WWE TLC

Minneapolis

Attendance: 13,381

SASHA BANKS vs. ALICIA FOX (11:00): This was a pre-show match. Sasha is still a star, still a crowd favorite...but her days of having great matches disappeared once Charlotte went to Smackdown. Alicia Fox is more comedic...so this was mostly just ridiculous and forgettable. 1/2*

ASUKA vs. EMMA (9:25): This was Asuka's debut on the main roster. She's a good worker, obviously, but so good that her matches are never good. If she ever wrestled a competitor on her level like Charlotte it might be good. Emma is decent, nothing special. It wasn't a squash but it should have been. *1/2

CEDRIC ALEXANDER & RICH SWANN vs. JACK GALLAGHER & BRIAN KENDRICK (8:00): Boy was this ppv reaching. Two 205Live matches and three women's matches. I usually enjoy the cruiser weight action but this was pedestrian at best. Neville quit the company recently, probably because they gave the title to Enzo. **

ALEXA BLISS vs. MICKIE JAMES (11:25): Bliss is cute but always in so-so matches. So we know what's important in the WWE. Mickie is past her prime but still works hard. This was just okay. *1/2

ENZO AMORE vs. KALISTO (8:45): Enzo won back the cruiser weight title. 205Live is a good idea on paper. Maybe they should just let the wrestlers do their stuff and not let lame story lines interfere. This was another mostly dull match. *1/2

FINN BALOR vs. AJ STYLES (18:20): Good match. The first one on this show and best of the night. Bray Wyatt was supposed to face Balor but Bray had a viral infection (Roman Reigns and Bo Dallas were also off the show because of this...which turned out to be the mumps...which is like chicken pox, right? The adult version? Man, where is Vince Russo? We could've head a Chemical Mask Suit match or Antidote on a Pole match). This was just two great wrestlers wrestling. No story line, gimmicks, or titles. And it worked. The one small problem is that, c'mon, this should've been the main event for the championship. When was the last time the WWE had a great championship main event with two great wrestlers? Brock Lesnar, the RAW champ, barely wrestles, and Smackdown's champ, Jinder Mahal, is more a marketing gimmick than anything. ***

JASON JORDAN vs. ELIAS (8:50): Elias, when he sings a song about how bad the city he's in is, is at least funny. But in the ring he sucks. And Jordan's flailing with the crowds everywhere. Not good. 1/2*

KURT ANGLE & DEAN AMBROSE & SETH ROLLINS vs. KANE, THE MIZ, SHEAMUS, CESARO & BRAUN STROWMAN "TABLES, LADDERS & CHAIRS MATCH" (35:25): Roman Reigns has the mumps. So instead of a Shield reunion we got the return of Kurt Angle. He came out in the crowd dressed with a black vest like a Shield member. Don't even ask me why this was a 5 on 3 match or why Kane and Braun Strowman were even in this because I don't know. The big spot was Dean and Seth jumping off ladders onto Kane and Braun on the two announce tables at ringside. Other than that there weren't any suicidal dives. The crowd did go nuts when Angle did his Olympic Slam and Ankle Lock. They even did a Kurt Angle-gets-hurt-and-leaves-but-returns-with-his-theme-music. The Miz brought out a trash truck by the Titan-Tron. Dean and Seth jumped off of it and then Braun Strowman was thrown into it and trapped. Kane put Strowman through a table by the Titan Tron and then dropped a pile of chairs from the ceiling on him even though they were supposed to be on the same team (Kane hit Strowman with a chair by accident earlier...so I guess that's why they're feuding now). Angle did an Olympic Slam to Cesaro through a table. So it was a long, sloppy cluster fuck. It was fun in spots and boring in spots. **1/2