ask for anything else from this match as it was a classic. Now that these two have had a match against each other I don't see any way that you don't have both of them on their brand's respective teams at Survivor Series, if it were me I would make them the captains. Rating: ****1/4

Match #6

Jason Jordan def Elias via Pinfall

This match came about when earlier in the night during the Kick Off show Jason was talking with his dad Kurt Angle about his big return match when Elias came in and asked Kurt if he could perform a song tonight and the whole time Jason is insulting him and was quite frankly being a complete jerk. Throughout the night during the show Elias was on stage trying to perform his song when Jason Jordan would come out and rudely interrupt him and for some odd reason started throwing vegetables at him. Jason was being a complete jerk to Elias the entire night so it was time for Jason to get what he had coming to him.  

Jordan looked really good in this match early on with some nice waist lock takedowns as well as catching Elias out of a leapfrog and powerslamming him down. Elias hits a nice flying knee to the back that Macho Man would be proud of. The finish comes when Jordan counters a suplex into a small package, but the count was screwed up as Elias had his shoulder off the mat, but the referee kept counting giving Jason the win. I think this was a shoot screw up by the referee because I don't see them needing to do a screwy finish like this just to have an excuse to continue this feud. This was a decent little match none the less. Rating; **1/2

Match #7
Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, & Kurt Angle def The Miz, The Bar, Braun Strowman, & Kane via Pinfall (5-on-3 Handicap TLC Match)

Was it just me or did everyone miss the news story that Vince Russo has been hired back in WWE, because this match was a Russo-rific overbooked dumpster fire. I will actually do play by play for this match to explain just how ridiculous this match was. It was suiting that a garbage truck was apart of this match as that was what most of this match was pure garbage. I have to mention that earlier in the night Ambrose and Rollins had given Angle one of the Sheild's vests and from there I was wondering if he would actually wear it in the match and if he would come out with The Shield or just come to the ring in a separate entrance. In my head him wearing the vest and coming out with The Shield seemed like a good idea, but in reality it wasn't as Angle doesn't make the Shield gear look cool and looking back I would've much preferred him coming out to his own music and wearing his singlet. 

The match started out OK with The Shield (for this review when I say Shield I'm including Angle) using chairs to try and even the playing field. Angle looked a bit out of place in the first few minutes of the match and didn't feel like the same Angle of old. I liked how The Shield quickly took The Miz & The Bar out of the equation early so they could put their full attention on trying to take out the two monsters even though them jumping off the ladder through the tables took them out of the match for a few minutes and allowed Kurt to get triple teamed. We do get a nice sequence with Angle hitting German suplexes on everyone that ran at him and at that point was when Kurt started feeling like the Kurt we all know and love. Angle has a mini WrestleMania 18 rematch with Kane until Braun comes in and takes Kurt to the outside where he would power slam him through a table. This would be enough to take Kurt out of the match for awhile. Jason Jordan sure is a crappy son to not even come out and check on his dad after he almost collapses in the aisle way. At this point the match has been OK and I haven't found anything to complain about, but just wait as we are in for a ride of twists and turns.

At this point we get a 5-on-2 beat down that feels like it lasts forever, during the beat down Kane accidentally hits Braun with a chair and that's the moment that would come back later on and send this match down the toilet. Kane and Braun start pushing each other until their teammates get in between them and all of this allows Ambrose and Rollins to try and make comeback, but it wouldn't last long as the team of 5 quickly gets back in control. A table is set up in the ring and The Bar try to hit a double high cross on Ambrose through it and it doesn't break, but have no fear as Braun picks Ambrose up and throws him through the table. Then if tables, ladders, chairs, and 5 men beating down 3 wasn't enough we then get The Miz calling for a garbage truck to enter the arena (TLC 2014 was tables, ladders, chairs, and stairs and now TLC 2017 is tables, ladders, chairs, and garbage trucks). 

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are then thrown into the garbage truck only to fight their way back out and dive off the truck onto all the heels except The Miz. Ambrose goes after Miz who is trying to crawl away and they set up a table looking to put Miz through it, but it's Kane to the rescue for a moment until Ambrose and Rollins get the better of him and try to suplex him through a table, but thankfully Kane is saved by Braun. Kane has a great way of thanking Braun for helping him out as he hits him from behind and then choke slams him through the stage and if that wasn't enough Kane stands there and looks to the sky for what feels like eternity and then he pulls the chain of chairs hanging at the entrance so that they all topple down on top of Braun (I was going to be so pissed if Braun didn't get back up from this). At this point we have spent like 6 or 7 minutes solely concentrated on Braun vs Kane and have completely forgotten about everyone else in the match. 

