WWE TLC 2020 — Review & Grading — #MyOpinionWWE
By: Ashish Sharma
Tags: WWE, Wrestling, Professional Wrestling, Wwe Special 101, TV Shows

So the last WWE PPV of 2020 just happened and here is my short and crisp review of the same :

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles (Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match)

One word : flat..! Starting the night with a WWE championship match and that too a TLC match should have been a stellar but instead it was a clear disappointment according to me. Nothing to take away from Drew and AJ as they both were great as usual with amazing spots and hard hitting moves. AJ damaging Drew’s leg was a mastermind move in these types of matches and Drew still trying to continue showed him as a warrior. Overall the match had everything still nothing as there was nothing unique that happened in the match. Also, putting Miz into the mix when already Jordan is by the ring side made no sense to me as if he was never going to intervene. Thanks WWE for making MITB joke once again. WWE need to do Miz Vs Morrison as both of them are world class former champions who definitely deserve more than just few comic skits. Hats off to AJ and Drew for their efforts but Miz never felt like a real threat and was a complete waste. I never thought I would rate a match so low that would include The Phenomenal One and the Scottish Psychopath but 2.5 ♥ for this opener.

SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Carmella

So nobody expected Carmella to dethrone Sasha and win the Women’s title on her first PPV match after her new avatar but still the match was good. Carmella was already a great athlete but as a heel she just got better. The match had back and forth moves with Carmella getting little assist from Akeem Young which lead to close calls which was fun to watch. Carmella looked like a potential threat to Sasha’s championship reign and WWE should indeed continue this rivalry as these two are capable of delivering better matches than this one. A not so great but still a decent championship defense from the BOSS. 3 ♥ for this title match.

Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. The Hurt Business’ Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander

The New Day never disappoints and they have proved this on many occasions and this was no different. The match started on 5th gear with fast paced action which was a treat to the eyes. There were double teams, tags, saves, close calls and what not in this match. WWE have definitely improved the standard of tag team matches on a PPV, I am not talking about NXT..they are great..! Most of the tag matches on a WWE PPV felt like a weekly show tag matches, thankfully that is not the case anymore. Shelton and Alexander along with instructions from MVP first isolated Kofi by attacking Xavier and then went after former world champion. The closing moments of the match were weird as Cedric tagged himself in when Shelton was about to deliver his finishing move. Even though Cedric delivered lumbar check and picked victory for his team, Benjamin was clearly not happy. Don’t know where WWE will be going with this angle..! Bobby Lashley came after the match and Hurt Business stood tall with United States Championship and RAW tag team championships, MVP is indeed a true savior who just saved careers of these superstars. 3.5 ♥ for this entertainer.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka & ?

And the mystery partner is…Charlotte Flair..! I thought WWE would stop pushing Charlotte for titles on her return and would focus more on long term rivalry with someone relevant at that time. Instead WWE put Charlotte straight into a tag team championship match on a PPV for which Lana fought hard and earned a spot. The match was decent, definitely better than other women’s tag matches on weekly shows. Asuka and Charlotte looked great together and it would be interesting to watch them work together. Nia is really clumsy and lot of her moves were difficult to watch, she definitely needs to work on her skill set. I am neither in favor nor against the decision of putting tag titles on Charlotte and Asuka..let’s see what WWE can do with new tag champs. 3 ♥ for this tag team bout.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens (Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match)

What a fight…!!!! Kevin Owens didn’t waste a single second and interfered soon after Roman’s entrance and started attacking Roman. Soon Jey entered and KO destroyed him and demolished his ankle and it felt like KO is on another level. The match had great chair spots which were painful to watch. The match was an unofficial 2 vs 1 handicap match as KO had to take care of both Jey and Roman. KO powerbombed Jey through the table and covered him with whatever he can so as to keep him down which clearly showed KO’s focus. Roman completely broke KO in half with a powerbomb on ladder, a chokeslam and samoan drop on the table. This was missing from the first TLC match as this was a complete mayhem..! After a slap from KO, Roman just hit the hardest spear through the table I have seen ever, which was brutal. The match had moments where it felt like it was over but again the match continued one way or the other. Roman continued his trend of low blows and then guillotine choked KO from the top of the ladder and retrieved the title. Amazing storyline…great match..awesome chemistry. 4.5 ♥ for this fight…extra .5 for KO’s efforts and never give up attitude.

The Fiend vs. Randy Orton (Firefly Inferno Match)

I actually thought this would be either a cinematic match or a traditional inferno match but this was something else and it was fuc**ng amazing..! I loved every bit of it from start till the very end. The match started normally but soon Fiend switched on the inferno environment and there was fire everywhere..loved it. So the rules were simple, put any part of your opponent on fire and it’s over. The Fiend put everything on fire, whether it a strap or axe handle, also Fiend trying to light Randy on fire on Bray’s rocking chair was a great moment. The whole setup, chemistry, storytelling everything added up and made this match a must watch. Randy lit Fiend on fire and then as soon as Fiend entered the ring, Randy delivered a RKO and the Fiend stopped moving after that. Randy at first not able to believe what he did, later decided to end it forever. He took the gasoline and then set Fiend on fire…!!! Obviously they replaced the Fiend and here WWE took advantage of not having live audience. Hats off to Fiend for that fire spot..a perfect way to end not so perfect PPV of 2020. 4.5 ♥ for this great match. It was freaking amazing!