WWE TLC 2016

WWE TLC 2016

Dallas, Texas - Decemer 2016

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, AJ Styles is the WWE World Champion, Heath Slater and Rhyno hold the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, The Miz is the reigning Intercontinental Champion, and Becky Lynch holds the SmackDown Women's Championship.

COMMENTATORS: JBL, Mauro Ranallo, and David Otunga

Opening up tonight's show was one of the night's few "straight" matches - the SmackDown Tag Team Champions Rhyno and Heath Slater defending the straps against the unique alliance of Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Short but not necessarily sweet, this may have been one of the most "logical" matches I've ever seen, the multi-time WWE Champion Orton and near-main eventer Bray Wyatt essentially dominating their notably less accomplished opponents. Like it or not, Randy Orton shouldn't be selling Heath Slater offense too much and though we didn't see Road Warriors-esque no-selling from the heels, their dominance was established early and set the tone of the whole match. The right booking decisions don't always lead to a great match. (2/5)

Nikki Bella, sporting some MMA-influenced braids, took on arch-rival Carmella next in a hardcore match. As would be the case the whole night, the SmackDown production team did a fantastic job producing pre-match videos that showed just how long many of the storylines of the night had been going on, this specific bout dating all the way back to Nikki Bella's return at August's SummerSlam. In 2014-15, I gave somewhat glowing reviews to Nikki's matches during her run with the now-defunct Divas Championship, but even at her best she benefitted from working with more athletically-gifted peers (Charlotte, Naomi) or bigger in-ring personalities (Paige, AJ Lee) that could help her piece together sequences. Put in the ring general position and asked to carry a relative novice like Carmella, though, and Bella can no longer simply play to her strengths (for example, her strength). Nikki Bella is just not a Shawn Michaels-type worker capable of wrestling a moonwalking broomstick to a passable match and that's essentially what she's been asked to do for the past few months. Here's to this storyline coming to a close and a reshuffling of the deck as there is plenty of time to build to a Bella/Becky match (which I think could be excellent) and Naomi, Alexa Bliss, or Natalya would all make better in-ring foils to Nikki than Carmella right now. (1/5)

Mauro Ranallo called the next match the "final chapter" of the most heated rivalry in the WWE - Dolph Ziggler challenging The Miz (yet again) in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. A match of two distinct parts, the first half was rather ho-hum, Ziggler and Miz wrestling a bit in the ring, brawling on the outside, and using the ladder as a weapon, though nothing too innovative or outrageous. Though the crowd was engaged, I was disappointed with the lack of extreme spots - not because I demand career-threatening falls as much as the hype building into the match and the bar these two had set in previous encounters had me thinking we were going to see something special early on to set an ultra-violent, ultra-competitive tone. Instead, at least to me, it felt like Ziggler and Miz went through the motions a bit before transitioning to one of the best "back ends" I can recall. The twist happened when Miz finally revealed something resembling a gameplan, going after Dolph's knee with brutal ladder-assisted offense. Miz's targeted work took the match from meandering mediocrity to an intense, purposeful tone, culminating in an excellent figure spot. Though Ziggler wouldn't stay down for long, his selling through the rest of the match was terrific (as was Miz's) and the finish, though far from the big grandiose spot that I expected coming in, worked at a character level that is arguably more important in giving the fans' a lasting memory. The post-match promo added an extra bit of goodness to the match, raising my score just a touch. With a more riveting start, I could see this being a MOTY contender, but this wasn't the best match these two have had together in 2016. (3.5/5)

Things did improve, though, in the next contest - Kalisto vs. Baron Corbin in a Chairs match. I can't recall many "chairs matches" that I've found worth revisiting, so I can definitely see the argument that this was the best chairs match of all time (even if that is a dubious honor). I'd be even more willing to make that statement if the crowd cared as much for this as they did for, say, the Ambrose/Rollins Lumberjack Match at SummerSlam 2014 (which many do agree was the best of its kind). Loads of nasty spots and Kalisto, not necessarily the smoothest worker, was on-point here, every big splash, dropkick, and moonsault right on the money. Unlike the ladder match (or most TLC matches), the set-ups for each big spot didn't come off as overtly convoluted thanks to wise character development over the past few weeks - Corbin came into the match looking to cripple Kalisto, eager to use the chairs in increasingly dangerous ways to achieve his goal while Kalisto, due to the size and strength disparity, had to be equally inventive in using them to level the playing field. Though the finish was never really in doubt, Kalisto came out of this match looking ten times stronger than he did against Brian Kendrick at Survivor Series, proof positive that you get more mileage out of his character when you pair him up against interesting foils (as we saw in his somewhat underrated series with Ryback) than you do when you send him out with fellow cruisers and expect them to build drama out of nothing. An early contender for Match of the Night and maybe both men's best singles work in the company. (4/5)

