Every Women’s Wrestling Match in WWE TLC History

Credit: WWE.com

Nikki Bella VS Carmella in a No Disqualification Match (2016)

This probably should have been a redeeming TLC moment for Nikki Bella, and I guess it still was given how odd her match with AJ Lee two years prior was. A No Disqualification match suits the styles of both Nikki and Carmella so much better than a straight up wrestling showdown, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

Granted, the story here was not how impressive either woman could be in the ring. It was a comeback for Nikki following her neck surgery and she was being given her rightful opportunity to compete with the new generation of female performers. Carmella, on the other hand, simply needed to be seen to get her very young career off on the right foot.

In the end everything worked out for both Nikki and Carmella, especially the latter who, two years later, has already evolved in so many ways beyond where she was in 2016. But in practice, this match wasn’t very fun to watch. It was a nice attempt by WWE to let the women have a go at a more rough style, but kendo sticks and a fire extinguisher make for a pretty boring No DQ match.

Becky Lynch VS Alexa Bliss in a Tables Match for the SmackDown Women’s Title (2016)

For the second time in TLC history women were set to do battle in a Tables match, and for the first time there were two women’s matches on the TLC main show. The SmackDown Women’s Championship had recently been created as the blue brand’s counterpart to Raw’s Women’s Title and Becky Lynch had become the inaugural champion. Alexa Bliss had emerged as her first big challenge and the two would compete for the gold at TLC in what turned out to essentially be the launch point for Bliss.

In 2018 Lynch is known as “The Man” and it would be difficult to see anyone as a more effective SmackDown Women’s Champion, but WWE didn’t seem to see it that way two years ago. Just weeks after winning the title she would go on to lose it to Alexa at TLC in an exciting match with lots of close calls.

Alexa shined early and often, but like Carmella earlier in the night, had only begun to crack the surface of the potential we see in her today. She was still finding her confidence and her character was a fraction as vicious as it is now, but WWE saw her potential and gave Bliss her first run with a title on this night.