What were the biggest questions left behind by WWE TLC 2017?
The twist and turns along the way to WWE TLC 2017 made up for a memorable PPV. Quite often in the WWE, last-minute changes and chaos often brings out the best in creative. That was evidently visible last night as TLC went on to become so much more memorable than it could have originally been. The biggest let-down of the night would be not getting the promised Shield reunion match. However, on the contrary, WWE might decide to extend the shelf life of the Shield now that they can still milk this out.
The biggest takeaway from the night would however be the impromptu match between AJ Styles and Finn Balor. The two performers would tear the house down in an instant classic. Yes, there was no build-up or reason for this match. But who needs logic when two of the best in WWE go up against each other? Boy did they deliver a classic, potential match of the year contender?
Elsewhere on the show, Enzo Amore regained his title in underwhelming fashion. Jason Jordan added another uninspiring victory to his limping singles career. However, the Women’s division made the most of their time in the spot light. The three matches that involved the women of Raw all exceeded expectations. Asuka’s debut was well booked that it didn’t turn into a meaningless squash. Sasha Banks looked good after a clean win and Alexa Bliss seemed well on course towards a new contender.
However, there were many questions the PPV left behind as well. From Braun Strowman being attacked by his own team to Kane fighting him mid-match, much of them came form the main event. However, what were the biggest questions from the night? Here are my top picks from the PPV.
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5. What is next for Jason Jordan?
What exactly is creative doing with Jason Jordan? He was doing well on his own alongside Chad Gable. The lad even had a run with the tag titles. Then, out of the blue, WWE tries to throw us a curve ball with the whole Kurt Angle is Jordan’s dad storyline. The following events would take Jordan to WWE Raw and leave Gable midway during his tag team career on SmackDown.
For a moment, it seemed like Jason Jordan was getting a singles push. You don’t get called as Angle’s son to be a mid-carder. He even had a bunch of entertaining matches against the likes of John Cena and Roman Reigns. However, here is my problem – he lost of all of them. What good are good matches to a budding singles career, if you can’t pick up signature wins?
Whenever Jordan had a win, it was against another mid-carder that didn’t do anything to boost his career. Every other time, it was alongside some other tag team like the Hardys. So where is all of this taking Jordan to? His singles career is admittedly limping all over the WWE. They are cutting his legs down as the weeks pass by and all this rubbish booking his ruining the career of this talented young man.
Seeing as how well Gable and Shelton Benjamin are doing on Tuesday night, creative can’t seriously think about breaking them apart either. So where does Jason Jordan go? What does he do at this moment? To make everything worse, while he is struggling to find something to do, daddy is enjoying his time at the top of the card, with the Shield’s vintage attire and all that.
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4. How long can Enzo make this work?
Enzo Amore won the Cruiserweight title back from Kalisto at TLC. Despite the win coming in controversial manner, that makes him a two-time champion. For someone who has been on the roster for only a couple of months and can hardly wrestle, that is an envious position to be in for someone else like Mustafa Ali. The big questions however, is whether Enzo can keep this up?
He is a fine heel and has brought more attention to the division as a whole. But he absolutely fails as a wrestler in the ring. Especially, when pitted against some of the finest cruiserweights on the planet. Without Big Cass by his side, Enzo has only a limited arsenal of moves. I can see that he is getting better in the ring as the weeks go by. But when he is facing world-class talent every week, it does stick out like a sore thumb.
So, how long can Enzo make ends meet with his excellent heel promos and his average in-ring skills? Will there be any sense of continuity with the recent group of heels he has assembled? Are we headed towards a Survivor Series elimination match for the division? That would be a seriously questionable decision. Firstly, it showcases that creative does not have any plans at the moment for anybody in the division. Secondly, there is no need for an elimination match of that regard. It hurts the prestige of Survivor Series and the many classic elimination matches the show boasts of.
Photo by WWE.com
3. Who is Asuka’s next victim?
The match between Asuka and Emma was not necessarily a squash. It was more competitive than one would have imagined. In a way, this might be the most offense anyone has gotten over Asuka in the past year. She absolutely ruled the division during her tenure at NXT. Emma managed to get some decent attacks mid-way through the match. But in the end, the right woman got the pin.
