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WWE will present the 2018 TLC PPV this Sunday from San Jose, CA. Here are our thoughts on what should go down this weekend.
WWE Smackdown Women's Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka in a TLC Match
Dave: This is THE match I am looking forward to. I should say in advance that I think that all of the work on the show, or at least the vast majority of it, should be excellent. As usual, whether the show is a success to me or not depends on the booking and given recent history, I just don’t have a good feeling about them turning that around, especially on what could be seen as a throwaway show right before the holidays, and more importantly the month before the “real” season starts in January. I love that Asuka was added, but my fear is that it will be like when Samoa Joe got thrown back in the WWE Title picture for five minutes, instead of given a real push, that she is there to take a fall and keep the other two hot. They could book that well, and if it’s the direction, I hope that they do. With that said, The Man should leave this match with the Title belt in hand.
Mike: This should close the PPV. On paper, this should be awesome and it’s a TLC show, so let the TLC match guaranteed to thrill close the show. At Evolution, we saw the level of violence and physicality Charlotte and Becky can take things to and this should pick up right where we left off. Asuka and Charlotte had an amazing match at Wrestlemania. Add in all the spectacle of a TLC match and you are pretty much guaranteed a tremendous match. So, who goes over? If you are going to take the belt off Becky, it should only be to set the stage for her against Ronda down the line and doing it here, where she can’t be pinned, makes sense. I’d like to see Asuka get the win here, because it would put her back at the top of the division, but I think a far more logical choice from WWE is to go back with Charlotte. So, that’s my guess as to what they would do, although I think Lynch being pushed to the moon as the anti-hero is the best bet.
Richard: I agree with Mike that this should be the final match on the PPV and I think that this has the potential to be a classic match. Before I get into what I think will happen in this match, I think it is hinged upon their plans for Wrestlemania. My theory for this match is based on what I want to see at Wrestlemania so it probably won’t happen. While I think Becky should retain because she is the best thing on either of the main brands at this time, I think the match we want to see is Charlotte versus Ronda versus Becky. To get to that, we need Charlotte to win this match. If this wasn’t a TLC match, I would make the argument that Asuka was added so Charlotte would not have had to take the pin against Becky to keep the title on her. However, if we have Charlotte win (and Ronda retain), you have Becky in the Royal Rumble and dominate it and win the match. Then you have Becky asked which champion she wants to face and she says “I am The Man so I don’t need to face one champion, I challenge both of them!” Getting back to the match, if we get kendo stick swinging, ass kicking Asuka for the whole match, I can see everyone with a chance to win, only to see Charlotte prove that being the Dirtiest Player in the Game does not skip a generation and she steals the win. I hope they don’t return Asuka to the ‘rest of the brand’ pile after this match.
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match: If Corbin wins, he becomes the permanent Raw General Manager. If Strowman wins, he challenges Brock Lesnar at the 2019 Royal Rumble. If Corbin loses, he will be fired as acting Raw GM.
Dave: Braun needs to destroy Corbin and end the GM angle. Corbin had probably his best match on Monday, so he can go back to being a wrestler. Him in the GM role has been a ratings disaster and Mania season starts soon. Alexa is close to being able to return too. So, have Angle return from his vacation and take over his role and then make it clear to Alexa that she is back to wrestling too since he doesn’t need her in the role she has now.
Mike: Braun will be there. Braun will wipe out Baron. Kurt Angle or Alexa Bliss end up GM on Raw. I suspect part of the reason they did a 30-minute TLC match on Raw was to make up for the fact that this won’t be much of a big spectacle as much as a short segment.
Richard: I would not be surprised to see this match start the show so Baron can try to get the ‘early forfeit’ victory, only to see Braun show up and beat Baron in less than 3 minutes. This way Braun can beat Brock in Phoenix and Drew can win it at Mania. With 4,000 matches on this show, they can make this an angle instead of giving us 15 minutes when 5 is all that is needed.
WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles.
Dave: Since Bryan is now a real heel, he uses heel tricks to keep the Title. AJ gets to fight heroically and the story continues into next month. The match should be great, even if it’s not a scientific classic (which it shouldn’t be since Bryan is a heel).
