WWE TLC thoughts
WWE ended its 2010 pay-per-view schedule on a high note, as Sunday’s night’s TLC show delivered strong in-ring action and was well-booked.
Although six of the seven matches involved tables, ladder, chairs or all three, it didn’t feel like overkill, as all of the gimmick matches told their own distinctive story.
When the dust settled and all of the plunder (as the legendary Dusty Rhodes would say) was cleared, three of WWE’s rising stars had notched big victories, and one major superstar became a world champion again while another vanquished his archrival in convincing fashion.
Here is a match-by-match look at the show:
WWE champion The Miz defeated Randy Orton in a tables match (13:38): The story here was Alex Riley repeatedly interfering and saving The Miz whenever he was in trouble. At the nine-minute mark, Orton prepared to superplex Miz through a table in the ring, but Riley moved the table out of the way before they landed. A few minutes later, Orton powerbombed Riley through a table after a ref bump. The Miz, however, delivered the Skull-Crushing Finale to Orton, and then moved Riley away from the broken table and placed Orton onto it. Miz revived the referee and showed him the fallen Orton and the broken table. The referee called for the bell and Miz was declared the winner. However, when the referee saw the replay on the video screen, he ruled that the match would be re-started. Orton immediately went on the attack outside the ring. As he threw Miz into the ring and climbed up on the apron to follow him, Miz grabbed the groggy Riley and shoved him into Orton, who fell off the apron and through a table outside the ring, giving Miz the win just 38 seconds into the restart. I liked the finish, as the crowd seemed to be anticipating a title change when the match resumed, only to have Miz quickly dash their hopes.
Edge defeated world heavyweight champion Kane, Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio in a TLC match to win the title (22:43): This was an excellent match and the best one on the show. I have to admit that I marked out for Rey Mysterio wearing a mask modeled after Gene Simmons of Kiss (he also wore a Simmons-like black wig to the ring, but he removed it before the match). There were numerous big spots, including Edge diving off a ladder that was set up in the ring onto Kane, who went crashing through a table on the floor. Each of the four men had moments in which they nearly won the contest. One of the stories of the match was that every time Mysterio was close to winning, it was his archrival Del Rio that stopped him. There was a nice sequence at 10:25, as Mysterio missed the 619 on Del Rio, and Edge then speared Mysterio and Del Rio in succession.
At the 16:15 mark, Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, climbed the ladder while everyone was down, but Kane caught him and choke-slammed him. Del Rio took the biggest bump of the night when Mysterio pushed over the ladder that Del Rio was on, sending him flying outside the ring and through a table. The finish saw Edge spear Kane, knocking him off the apron and through a table at ringside. Edge then scaled the ladder and grabbed the belt that was suspended above the ring to become a 10-time world champion. All four guys put on really good performances in the match, and Del Rio – by being in there with three veteran superstars – solidified his status as a main-eventer waiting to happen. On a side note, Del Rio had a brief encounter with Rosa Mendes backstage before the match, as she was admiring his car. Putting Rosa with Del Rio would probably benefit both of them.
John Cena defeated Wade Barrett in a chairs match (19:09): Surprisingly, this match went on last (I thought for sure the TLC fatal fourway was going to get the main event slot). Cena had taken out all of The Nexus members during the show, leaving Barrett without any backup. CM Punk came out to do commentary for the match (it was his only appearance on the show) and was critical of Cena throughout, which led me to believe that he was going to interfere on Barrett’s behalf, but he never did. There was an entertaining spot at the 8:30 mark, as Cena grabbed a desk chair with wheels and placed an unconscious Barrett in it on the stage. Cena poured water on Barrett to revive him and then sent him rolling down the ramp and crashing into the ring steps, which had been propped up on the floor. Cena scored the winning pinfall after hitting the Attitude Adjustment on Barrett onto six chairs that Cena had set up in the ring. Cena continued to brutalize Barrett after the match, including putting him under a wooden platform and then pulling on a chord that sent a bunch of chairs that were hanging from the ceiling as part of the set onto Barrett. Obviously, Barrett was protected by the platform, but it still made for a cool visual. This came off as the blowoff to the Cena/Nexus feud.
Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger in a ladder match (8:57): My only problem with this match – which opened the show – is that it needed about another five minutes. All three guys put on a strong performance and there were several unique spots. One of them saw Kingston leap off the ropes and swing through the opening in the ladder in the ring to kick Swagger, who was standing on the other side. At about the four-minute mark, with all three guys down, Vickie Guerrero got in the ring and began climbing the ladder. Kingston recovered and began tilting the ladder over. Guerrero did a great job of selling that she was terrified before Ziggler made the save and she was able to flee to safety. At the 7:45 mark, Ziggler locked a sleeperhold on Kingston while both of them were on the ladder. Kingston was able to power out and knock Ziggler off the ladder. Then Swagger climbed the ladder and he and Kingston fought over the belt that was suspended above the ring. They simultaneously unhooked the belt, which fell to the mat. Ziggler picked up the belt like a football player recovering a fumble and was declared the victor. The finish was a bit anti-climactic, but I thought it was a clever way for Ziggler to retain the championship without really earning the win.
John Morrison defeated Sheamus in a ladder match (19:07): A clipboard with a contract for a WWE title match attached to it was hanging above the ring for this match to determine the No. 1 contender. This was a potential star-making performance for Morrison, who scored the biggest victory of his career. Morrison hit the first big move of the match when he connected on a corkscrew body press off the top rope and over the ladder. That was an even more impressive maneuver than Jeff Hardy’s patented leapfrog over the ladder/legdrop spot. Morrison suffered a “knee injury” about five minutes into the match, and Sheamus worked over the bad knee the rest of the way. Despite being hobbled, however, Morrison kept battling and simply refused to lose.
At the 17:30 mark, Morrison knocked Sheamus off a ladder and onto a bridged ladder outside the ring. Morrison also went flying off the ladder onto the floor on that spot. Once the action was back in the ring, Sheamus pushed over the ladder that Morrison was climbing, but Morrison balanced his foot on the ropes and propelled the ladder back to a steady position. As he did, Morrison nailed Sheamus with a kick to the head and then climbed the ladder and pulled down the clipboard for the win. That means that The Miz's next WWE title defense will be against his former tag team partner, which should make for an entertaining program (think we'll hear the name Marty Jannetty referenced in the buildup?). By overcoming his knee injury and prevailing in the hard-hitting match, Morrison gained some “street cred” for his toughness and determination. Sheamus, meanwhile, looked strong in defeat.
WWE tag team champions Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater by disqualification (6:18): This match, which was not announced beforehand, was the only one on the card not to have a TLC stipulation. It was the usual entertaining Marella/Kozlov match (who would have ever thought that “Kozlov” and “entertaining” would be used in the same sentence?). The champions got the DQ victory when Michael McGillicutty interfered just as Marella was about to deliver The Cobra to Slater. After the match, The Nexus attacked Marella and Kozlov, with Wade Barrett nailing both repeatedly with chair shots.
Natalya and Beth Phoenix defeated Lay-Cool in a tables match (9:24): Thanks to the tables stipulation – as well as the fact that all four of these women know how to work – this was not your run-of-the mill Divas match. It also helped that they were given more than twice as much time as typical Divas pay-per-view matches, so they were able to tell a story and build to a finish. There was a very scary moment early in the match when Michelle McCool threw Phoenix out of the ring, and Phoenix got her feet tangled in the ropes and landed right on her head with all of her weight. I feared that Phoenix had suffered a catastrophic injury, but she got up, finished the match and reportedly is OK. In a cool spot, Natalya applied the Sharpshooter to McCool and Layla simultaneously. The finishing sequence saw McCool and Layla attempting to double-suplex Natalya off the top turnbuckle and through a table, but Natalya managed to shove both Lay-Cool members off the ropes and onto the table. The table bent but didn’t break, so Natalya hit a splash that successfully took out Lay-Cool and the table for the victory.
