WWE TLC 2017 REVIEW

It was an event that no one had big expectations for, overall, but it turned into something so much more in the 72 hours prior to the event. With Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns contracting a viral infection (said to be either viral meningitis or the mumps), two matches were immediately changed, making something potentially great, the return of The Shield, into something monumental, with the WWE in-ring return of Kurt Angle. And coming in to replace Bray Wyatt in his bout with Finn Balor was AJ Styles, competing on a Raw-only per view for the first time ever. This viral infection affected more than one match on the pay per view card, leading to matches we may have never expected. What happened on the card and who walked away the winners? Here is our review of TLC 2017.

 

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

Enzo Amore vs. Kalisto (c)

Enzo has gone from being one of the most popular performers to one of the most hated. On this evening, he sounded like he was fighting a bout of laryngitis, struggling to deliver his normal opening promo. One of the most notable characteristics about Enzo is how he clearly believes he is bigger and better than he is, and how he fails to show it in the ring time and time again. This time, however, Enzo wore down the champion with submission attempts and a variety of strikes. Enzo regained the title after 8 minutes, after poking Kalisto in the eye and hitting him with the Jawdunzo.

Winner: Enzo Amore

 

WWE Raw Women’s Championship Match

Mickie James vs. Alexa Bliss (c)

There were lots posturing between these women both leading up to and during the match. James didn’t hesitate in taking the fight to Bliss, hitting her with everything from a dropkick to a slap on the ass. It was as much psychological warfare as a fight. Bliss wore down the arm and left shoulder of James throughout the match, which in a great bit of early storytelling forced James to fight back using her right hand. A slap fight ensued with both women knocking each other down with a coinciding punch and kick. Eventually, a distracted James was knocked down and then hit with a DDT by Bliss, who pinned her to come out on top.

Winner: Alexa Bliss

 

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox

This match was built by playing on the loopy nature of Fox. It was made clear to fans, however, that Fox’s batpoop crazy persona wasn’t going to threaten or even scare Sasha Banks. With less than 20 minutes left in the pre-show, they cut to commercial, which always seemed like a strange thing to do since so much of what is happening ends up being missed. Sure, it’s great that we now know that Wrestlemania tickets are on sale and that the Total Bellas finale is happening, but what the heck is happening in the match? After a few minutes of commercials, we return to see Banks and Fox going at one another. Fox taps after about 9 minutes.

Winner: Sasha Banks

 

Asuka vs. Emma

The show kicked off with Emma facing the Empress of Tomorrow in Asuka’s debut on the Raw roster. As she strutted down the ring, she demonstrated the charm and charisma she was known for during her time in NXT. She didn’t hesitate to take it right to Emma, but it immediately felt different from her time while with NXT. Her pacing appeared slower, and as a result, she came across as less ferocious. While fans would normally see Asuka take a punch to throw three, here it was much slower than normal. It isn’t bad, just different. Emma tapped after fifteen minutes to the Asukalock.

Winner: Asuka

 

Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann vs. The Brian Kendrick & Gentleman Jack Gallagher

Nigel and Vic were on commentary for this match. This was also the time chosen to introduce the announce teams from other countries. I do like Gentleman Jack Gallagher’s new music, which really works with his new persona. It has to be hard to wrestle in a shirt and tie, but if he can make it work all the power to him. Someone that a number of fans have waited to see get an opportunity to be the flagbearer for the Cruiserweight division is Cedric Alexander. This grudge match was given a decent amount of time and it managed to be a hard-hitting affair, with Alexander and Swann come out victorious after Alexander hit the lumbar check on Kendrick.

Winners: Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann.

 

Finn Balor vs. AJ Styles

Maybe some will lament that there was no build, and maybe some will wish the match had more time. However, those concerns didn’t take away from this 20 plus minute battle. Each man hit the other with everything in their arsenal, and some moves that we don’t normally see. After hitting Styles with a dropkick that propelled him into the turnbuckle, Balor hit the coup de gras and got a three-count win over the Phenomenal One. The men showed each other a sign of respect by doing the ‘too sweet’ hand salute in the center of the ring, paying homage to their days as leaders of the Bullet Club.

Winner: ‘The Demon’ Finn Balor

 

Elias vs. Jason Jordan

After Jordan interrupted Elias on more than one occasion during the evening by throwing produce, this match was made. Both men are NXT alumni and are being given a chance to showcase their skills in the ring. We aren’t sure whether or not this will lead to an ongoing feud, but that would certainly help both of them as it would give them a program to build on. They were taking it to one another, with Jordan showing how strong he is hitting suplex after suplex. Jordan defeated Elias with a small package, though it seemed as though the Drifter had his shoulder up.

Winner: Jason Jordan

 

The Shield with Kurt Angle vs. The Miz, The Bar, Braun Strowman and Kane

A last-minute change altered the complexion of the match, but having Kurt Angle included immediately made it something special. Angle aided his team until he was laid out by the Monster among men and assisted to the back. A 5 on 2 beats down ensued until the remaining members of the Shield fought off the challenge. Then, a disagreement between Kane and Strowman over an earlier mishap resulted in the Big Red Machine putting the Monster through the stage and then pulling down about ten linked chairs down onto Strowman. Strowman came back, though, and battled his own team members until they trapped him in a garbage truck and had him taken away. Then Angle made a heroic return and took out the remaining members Miz’s team. After an Olympic Shield bomb, the faces walked away as the victors.

Winners: The Shield with Kurt Angle