Asuka is a star unlike any other in the WWE. She has so much charisma and her in-ring styles just makes you want to watch more. You don’t see such swift movement inside the ring that often. Like the commentary team during Styles vs. Balor often said – no wasted movements. Everything she does inside the ring has a purpose.
It seems like Emma will have one more shot at Asuka during WWE Raw this week. Essentially, that is just another way to repeat the events from TLC. Nobody expects Asuka to lose a match cleanly this early in her main roster career. So, who else will step up to face her? How much longer will it be until she moves to the title picture? Will the ever-so-crazy Alicia Fox turn her attention towards Asuka? Or will Nia Jax look to make a statement? Could it even be a returning Paige or Sasha Banks?
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2. What is next for the Shield?
Roman Reigns might just be the biggest victim of timing. He was red-hot following the Shield’s initial break-up. However, he would get sidelined due to injury right before Hell in a Cell that year. Originally, Reigns was scheduled to face Rollins inside Hell in a Cell. When he eventually returned, Reigns was suddenly catapulted to the main event and the rest is history. Had he been able to have that one defining match inside the Cell that year, perhaps he wouldn’t get booed as much has he does now a days.
Then, finally, three years later, the Shield was reunited and the fans once against began stop booing Reigns, if not cheer him on. Everything seemed to be right in the world again. Until two days before the PPV that is. A viral infection that has swept across the Raw locker room has once again sidelined Roman Reigns and Kurt Angle was forced to take his place in the main event.
So, now that it’s all over, what is next for the Shield? They can’t be thinking about fighting the Miz again. They have clearly defeated him. They need to move past from him. But then, to where? Who else would even dare to step up against the Shield? Seeing as WWE does not have any intention to bring back the Club or any stables for that matter, the Shield stands alone. Without any purpose to serve, what motive does the reunion has to last?
Effectively, and quite sadly, is the reunion of the Shield over before it ever kicked off? Or will it lead to a change in plans and a lengthier run for the stable? I would love for them to turn heel once more and attempt to capture all the titles on the show. Then, creative can hopefully bring up some cavalry to wage war against the Shield.
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1. Are there repercussions awaiting Kurt Angle?
Kurt Angle is the General Manager of Monday night Raw. As such, he has a job to do. To ensure that the show must go on no matter what. So, when Bray Wyatt was ruled out of action, he brought in AJ Styles to give us a dream match and a potential match of the year candidate. But when Roman Reigns too got sidelined, Angle really didn’t have any other choice.
No one else possessed the star power to replace Reigns in the main event. It is the fabled Shield reunion for God’s sake. You can’t just throw down Elias Samson or Jason Jordan in there to fill the void created by Roman. The entire WWE universe has been waiting to see this for over three years. So what does he do? Angle threw himself right in the line of fire and expected for a miracle to happen.
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After eleven years, the Olympic Gold medalist had his first match in the WWE. Angle played it safe during much of the match. The big spots from his team were handled primarily by Rollins and Ambrose. The GM eventually got his moment of glory when he pinned the Intercontinental champion. Now that all the smoke has settled, it is time for some questions.
Was it fair from the part of the GM to insert himself into a match? Unlike Shane McMahon during last year’s Survivor Series, he wasn’t fighting against superstars from another brand. Angle was fighting his own men. He pinned his own IC champion in the middle of the night. Does that call for some repercussions? Will the Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon decide to make an appearance to address these events soon? Adding this up to Triple H’s return to in-ring action during a live show can certainly spark some rumors. Are we about to witness the build towards a WrestleMania showdown between Angle and Triple H?
Next: WWE TLC 2017: Results and Grades
The questions are plenty coming out of WWE TLC 2017. For a night, logic was asked to take a second seat and chaos reigned supreme. That made for a memorable PPV and some even more memorable moments. But now that it is all over, what repercussions await us? Those questions and the build towards answering them will take us to the next PPV perhaps.