Comments
Orton powerbombed Riley through a table, not RKOed.
RESPONSE FROM KE: You're right. Freudian slip. It's fixed. Thanks.
Posted by: Dean from Vegas | December 20, 2010 1:15 PM
wow i think miz is a big load of s***...cuz he has a-ri to help him wen ever he is in trouble
if he wasnt there randy orton would have won the tittle back
and randy orton is soooooo sexy even if he has swet all over him
Posted by: claudia | December 20, 2010 1:34 PM
cool show
Posted by: russ | December 20, 2010 1:42 PM
Why always Marty Janetty? What about Jim Neidhart? What about Stevie Ray?
Posted by: Xelpzat | December 20, 2010 2:46 PM
I'm just hopeing this is the begaining of a Edge/Christian Cage WrestleMania match.
And after watching some TNA , it's time for Sting to pop up at WrestleMania also.
Cuz really The Miz, Albert Del Rio, Wade Barrett . . . . Enough already !!!
I want a Masato Tanaka vs Supreme DeathMatch called by Joel Gertner and Larry Rivera with Bill Alfonso as Referee !!!!
Posted by: evan | December 20, 2010 2:51 PM
Can I just tangentially remark, Kevin, that the comments on the blog have gotten AMAZING lately. :D
Posted by: John Cena's Merchandising Fees | December 20, 2010 3:14 PM
Hey Kev HBK just signed a long term deal with WWE do you we could see him at WrestleMania for 3rd time against UnderTaker or will be John Cena .
RESPONSE FROM KE: His business relationship with WWE does not involve him wrestling again. He's retired and my guess is he is one of the very select few who will actually stay retired.
Posted by: ryan | December 20, 2010 3:58 PM
Good wrap up Kev. That fatal four way for the heavyweight belt was the best match I've seen in ages. It's good to see Edge back on form. I feel like he's been a bit flat since coming back from injury but all his wily skills were came out during the match. One question: Does the Baltimore Sun pay for all the Pay per views you watch?
Posted by: Jon | December 20, 2010 4:13 PM
Hey Kev,
After TLC and seeing that its gonna be Miz/Morrison at Royal Rumble. What do you think the chances are that Miz heads into WM27 as WWE Champion?
Posted by: Cody Fryman | December 20, 2010 4:20 PM
i think it should be the miz V's randy orton in a title match,with alex r. hanging in a cage with the belt over the ring,the winner not only gets the belt but gets to face alex r.in a steel cage match,the match being called (WINNER TAKE ALL)
Posted by: Daniel | December 20, 2010 4:52 PM
This sounds like the first really good wrestling PPV in a while.
New writers?
Hopefully starts a trend.
Morrison/Miz for the championship is an intriguing program!
Hopefully Punk is back in the mix soon.
Posted by: AMC | December 20, 2010 5:12 PM
I have to admit the only matches I was looking forward to yesterday were the Diva Tables match and the Morrison-Sheamus match. And my God I had a blast watching those.
Anytime Lay-Cool get their behinds kicked I do not mind at all for they are the most annoying team ever. Even worse that Chryme Tyme lol.
And I have such a crush on Beth and Natalya. But I can see those two fighting against each other at Wrestlemania.
By the way, is the Women's Title now known as the Diva's Title for the forseeable future? Cos I detest that butterfly belt and wanna see the old Women's title back in WWE.
I was screaming at the TV when Morrison beat Sheamus. FINALLY The Shaman is starting to get the push he deserves and thank God for that. He was awesome again last night and even tho he had that 'knee injury', he really looked amazing. That corkscrew leap he did from the turn buckle and over the ladder to plant a right on Sheamus was an awesome spot.
