WWE TLC

San Jose

BUDDY MURPHY vs. CEDRIC ALEXANDER (10:35): 205Live seems to be on its death bed. It was moved to being a taped show aired on Wednesdays ever since the Facebook show, Mixed Match Challenge, started earlier this year. And it seems like it's even less relevant than before, if that's possible. The shocking thing about all of this is that Buddy Murphy is a great, exciting wrestler and the 205Live matches on the PPV's are usually the best matches on the show. Murphy would be a super star if he was in any other promotion, so maybe it's just that WWE in general is on its death bed. Either way, this wasn't a particularly great match. When Murphy beat Alexander in Australia to win the title they had a stellar match. This re-match was too early on the show and too been-there-done-that to matter much. **1/2

ELIAS vs. BOBBY LASHLEY "GUITAR ON A POLE MATCH" (6:20): Vince Russo is apparently back writing these shows. Elias was amusing when he was a heel, now even his songs are boring to go along with his wrestling. Lashley is unconsciously awful. Sadly, they're still feuding after this. Why has God cursed us as a human race to have this feud exist? 1/2*

CARMELLA & R-TRUTH vs. JINDER MAHAL & ALICIA FOX (5:50): The show finally officially started with this match, the finals of the Mixed Match Challenge that literally no one watches or cares about. Just look at who's in the final to figure out why no cared about that show. The winner gets to be the #30 entrant in the Royal Rumble, making next year's Royal Rumble even worse now. Thanks. 1/2*

SHEAMUS & CESARO vs. THE USO'S vs. THE NEW DAY (12:15): This is the feud that will never end. Ever. Really, haven't these three teams been facing each other on every show for, like, three years or something ridiculous? They used to have really good matches but now I'm just bored of them and they're not as good. *1/2

BRAUN STROWMAN vs. BARON CORBIN "TLC MATCH" (16:00): Strowman had surgery so couldn't wrestle, so he brought out a bunch of losers to beat up Corbin and help him win. The losers he brought out were Chad Gable and Bobby Roode and Finn Balor and eventually Kurt Angle. Corbin lost so he's out as GM of RAW. Yet, surprisingly, he's still been wrestling on RAW in his suit. *1/2

NATALYA vs. RUBY RIOT "TABLES MATCH" (12:40): Riot had one of the tables plastered with Natalya's dead father, Jim Neidhart. He literally just died a few months ago. I guess it's to get heat on Riot or this match or this feud but it didn't work, it was just bottom of the barrel stuff that nobody cared about because the WWE always does stupid, sick stuff like this. -No Stars-

FINN BALOR vs. DREW MCINTYRE (12:20): They're supposedly going to give Balor a push soon. They should, as he's a great wrestler. Sadly, they've also been pushing the hell out of Mcintyre who is boring and sucks. This match was so-so and totally forgettable. *

RANDY ORTON vs. REY MYSTERIO "CHAIRS MATCH" (11:30): Most of this match was just guys setting up chairs, hence it was boring. Mysterio did do one cool spot where he held a chair and slid on it out of the ring and onto Orton who was laying on the ground out of the ring. That was about it for entertainment. *

RONDA ROUSEY vs. NIA JAX (10:50): Not bad. It's funny that Rousey was the big, new women's star this year and already she's been overshadowed by Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair who are the two hot, feuding superstar women. Rousey retained her title in an okay match. **

DANIEL BRYAN vs. AJ STYLES (23:55): Good match, alas not great, although it was one of the best matches on the show. Bryan won when AJ tapped out. These two probably would have had a better match five or so years ago but, hell, that's life. This definitely felt different than a typical, WWE match. It felt like they both just went out and did what they wanted to do without any bullshit or comedy or antics. **1/2

DEAN AMBROSE vs. SETH ROLLINS (23:00): The crowd eventually chanted, "This is boring," late in the match because, let's face it, it was. Ambrose is only good in gimmick matches so they probably should have made this a ladder match. No. This "blood feud" was just a boring, typical, wrestling match. Yawn. *

ASUKA vs. BECKY LYNCH vs. CHARLOTTE FLAIR "TLC MATCH" (21:45): Good match. It was not as good as Lynch vs. Flair from Evolution, but still very entertaining and very brutal. Lynch jumped off of the top of the ladder onto Charlotte on the announce table and landed ass first right onto her chest. It was hard to watch and Charlotte moaned in pain like her ribs had snapped apart. Asuka eventually won the title for no good reason...but, c'mon, the Lynch/Flair stuff is fucking great, one of the best WWE feuds in the last few years. Rousey came out to tip the ladder over to help Asuka win for some reason. I assume they're setting up a Rousey/Flair/Lynch WrestleMania match. Bring it on. ***

