WWE TLC 2017 is officially in the books and a night of surprising twists and turns led to a memorable showing for Monday Night Raw.
In what was viewed as a two match show, WWE TLC 2017 was one of Raw’s most consistent pay-per-view outings of the year with many quality matches throughout the night. And adding the return of the Olympic Gold Medalist and the last-minute addition of The Phenomenal One didn’t hurt either.
The main card began with the pay-per-view debut of Asuka in her battle against Emma and the two put on a quality match. Most people assumed Asuka would win in dominating fashion, but the match was presented as an actual match with Emma getting plenty of offense in before The Empress Of Tomorrow made Emma tap out for the win.
Photo by WWE.com
That match was followed with tag team cruiserweight action as The Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher battled Rich Swann and Cedric Alexander. The two teams put on one of the better cruiserweight pay-per-view matches in a while. The match featured some great, up-tempo action before Alexander and Swann picked up the win.
The Raw Women’s Championship match was up next with Alexa Bliss defending her title against Mickie James. The two superstars had great chemistry together leading up to this battle and put forth a solid match from start to finish before Bliss picked up the crafty win to retain her championship.
205 Live shined once again when the Cruiserweight Championship was on the line with Kalisto defending his title against Enzo Amore. But unlike the cruiserweight match before it, this match just didn’t get going well enough and felt like the chemistry wasn’t there between the two before Enzo picked up the shady victory to regain the Cruiserweight Championship.
More from Raw
- WWE Raw Predictions: Seth Rollins Will BURY Jey Uso
- Three feuds for CM Punk on WWE Monday Night Raw
- Three candidates to take the Women’s World Championship from Rhea Ripley
- WWE Raw Predictions: LA Knight Will Return The Favor To Cody Rhodes
- Why Drew McIntyre turned heel during WWE Monday Night Raw
One of the two matches everyone was looking the most forward to was up next with The Demon Finn Balor battling A.J. Styles from SmackDown as a replacement for the ill Bray Wyatt, and what a match it was between two of WWE’s best. Like most imagined, it was a true gem of a battle with Balor getting the win over Styles in one of the best matches of the year in the WWE.
With a few encounters earlier in the night, Jason Jordan’s battle with Elias followed and obviously the match was never going to have a chance to be much. In a decent enough match, however, Jordan got the win by pinning Elias who appeared to have his shoulder off the mat.
The main event, five-on-three handicap TLC match with The Miz, The Bar, Braun Strowman, and Kane facing off with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and the in-ring returning Kurt Angle was up next and this was easily one of the most over-the-top and chaotic matches the WWE has seen in a long time. With as many individuals in the match as there were, it’s no wonder how outlandish the match got at times.
Photo by WWE.com
Numerous spots with tables, ladders, and chairs took place and we even saw Strowman get taken out by his own team member when Kane chokeslammed the Monster Among Men through part of the stage before a line of chairs came crashing down on him. And to make matters worse for Strowman, he was thrown in the back of a garbage truck before being swallowed up in the back.
After being slammed through a table earlier in the match by Strowman, Angle made a roaring return to the match after being taken into the back and his return was all his team needed. After two Angle Slams to Sheamus and Cesaro on the outside, Angle and the Raw Tag Team Champions eventually took out The Miz with the patented Shield triple powerbomb with Angle pinning Miz for the win.
It was great to see Angle back in the ring, with Shield gear on no less. He did just enough to get fans excited again, but without risking his health in his first WWE match in over 11 years. It’s probably safe to say this won’t be the last time we see the Olympic Gold Medalist competing in a WWE ring again.
TLC was a solid showing from the red brand with several quality matches including a possible match of the year candidate with Balor vs. Styles. The show did a good job of giving fans a variety of unique elements that will have the WWE universe talking for a long time.
WWE TLC 2017 final rating: 7 out of 10