The women’s evolution in WWE has entered its next phase: solidifying itself as main-event level.
There has been no drop-off since Evolution in August, and TLC was even more evidence — through all the women’s matches — that the division is moving full steam ahead to being the main event at WrestleMania 35.
The women stole the spotlight, especially closing the show at the TLC pay-per-view Sunday in San Jose, Calif. The match capped a superbly booked night and one of WWE’s best shows of the year.
TLC ended with a classic between Charlotte Flair, Asuka and Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Live women’s title. In the end, it was Raw women’s champion Ronda Rousey who decided it. She delivered payback to rivals Lynch and Flair by pushing them off a ladder, allowing Asuka to climb up to win the TLC match and claim her first title on the main roster in WWE.
There is still a chance we get Rousey vs. Lynch at WrestleMania, but this feud is becoming even more so about them along with Flair. There is about four months of twists and turns left, including the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber, but TLC put a triple-threat match even more in play at MetLife Stadium on April 7.
Flair, Lynch and Asuka certainly left it all out there at TLC and backed up the main event at Evolution. The kendo stick and chair swings were vicious. Asuka tossed Flair and Lynch through tables. Lynch did a leg drop from the top of the ladder with Flair laying on an announce table. The Queen landed a roll off the top rope onto Lynch and a table and speared Asuka through the barricade. The match was the highlight of an excellent night for the women.
Rousey and Nia Jax, whom Lynch also decked backstage, continued to be a great pairing. Jax’s power makes her a believable threat for the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, and her size makes Rousey’s flips and submission transitions look impressive. We got a lot of that in this match.
Rousey had three of the best spots of her career with a crossbody from the top rope to the outside, a pop-up right hand that looked even better in slow motion and — after blocking a right hand from Jax — running up her shoulder to get in armbar position. Rousey then kissed the hand that broke Lynch’s face before getting the submission win.
A lot of television time was put into Natalya’s feud with Ruby Riott and the Riott Squad, and they made it all worth it.
Natalya put each Riott Squad member through a table. Ruby holding Natalya’s face to the table with the decal of her father, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, on it got a good crowd reaction, as did Natalya pulling out the table with Riott on it. There were enough table teases to get a few “Ohs” from the crowd — including on the finish, when Natalya, wearing her dad’s jacket, turned Riott’s top-rope hurricanrana attempt into a power-bomb through a table to end it.
Daniel Bryan and A.J. Styles delivered the best men’s match of the night.
The New Daniel Bryan winning with a reversed inside cradle is about as heel as it gets. Styles was so close to regaining his WWE championship only to be outmaneuvered by Bryan one final time. It was a fitting end to a match centered on one-upmanship with a touch of fury from both men. Bryan, who wore all black, and Styles put on a clinic in match construction. Each move had purpose and logically led to the next. Let’s hope we get to see these two many, many more times.
While Bryan and Styles was the perfect balance between storytelling and action, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins suffered from too much story and talking and not enough action. There were some outside factors, with the match being between the ones for the WWE and SmackDown women’s title, and the crowd — which was chanting, “This is boring” — was probably getting tired from a long night.
One Dirty Deeds out of nowhere — and plenty of work on Rollins’ knee — was enough for Ambrose to get the pin and win the Intercontinental championship, adding some more fuel to this feud.
While Bryan and Styles’ story will continue, Baron Corbin’s reign as Raw general manager came full circle and is over. Finn Balor, Apollo Crews, Chad Gable, Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle and referee Heath Slater helped an injured Braun Strowman win. All of them had been wronged by Corbin in some way. It was excellent long-term storytelling.
The win sets up Strowman and Brock Lesnar for the Universal championship at the Royal Rumble and adds more intrigue to Vince McMahon’s appearance, with “Raw” needing a new general manager and the company coming off the high TLC.
Other matches:
The Barr over The New Day and The Usos to retain the SmackDown tag team championship
Typically entertaining match from these teams. Freezing The Usos out early really got their superkick-filled spot over. The Bar eventually won the free-for-all feeling match with a Brogue Kick from Sheamus. A title change might have gotten a better crowd reaction for the finish, but no choice of a winner here was a bad one.
Finn Balor over Drew McIntyre
McIntyre continues to impress as a believable and physical heel. He mentioned Dolph Ziggler to Balor early in the match, and it was a superkick from The Showoff and the chair he brought in that turned the tide. Balor used the opening to land the Coup de Grace to get the pin.
Rey Mysterio over Randy Orton (Chair match)
The veterans delivered the unique and physical chair spots you expected. Mysterio’s boogie board-like slide with the chair out of the ring was extremely fun and Orton slamming Rey’s head down onto a chair wedged between the turnbuckles got a pop from the crowd. It ended with Mysterio hitting a short hurricanrana with Orton sitting on a chair.
R-Truth and Carmella over Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox (Mixed Match Challenge final)
Adding stakes to the Mixed Match Challenge and displaying it on a pay-per-view is a good step. The R-Truth and Carmella pairing has been a hit, and this was a fun moment for them until Truth revealed they would spend their vacation for winning at WWE headquarters. In addition, the pair getting the 30th spots in their respective Royal Rumble matches seems just a way to keep them relevant in stacked divisions.
Buddy Murphy over Cedric Alexander to retain his Cruiserweight championship (Kickoff show)
The two delivered a fast, high-impact match that saw Murphy continue to find ways to survive and hold onto his belt.
Elias over Bobby Lashley (Guitar match)
Elias gets the win in a short match filled with high-impact spots, but Lashley gets the last laugh with a guitar shot.
Biggest winner: The women’s division
Biggest loser: Baron Corbin
Match of the night: SmackDown women’s title TLC match
Grade: A-