The only thing that worries me is creative are gonna ruin this feud cos they give Morrison such lame material to work with. I remember just after Miz and Morrison split and they did the promo for Bragging Rights on Smackdown, Jo-Mo was magic on the mic that night. His intensity was spot on and he really stood his own with The Miz. So I'm hoping we get that John Morrison. I actually think they should just let him go with the flow like they used to do with The Rock and I reckon he'll really shine then.
But here's to a great looking feud for the WWE title at the Rumble. Miz vs Morrison.... IT'S GONNA BE EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Farai C | December 20, 2010 5:16 PM
for me it was the best ppv from wwe for a long time. I agree with your view that the 'gimmick' of the ppv didnt get old unlike the view of the sun.Morrison Sheamus match was by far the best. fatal 4 way should of been the main event. When was the last time the smackdown title match was the main event at a ppv?
Posted by: Dsilverman | December 20, 2010 5:17 PM
Awesome show, but I think it was Morrison and Sheamus that stole it....
Posted by: rob | December 20, 2010 5:17 PM
I expected kofi kingston to win but he didn't so I am highly disappointed but I hope he gets another titleshot.
Posted by: Bob | December 20, 2010 5:23 PM
I really thought this show was a bust myself. I'm a member of the Attitude era. I understand what Vince is doing with this, promoting for the upcoming generation and all, and with the concussions becoming a big deal, they quit chair shots to the head, which is OKAY, but takes some edge out of the show. The WWE may have 3 good superstars, and if they EVER lost Cena, they'd be in trouble, he is their moneymaker. No more hardcore matches...no more first blood matches..no more barbed wire steel caged matches. Regular Cage matches are a bust anymore. No more blood, This PG has got to go, but for Vince and for Business, it's a great strategy.
Posted by: Stephen | December 20, 2010 5:49 PM
The ref re-started the match after watching the video footage ....... Hope they stick to this week in week out in both Raw and Smackdown
Posted by: Adriam Hung | December 20, 2010 6:53 PM
Good PPV. Regarding the finish to Miz's match, the ref should of signalled to ring the bell and the announcer should of immediately announced Miz as the winner. I believe that would of been a nice touch. It couldnt of just been me confused whether the match was really finished.
Posted by: Matt | December 20, 2010 7:41 PM
The only thing i didnt like is the fact that all the matches endings had been obvious, for the most part. Practically everyone knew cena would win, orton would lose, Kane would lose (to edge or del rio), Lay Cool would lose... It was so obvious... I kinda thought maybe theyd change it up a bit since it was so obvious. :( like throw everyone off and have Sheamus win... but i think people would have expected anoher Orton Sheamus battle which has been done...
Posted by: Sean | December 20, 2010 8:12 PM
I'm amused that people think that Miz needing help from Riley makes him look weak, when it is a classic characteristic of a heel champion. Know your role, ya jabronis!
Posted by: Loco | December 20, 2010 8:53 PM
I really wished I could have watched this one. It sounded like an entertaining PPV before the good reviews.
John Morrison seems ready for the next level. He might not be ready the WWE Championship but he is ready to main event.
I'm glad to see the Intercontinental Championship getting an important role on the show. I was hoping Ziggler would retain and have wondered why they have never used that finish in a ladder match before.
The Tag Team match was obviously just to get heat on the Nexus, but at least the Tag Titles were on the card.
I liked that Kane had a long and much deserved title run, however I'm glad it's over. I thought Mysterio would win setting up a Del Rio/ 619 World Title program to help Del Rio come across as a strong World Heavyweight contender.
The Miz is awesome. I love a heal that acts the way he does. He has great heat and carries himself like a good working heal. He reminds me of Flair in his early days of being a Champ. Everyone knew he was able to be beaten, just no one could get it done because of the dirty (but not brutal) ways of cheating. I really hope he gets a long WWE Championship run.
I hope Cena and Barret wrap up their feud here as Cena has made the other Nexus members look very weak for not being able to contain one guy.
