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The WWE‘s TLC pay-per-view took place last night. What was good and what was bad about the show? Let’s go through each match to find out.
Handicap Match: CM Punk def. the Shield: An interesting match to start the show. It was very slow, but once things got going, they did a good job of storytelling. I’m not sure if Reigns actually suffered an injury or if it was part of the match, but he was not the star of the match to my surprise. Punk got a quick win over the Shield, but what speaks volumes is that the most entertaining guys in the company are in the opening match.
Yes, CM Punk in the opening contests, what is this, 2008? (3/5 stars.)
WWE Divas Title Match: AJ Lee (C) def. Natalya: This was actual a good back-and-forth match, but Natalya does one of the worst Sharpshooters I’ve ever seen. Lee retaining is the right move and I’m not sure Natalya is ready to be the champion. There is a reason why she has not been in the title picture for three years. I see this feud continuing with hopefully another good match (3/5)
Intercontinental Title Match: Big E. Langston (c) def. Damien Sandow: I honestly thought we get more here, but it was alright. Langston retaining was not a surprise and makes sense. I do however see them continue this feud and hope they do. Both guys have a lot of untapped potential and can bring out the good stuff in the long run. (1.5/5)
Four-Way Tag Team Title Match: Rhode Brothers (c) def The Real Americans, Ryback and Curtis Axel, Big Show and Rey Mysterio: This was a really good and surprisingly lengthy match. It makes sense to keep the titles on them as there are no clear-cut challengers right now. Yes, there are several teams, but none that do a better job than them. I am not a fan of teams that are thrown together, so luckily they stuck with the right guys.
I have to admit it was a bit slow in the middle, but it got hot and had some good close false finishes in the end. (3/5)
NO DQ Match: Kofi Kingston def. The Miz: Decent match, but if it’s that such of a big rivalry, why promote it on the pre-show? That does not make any sense but at the end of the day, it was watchable. They did not use the no-DQ stipulation and it was filler. I’m going to stop there. (2/5)
Handicap Match: Wyatt Family def. Daniel Bryan: This was a good match and I would say it was even better than the earlier one in the night. This story is far from over and it will be interesting to see where they go here. Bray vs. Bryan at Royal Rumble is possibly there to do, but I think they will save it until the Elimination Chamber PPV. They can mix it up during the Rumble match itself. I still don’t see Bryan joining the Family. (3.5/5)
Unification Title TLC Match: Randy Orton def. John Cena: This was a good match that had some botches, but that just comes with these kinds of matches. I thought Orton had a slight shot at winning, but I am actually more surprised that the WWE gave us a clean finish to this PPV.
When I saw the “Authority” come out, I thought they might turn on him, but nope. I’m not sure where they go from here, but we will find out more on Raw. I still expect a rematch at WrestleMania 30. (4/5)
This PPV was good for the first hour and half, but there were a couple filler matches that just bored me out of my mind. Once the Wyatts vs. Bryan started, it finished strong. I think everyone was waiting on a what kind of finish this had, so it was bit of a letdown in a sense. I am glad they gave us a clear-cut winner and loser.
I would give this pay-per-view a 6.5 out of 10. Yes, it had some good wrestling, but nothing major happened on it. It was a slightly above-average PPV that had a hyped-up main event. This show met my expectations, so I am happy.
Andrew Ravens is a Wrestling writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on twitter and check out his Google page.