ROH FINAL BATTLE

New York City

ELI ISOM vs. KENNY KING (8:55): Good opener. It certainly wasn't anything special, but this loud, awesome NYC crowd was on fire (and still awake) early so it made the match better. Fast, action packed. **1/2

ADAM PAGE vs. JEFF COBB (13:35): This was probably the best Ring of Honor match of the year. That isn't really saying a lot since ROH hasn't been all that great this year, but still, this was a fucking great match. The crowd helped, as they roared with approval as if this was Omega/Okada or something. Cobb is great, a big, swift, beast of a man. Page is always a crowd favorite. One particular memorable moment had Page doing his Shooting Star Press from the apron to the floor and Cobb catching him and giving him a belly to belly suplex out on the floor. This was fast and brutal and all big moves. Really, this should've been the main event for the title when you think about it. Cobb retained his TV title or whatever the hell it's called. ***1/2

KELLY KLEIN vs. MADISON RAYNE vs. KAREN Q vs. SUMIE SAKAI (13:40): The women's division is fairly new in ROH, and thus it's still finding it's sea legs. The crowd didn't really want to see this, even though it certainly wasn't terrible or anything. Just forgettable. *

ZACK SABRE, JR. vs. JONATHAN GRESHAM (11:50): Good match, albeit too short to turn into anything great. This was Zack Sabre's ROH debut and the crowd loved him, although they got a little quiet once it hit the mat. **1/2

MATT TAVEN vs. DALTON CASTLE (15:50): Good match. This was pretty much a typical WWE main event style match where every possible outside interference occurs and it's a little ridiculous but entertaining at the same time. Taven did a top rope leap to the floor, which is his patented maneuver, but crashed ribs first right onto the steel guard rail. I thought he'd be out for a year with that injury, yet he continued and I guess is fine. The best moment came when one of Taven's Kingdom goons tossed a boy into the ring onto Castle who was about to pin Taven to win. That was unique. Fun match. ***

MARTY SCURLL vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS (17:30): Another good match. Daniel's is probably leaving ROH to join All Elite Wrestling, the mysterious new company that The Young Bucks and Cody are starting in 2019, so this was his farewell match. The stipulation was that if he lost he was fired. So he lost. And then when he was being cheered post-match by the crowd, Bully Ray came in and beat him up. **1/2

FLIP GORDON vs. BULLY RAY "I QUIT MATCH" (14:25): This was a kitchen sink match. It had everything. Flip's girlfriend, the president of ROH, The Sandman, blood, Singapore canes, tables, chairs, and an American flag. Am I missing anything? Bully Ray eventually quit when Flip was hitting him with two Singapore canes at once. Earlier, Bully tried to get Flip to quit by grabbing Flip's girlfriend out of the crowd and attempting to power bomb her through a table. The Sandman showed up after the lights went out for no reason. Flip gushed blood but still kissed his girlfriend mid-match, getting blood on her. Silas Young came out and poured lighter fluid on a table but it was never lit. This was wild and stupid but entertaining. **1/2

JAY LETHAL vs. CODY (23:45): Cody is gone. He's leaving ROH for AEW. He won't be missed. I think he's a good character but he's never in good matches. This was pretty boring stuff. Lethal retained the title. *1/2

THE BRISCOE'S vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. FRANKIE KAZARIAN & SCORPIO SKY "LADDER WAR IX" (22:40): The problem with this match was that it was too fast-paced to even see or contemplate everything going on. The camera men missed a bunch of big spots, too, which didn't help. The Briscoe's are brutal, so most of this was just sickening bumps and chairs being thrown at people's heads. Nobody stood atop a ladder and waited to build anticipation then jumped...everything just happened super fast like a car crash and a lot of it was missed and you only saw out of the corner of your eye. In that sense, this was a disappointment. It was mildly entertaining, though it was too sloppy and all over the place. This whole show was the end of an era, as The Young Bucks have been the face of ROH for the last two years and they're leaving. They've always been the most exciting on every show and the crowd favorites, so it'll be weird to see them gone. ROH has signed a few new people, the best being Bandido, the masked Luchador that wrestled in Dragon Gate, AAA, and in the main event of All In this year. Will ROH survive without The Young Bucks, Cody, Adam Page, and So-Cal Uncensored? I suppose time will tell. Though it's a sad day for Ring of Honor. **