Posted by: mat | December 20, 2010 8:56 PM
I don't like the miz...I don't feel he is a true champ... but I guess comments like this is why he is champ.... ps... I miss the game& steph
Posted by: renoddda davis | December 20, 2010 9:03 PM
The show was good, but I can do without these WCW bad memories like....David Arquette wrestling and now Rey Mysterio bringing back the stench of The Demon. What's next...the return of Vince Russo??
Posted by: The Nature Boy | December 20, 2010 9:11 PM
Tlc was d living hell for barett.
Cena after gettin fired also he never give up.
Posted by: Allen | December 21, 2010 12:10 AM
cena is best
Posted by: pvs | December 21, 2010 4:14 AM
Hey when triple h going to return in action and this was amazing cena defeated barett
Posted by: Ayush kumar | December 21, 2010 6:21 AM
"That was an even more impressive maneuver than Jeff Hardy’s patented leapfrog over the ladder/legdrop spot."
Just couldn't resist an opportunity to put over WWE at the expense of TNA, could you? I wonder if Jeff Hardy was still in WWE if you would have felt the need to point this out. Or if Morrison and Sheamus were in TNA. And please spare me how you were just pointing out how good the move was for a ladder spot or some other BS. You are always taking shots at TNA no matter how much you try to cover it up with your occasional disingenuous, positive comments.
RESPONSE FROM KE: Hopefully this is meant to be sarcasm. If not, please seek counseling.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 21, 2010 10:09 AM
Wwe is the awesome this is the show that i never miss in wwe my favourate superstar is "john cena" and i have a question. That will triple h be back ?
Posted by: Deepak | December 21, 2010 10:49 AM
@Xelpzat, AMEN! No one will be the "next Marty Jannetty" because there will never be another Shawn Michaels. The same could be said of Jim Neidhart with Bret Hart too.
But, your comparison to the "next Stevie Ray" makes perfect sense to me! The Rockers genuinely influenced tag team matches in wrestling. The lasting effects of John Morrison & The Miz as a team are closer to those of Harlem Heat.
Posted by: Mr. Sarcasm | December 21, 2010 11:03 AM
Nice to see a PPV go (almost) its full three hours! Not that i completely agree with unprotected chair shots to the head...its looks a bit unnatural for the wrestler to position himself correctly before swinging a chair. Surely they can allow chair shots with blocking?
Overall OK show, shame the 4 way ladder match didn't go on last...Rosa looked awesome
Posted by: Andy | December 21, 2010 3:31 PM
TLC was an ecellent PPV. Well beyond standard.
When even the Divas match was well executed, it's a good indication on how strong the whole show was.
Posted by: Montreal Crewjob | December 21, 2010 3:49 PM
"Natalya managed to shove both Lay-Cool members off the ropes and onto the table. The table bent but didn’t break"
You have always said Michelle McCool was too skinny.
Posted by: Bob Buscaglia | December 22, 2010 12:05 AM
@John Cena's Merchandising Fees:
My thoughts exactly. We should be glad that Cena was rehired so soon after he was “fired”. Could you imagine the comments if he would have been off TV for a few weeks?
Posted by: XDreamItchy | December 22, 2010 2:38 AM
"Why always Marty Janetty? What about Jim Neidhart? What about Stevie Ray?"
What about Raven?
Posted by: TheMythicalOne | December 22, 2010 4:19 AM
Hey Kev, should the chair shot on Husky Harris head been legal?
RESPONSE FROM KE: I would have to go back and watch it, but I think the chair hit the door more than it hit Harris.
Posted by: XD.Q | December 22, 2010 10:21 AM
"I'm amused that people think that Miz needing help from Riley makes him look weak, when it is a classic characteristic of a heel champion. Know your role, ya jabronis!"
Exactly! Not only is Miz doing his job to get heat and hatred as a heel, he's helping put a newer guy over (Riley) too!
Posted by: mizcametoplay | December 23, 2010 9:11 PM