Ambrose and Rollins start beating up on Miz until Kane makes the save again and proceeds to choke slam both Rollins and Ambrose through a table. At this point The Bar are feeling like complete afterthoughts. Team Miz are once again trying to put Ambrose and Rollins in the garbage truck, but as they are doing this Braun makes his way back to his feet as Kane is totally confused (you can tell this by the way he cocks his head to the side like he is a puppy dog). Miz tries to plead with Braun to calm down, but Braun isn't having any of it as he is now attacking everyone on his team. Braun is now trying to put Kane in the garbage truck which is what should've happened, but instead all of Team Miz turn their attention completely away from their actual opponents and decide to beat the crap out of Braun and then they put him in the garbage truck and Miz tells the garbage truck driver to pull the lever so that Braun is closed up in the back of the truck leading us to believe Braun has been crushed to death. WTF why is Braun the one getting put in the trash truck, he should've destroyed Team Miz and put Kane in that truck and just walked off and that would've been what Ambrose and Rollins needed to get back into the match and make the numbers more even. Braun should be the one looking like a monster not the one looking like a chump getting put in a trash truck FFS. 

Team Miz roll Rollins back into the ring and proceed to triple team him until Ambrose is able to break up a pinfall attempt and then they triple team him for a few minutes. Just when it looks like Ambrose and Rollins have no chance, Angle's music hits and out he comes still in the tactical gear unfortunately as I was hoping he took that time backstage to change into his gear. Cesaro runs at Kurt and gets back dropped on the ramp for his troubles and then Sheamus gets hit with an Angle Slam on the ramp (I think that one was suppose to be through one of the tables at ringside, but Kurt wasn't far enough down the ramp for him to slam him through one). Cesaro runs at Kurt and this time he is able to hit an Angle Slam through a table. Kurt gets in the ring and tackles Miz only to be cut off by Kane who sets Angle up for a Tombstone, but Ambrose and Rollins are able to make the save and take Kane to the outside where they send him and themselves through the barricade. In the ring Miz sneaks up behind Kurt and hits the Skull Crushing Finale, but Kurt kicks out at 2. Miz goes for another Skull Crushing Finale, but Kurt rolls through and locks in the Angle lock. Miz is able to kick Kurt off which sends him tumbling outside. At this point Ambrose & Rollins have made it back to their feet and the Shield circle around the ring surrounding The Miz. Miz tries to get away, but is caught by Rollins who hits him with the ripcord knee and then Ambrose hits the Dirty Deeds followed by Angle hitting an Angle Slam. They finally decide to finish Miz off by picking him up and hitting the triple power bomb as Angle makes the cover to get the win for his team. 

I will say that I liked the beginning up until the accidental chair shot to Braun by Kane and then the end once they get past the whole garbage truck stuff, but there was a whole lot of shit in the middle that made this match way overbooked. Why did we need Kane turning on Braun other than needing a reason to have a feud between the two which nobody wants to see. I guess they turned Braun baby face by doing this, but I'm going to be so pissed if him and Roman become allies against Team Miz after this just because Braun is a good guy as that completely shits on the amazing year long feud they have had this year. First off Braun isn't going to work as a solid baby face as he is best served in the tweener role he is in. This match could and should have been 10-15 minutes shorter as it felt like there was a lot of wasted time where they just kind of stood around. While I did like the ending parts of the match for what they were I still feel like the heels should've have won as it was a f'n 5-on-3 match with the team of 5 having two giant monsters. I'm not sure where we go from here for The Shield as they have already overcome the heels, I guess they will team at Survivor Series as part of Team Raw. There was some good stuff in this match, but the bad stuff far outweighed it. I'm not sure the timetable on Roman's return, but if it were me I would have The Shield, Kurt Angle, & Braun Strowman (Braun would still have tension with Roman and would only be on the team so he can get his hands on Kane) take on The Miz, The Bar, Kane, & Samoa Joe at Survivor Series in a WarGames match, I mean why not use it since you already have it there from the night before for NXT.   Rating: **3/4

That's all for TLC overall we had one really great match, one really good match, and one overbooked dumpster fire of a match. Show Grade: C+

I'll be back in four weeks when I review the final two night NXT & WWE PPV combo weekend of the year as NXT will be featuring the WarGames match and WWE Survivor Series will have Raw and Smackdown going head to head for brand supremacy...as well as Brock Lesnar vs Jinder Mahal.

If you have any questions, comments, or criticisms you can check me out over on the twitter @MTW3589

TLC 2017 Match Ranking

8. WWE Cruiserweight Championship
7. Sasha Banks vs Alicia Fox 
6. Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann vs Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher 
5. Jason Jordan vs Elias 
4. Asuka vs Emma 
3. 5-on-3 Handicap TLC Match
2. Raw Women's Championship 
1. Finn Balor vs AJ Styles