...and the hits kept on coming with the next bout, Becky Lynch defending her SmackDown Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss. Again, the pre-match video (and post-match promo from Becky Lynch) were icing on a cake that was pretty damn good on its own. Considering Bliss was signed in 2013, I'd say she is a few years away from being a top tier talent - her facial expressions, jawing, and body language come off as naturally hateful, a skill that should seem easy, but isn't always a given (honestly, heel or face, Brie Bella, Stacy Keibler, Rosa Mendes, Camron, Eve Torres, etc. don't have a single performance in their collective history where I truly believed the emotion they were trying to convey as much as I believed in Bliss in her first showcase match here). Meanwhile, Becky Lynch, the more experienced grappler, has become one of my favorites - not only because I find her babyface work to be spirited and easy to root for, but because she wrestles with intent to win, not necessarily dazzle the crowd at the risk of having a career last beyond 2017 (take note, Sasha Banks and Seth Rollins). From the very start, these two were trying to win and save for a cool-looking Dis-Arm-Her through the leg of a table (at a point in the match where both men had finally decided to take a small break in trying to send the other through plywood and just hurt each other as much as possible), the intent-based sequences never ceased. Simple, straight-forward storytelling done right. The execution of every individual strike wasn't excellent (Bliss could do some work on making sure her punches land) and there were at least a couple spots where Lynch seemed to be guiding her opponent, but I found the finish terrific. This one was all about who was going to make a small mistake in a precarious position and that is exactly how the ending played out. While I wouldn't quite give it as high praise as the previous match (which featured a few more "holy shit" moments), in a lesser year, it'd have a real shot at being the WWE's Women's MOTY. (3.5/5)

Main event time - AJ Styles defending his WWE World Championship against longtime rival Dean Ambrose in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. In 2016, Styles has been the WWE's Most Valuable Player, consistently delivering main events worthy of being called "main events." Tonight was no different as this match was all about AJ and his masterful bumping, selling, and willingness to put his body into harm's way to pop the crowd. Ambrose had the lighter workload, no doubt, but also showed some tremendous restraint - though he dominated on offense, he didn't lay on his tedious signature moves (the rebound lariat, his sloppy suicide dive, his oft-criticized punches) too thick, using weapons and teasing big high spots to keep the violence coming. The best moments of the match made-up for the lack of "OMG" moments from Miz/Ziggler, who, in hindsight, wisely chose not to try to outdo what they knew AJ and the Lunatic Fringe would likely attempt - Phenomenal Forearms onto ladders, a 450 splash through a table, a variety of table spots. While Kalisto/Corbin exceeded expectations, Styles/Ambrose revitalized a feud that to many had run its course (a feat that Miz and Ziggler didn't quite achieve). Unfortunately, like several of Styles' matches this year, a controversial finish hurts this match (and it didn't help that Ambrose's wide-eyed expression was one of shock and sad acceptance rather than incapacitated from exhaustion and injury). (4/5)


With a very nice Kwang score of 3-out-of-5, TLC 2016 was arguably the best (non-NXT) WWE Network Special since the Money in the Bank show this summer. That card featured a roster ridiculously deeper in comparison, though; John Cena, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, and Sheamus were all on hand. TLC made up for a thinner set of performers with excellent production choices, a very smart match order (look no further than the ratings of each individual match to see how the show built up drama and excitement leading to a tremendous main event), and stellar performances from both the usual suspects (AJ Styles, The Miz, Becky Lynch) and unexpected newcomers (Alexa Bliss, Baron Corbin). If you jettison the opening two matches, you'd have a show of the year contender...though, it'd be a noticeably short one.

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand