The WK's LIVE WWE TLC 2018 PPV COVERAGE!!!

Welcome to The Wrestling Kennection's LIVE WWE TLC 2018 PPV Coverage!!!

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Enjoy the show!

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WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Singles Match
"The Juggernaut" Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Cedric Alexander

RESULT: Buddy Murphy wins via pinfall; Murphy pinned Alexander following a running knee shot and Murphy's Law.

TIME: 10:21

THOUGHTS: So much for the CW Title's main card streak...

This was a fine match between Murphy and Alexander, but it didn't measure up as well to their two previous encounters. Murphy winning was the way to go here as Alexander's time as CW Champ has passed and you have Dar, Nese and others waiting in the wings as new opposition for Murphy.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 1 pt
Dan - 1 pt
Alison - 1 pt
Jaymes - 1 pt

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Guitar On A String Ladder Match*
"The Drifter" Elias vs. "The Almighty" Bobby Lashley w/Lio Rush

*First to retrieve the guitar wins

RESULT: Elias wins the match; Elias retrieved the guitar after powerbombing Lashley on a ladder in the ring corner.

TIME: 6:20

THOUGHTS: So the stipulation was basically like a title ladder match, except the "title" was a guitar. Instead of having the right to use it as a weapon, two grown men were basically fighting for the CUSTODY of a guitar, and even that was made moot when Lashley and Rush jumped Elias and cracked him over the back with the guitar Elias pulled down to win. The only upside is that this was kept mercifully short.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 1 pt
Dan - 1 pt
Alison - 1 pt
Jaymes - 1 pt

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Mixed Match Challenge
Tournament Finals
Mahalicia vs. The Fabulous Truth

RESULT: The Fabulous Truth wins via submission; Carmella countered a jackknife cover into the Code of Silence for the tap out.

TIME: 5:36

THOUGHTS: The right team won and they kept things relatively painless and short, including a fun little dance break with the Singhs. Can't say I'm any more excited about the Stamford trip than Carmella; hopefully it doesn't end with a pink slip.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 2 pts
Dan - 2 pts
Alison - 1 pt
Jaymes - 2 pts

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Smackdown Tag Team Championship
Triple Threat Match
The Bar (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Usos

RESULT: The Bar wins via pinfall; Sheamus countered Woods' slingshot DDT into a Brogue Kick for the three count.

TIME: 12:07

THOUGHTS: This was an overall fun match and a good way to pick up the pace after the last couple matches. The chemistry was on point between all three teams, no one looked lost, it all clicked together very well for the three teams that have really led the tag divisions on the main roster shows for the last few years. That said, I felt like we could have gotten a few more minutes out of the six men, and while the match was solid, the lack of stipulation at a PPV like TLC hurts.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 3 pts
Dan - 2 pts
Alison - 1 pt
Jaymes - 3 pts

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Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match
Singles Match
"The Monster Among Men" Braun Strowman* vs. GM-Elect Baron Corbin**

*If Braun wins, he gets an Universal Title match against Brock Lesnar @ Royal Rumble

**If Corbin wins, he's made PERMANENT RAW GM; if he loses, he's fired as RAW GM

RESULT: Braun Strowman wins via pinfall; Strowman pinned Corbin after Finn Balor and company hit steel chair shots and a series of finishers on Corbin.

TIME: 6:21

THOUGHTS: Well, we basically got we were all expecting, Corbin getting wasted and Strowman coming out on top. The superstars out there made sense, Slater putting the screws to Corbin made sense, it all made sense as far as the booking went. I guess I'm just  a little disappointed we didn't get a returning Bray Waytt coming to his former brethren's aide. Anyway, Strowman's locked in for Royal Rumble, and Corbin's out. Mission accomplished, creative, you finally got one right.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 4 pts
Dan - 3 pts
Alison - 2 pts
Jaymes - 4 pts

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Tables Match
Natalya Neidhart vs. Ruby Riott w/The Riott Squad

RESULT: Natalya wins; Nattie powerbombed Ruby off the top rope through a table for the win.

TIME: 12:36

THOUGHTS: I suppose that from an emotional standpoint, Nattie got her revenge on Ruby and the rest of the Riott Squad. It dragged out near the end and could have used 4- 5 minutes trimmed off.

I just fail to see how it really benefits Nattie in the long run. I mean, we know her turning on Ronda is coming down the road at some point, but her losing here and taking it out on Ronda the following night would've worked better because it would have set up a frustrated, more motivated and heelish Nattie as Ronda's next PPV opponent at the Rumble. Meanwhile, Ruby just falls further down the proverbial ladder on the RAW Women's roster.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 4 pts
Dan - 4 pts
Alison - 2 pts
Jaymes - 4 pts

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Singles Match
Finn Balor vs. "The Scottish Psychopath" Drew McIntyre

RESULT: Finn Balor wins via pinfall; Balor kicked a steel chair into McIntyre's face, then hit a Coup De Grace for the three count.

TIME: 12:07

THOUGHTS: This was a very solid match with Drew looking rather dominant at times. Finn had his moments, but Drew looked really good, having a lot of answers for Balor's signature offense. The ending, though, left me baffled on a couple different fronts. For one, Ziggler getting involved was something Dan had a feeling would go down and it did, but it felt kind of flat, since we know Dolph's more for himself than anyone else. Secondly, Balor kicking the chair back into Drew probably should've drawn a DQ, and him winning only because of Ziggler's involvement makes it a somewhat empty win for Finn.

The saving grace, as Graves pointed out, is that it protects Drew as it took two men and a steel chair to upend him on PPV. Still, McIntyre winning clean, in my mind, would've been the better way to go, as Finn's mediocre roster spot doesn't really gain anything with the tainted win and wouldn't have suffered all that much with a hard-fought loss.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 4 pts
Dan - 4 pts
Alison - 2 pts
Jaymes - 4 pts

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Chairs Match
"The Viper" Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio

RESULT: Rey Mysterio wins via pinfall; Mysterio countered a RKO with a hurricanrana into a row of chairs, followed by a victory roll for the three count.

TIME: 11:31

THOUGHTS: I don't know if I agree with the outcome, as Randy was rolling off of the momentum of his feud with Jeff Hardy and had more to gain from winning this than Rey, but damn if they didn't come up with some fun chair spots in the match, including Rey's chair-assisted "slip n' slide" splash and the missed seated senton into the ringside chair. Kudos to the two veterans for finding unique avenues in a match concept that doesn't often allow for a lot of creative flexibility.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 4 pts
Dan - 4 pts
Alison - 2 pts
Jaymes - 4 pts

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RAW Women's Championship
Singles Match
"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey (c) vs. "The Unstoppable Force" Nia Jax w/Tamina Snuka

RESULT: Ronda Rousey wins via submission; Nia went for the "Facebreaker" punch, only for Ronda to counter into a twisting arm bar for the tap out.

TIME: 10:48

THOUGHTS: I'll give this to the bookers; they had Tamina stay out of the match for the most part and kept it to a one-on-one with Ronda and Nia. Commentary played up the match as "unfinished business" between the two women warriors, so it was smart to keep outside involvement to a minimum. Nia played up her basic power game well here, having simple, brutal counters for Ronda's striking and submission work. The real highlight, though, was Ronda's further expansion of her moveset, including a slick step-up knee strike and a step-up punch not unlike Roman's Superman Punch, as well as adding a literal twist *ouch!* to her arm bar submission. She's really taken to the WWE style well in her first year.

I liked the backstage happenings with Becky getting her revenge on Nia for trying to bank on "breaking" Becky's face. It should be interesting to see them mix it up at the Rumble and beyond if things go a certain way in the three-way TLC match...

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 6 pts (LOCK)
Dan - 5 pts
Alison - 3 pts
Jaymes - 5 pts

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WWE World Championship
Singles Match
"The New" Daniel Bryan (c) vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles

RESULT: "The New" Daniel Bryan won via pinfall; Bryan reversed Styles' small package into one of his own for the three count.

TIME: 23:54

THOUGHTS: This was the definite MOTN by far; Bryan and Styles put on an amazing back-and-forth match. Both showed their vast technical prowess, Styles working the leg for the Calf Crusher, while Bryan worked the midsection and back to make it harder for Styles to struggle out of the Lebell Lock. It was also the small things, like Bryan using Styles' momentum readjusting the Calf Crusher to roll into the ropes, that really made the match come together.

The other aspect I liked was that Bryan wasn't played up as a cowardly heel taking cheap shots, but an advantageous one that used the in-ring environment to his advantage, like at the end where he took advantage of Styles' aggression to counter the small package into one of his own, a classic maneuver straight out of the "American Dragon" playbook. Bryan retains, Styles looks none the worse for wear in the loss, and we got a fantastic encounter between two of wrestling's best and brightest.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 7 pts
Dan - 6 pts
Alison - 4 pts
Jaymes - 6 pts

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WWE Intercontinental Championship
Singles Match
"The Kingslayer" Seth Rollins (c) vs. "The Lunatic Fringe" Dean Ambrose

RESULT: NEWWW Champion Dean Ambrose wins via pinfall; Ambrose countered the Curb Stomp into the Dirty Deeds DDT for the three count.

TIME: 22:53

THOUGHTS: I get what they were going for with the game of psychological warfare being played between Ambrose and Rollins, including Ambrose's mocking Shield fist bump at the end which pushed Rollins over the edge and ultimately led to Ambrose pulling off the win. However, it backfired in keeping the crowd hooked, as they turned on it near the end with "This is Boring" chants.

Mind you, this was coming right off of an intense, grueling match between Styles and Bryan, so I imagine it was more a matter of the crowd being burned out. It's kind of why I would've preferred having the CW Title or the Elias-Lashley match as a breather between Styles-Bryan and the three-way TLC main event, as that match misplacement and the slowed pace of the Ambrose-Rollins match did neither man any real favor with the crowd.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken - 8 pts
Dan - 7 pts
Alison - 5 pts
Jaymes - 6 pts

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Smackdown Women's Championship
Triple Threat TLC Match
"The Man" Becky Lynch (c) vs. "The Queen" Charlotte Flair vs. "The Empress of Tomorrow" Asuka

RESULT: NEWWW Champion Asuka wins the match; Asuka took down the title after Ronda Rousey tipped over the ladder with Charlotte and Becky on it.

TIME: 22:29

THOUGHTS: This was an unbelievable effort from all three women here. My fedora goes off to them for an amazing main event to cap off TLC 2018. Charlotte and Becky's personal rivalry hit an all-time high, with their brutal steel chair and kendo stick exchanges. and Asuka refused to be left out as the third wheel, interjecting herself into the fray with her own brand of unique offense, flipping Becky and powerbombing Charlotte onto ladders in brutal-looking spots.

Charlotte channeling her father's hot-blooded fury was a real highlight, watching her beat the stuffing out of Becky with kendo stick shots, barreling Asuka through the barricade and hitting a top-rope senton on Becky through a ringside table. That's what I was really looking forward to in this match; the bookers letting Charlotte cut loose and letting her be as nasty and as blood-boiling-ly angry as only a Flair can be.

The ending wasn't a huge shock if you had been watching carefully throughout the night; Ronda guaranteed that "payback would be a bitch" for Charlotte, and she followed through, costing not only Charlotte a championship victory but costing titleholder Becky HER championship by tipping over the ladder they were on. This not only allowed Asuka to become Smackdown Women's Champion for the first time, but it's now opened the floodgates for Ronda's rivalries with both Charlotte and Becky in the coming months leading up to WM 35. All in all, a great main event to sign off on what was an overall solid PPV effort in capping off WWE's roller-coaster 2018.

WK KING OF PPV
Ken* - 9 pts (WINNER)
Dan - 7 pts
Alison - 7 pts (LOCK)
Jaymes - 6 pts

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*Because Ken was Big 4 PPV Champion when he won the King of PPV title, the Big 4 PPV title goes to the second place winner, either Dan or Alison.

BIG 4 PPV TITLE
MAIN EVENT TIME-BREAKER

MAIN EVENT - Triple Threat TLC Match
TIME - 22:29

Dan - 17:25 (WINNER)
Alison - 11:30

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