Mike: The New Daniel Bryan, as a character, has been nothing short of fantastic. They have a great story here with Styles looking for his title and revenge and as long as they give them 20 minutes and leave them alone, this will be great. It’s far too soon for the title to switch back, so I’d like to see them do some sort of disputed finish so they can do a big stipulation match at the Rumble.
Richard: Other than the Women’s TLC match, this is the match I am most excited for. I love this Daniel Bryan because I saw the dawn of this type of Danielson in FIP a decade ago and it was gold. I hope we get the seeds of a classic match but then Bryan realizes that he does not have to impress anyone and he turns it into the FickleFest the crowd deserves. Bryan should retain, but who is next for Daniel after AJ?
WWE Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax.
Dave: It is way, way, way too soon to take the belt off of Ronda. It makes more sense for her to go into Mania undefeated than to have a loss happen at a show that really doesn’t matter. Ronda retains. I expect outside stuff too, obviously.
Mike: I don’t see them changing the belt and taking it off Ronda before WrestleMania. This should be built up as Ronda coming out strong, Nia overpowering her for a long time after taking control, perhaps after Tamina runs interference, Ronda surviving the knockout punch and then getting the pin, not the submission after Ember Moon shows up to ward off Tamina, distracting Nia. That leaves room open for rematches. Their first match was good. If Nia can truly be a monster heel for Ronda to come back against, they should have a really good story to tell.
Richard: I am afraid that this turns into a female version of a Brock Lesnar match where Nia tries to focus on being the Face Breaker and ignores the fact that she has to wear down her opponent before finishing her off (or sucker punching Ronda). Ronda should retain, and in order to get the match I suggested in the TLC match discussion, Ronda has to win.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose.
Dave: Mike did the Tip Sheet first so I will just say I agree with him. Dean should take that Title through some nefarious means. Keep the story rolling.
Mike: The most logical thing is here for Dean to do something truly underhanded and win the Intercontinental Championship, setting the stage for Seth to chase him (and to get the belt off Seth in case they go with Rollins vs. Lesnar down the line.) This should be a really fun, crazy brawl.
Richard: I had high hopes for this feud since the first time, I was extremely disappointed with what they were booked to do. Now that the final match of their three match series in FCW is on the Network, people can see what they can do. I almost wanted Baron to win on Monday so the title would not be an issue, but I would not be surprised if they take the title off Seth and give it to Dean. I am setting the over/under on number of times that Corey tries to get Renee to talk about her husband and Renee’s refusals at 3.5.
Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox vs. R Truth and Carmella in the finals of the Mixed Match Challenge.
Dave: Wow, talk about ending with a thud. This thing went sideways, for sure. I go with Carmella and Truth.
Mike: Will this be the bathroom break for the audience live? To me, this is a no brainer. Carmella and Truth go over. They have legitimately been an entertaining part of the MMC series and their entrance is fun. They deserve the win.
Richard: Carmella and R Truth should win only because they will provide the better Royal Rumble moment when Truth comes out as #30 . . . of the Women’s Rumble and then gives us a ‘My Bad’ before we get the DANCE BREAK. Will this match also be on Facebook Watch?
Table Match: Natalya vs. Ruby Riott.
Dave: Using Jim Neidhart is just creepy to me. I know a lot of people in the business that see it as the ultimate compliment, to be part of an angle after you die, but I am not one of them. With that said, Natty needs to destroy Ruby. The question is when. I could see them having her “lose it” which makes he get disqualified and they build to a bigger stipulation at the Rumble.
Mike: I am looking forward to the match but really don’t like the icky feeling that is attached to the Jim Neidhart stuff. I respect that Natalya feels her dad would have been all for it and I get she feels it’s a tribute to him, but I wish they had gone another route personally. The ending HAS to be Natalya wiping out Riott here. Anything else is just sort of screwed up, no?
Richard: I agree with Dave and Mike that the logical ending would be Natalya beating Ruby by putting her through a table, but I think that does more harm for Ruby going forward. Ruby is one of the future stars of the women’s division and I would not mind seeing her involved with Ronda to give Ronda a strong match going into Mania. Sarah and Liv will get involved and one of them will probably go through the Anvil Table. I would still give Ruby the win because we don’t always need the fairy tale ending or the redemption storyline.
The Tip Sheet Continues on Page 2!
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