The Scottish View: TLC 2013

TLC 2013 Review


I haven't really been looking forward to this since there hasn't been a good WWE PPV since Summerslam, but I get it for free on Sky Sports so I might as well watch it. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.



HHH and Stephanie come out to tell us about the importance of both World Championships. Wow great way to start off a show.




CM Punk vs The Shield
Like most other people, I wasn't a fan of the idea of two 3 on 1 handicap matches on one show, but I'd say they managed to surpass my expectations, starting with this fun opener. I know there will be people that will say that the Shield was buried because they lost to one guy, but they weren't, as it was done very well with the Shield making big mistakes and Punk capitalising on them. Plus it starts the inevitable storyline of Roman Reigns becoming his own man, which should be fun. Good opener. ***1/4



AJ Lee vs Natalya
I knew that these two could have a good match given the chance, and that's exactly what they did. AJ and Natalya are definitely the best divas in the entire division, and they proved it here with a solid match. Given an extra five minutes or so, this could have been something great. I look forward to the rematch. **1/4



Big E Langston vs Damien Sandow
If they stick with the whole 'one world champion' thing, then I would say that the IC Title has elevated in status, and in turn, Big E Langston as well. Don't know where that leaves the US Title, but that hasn't been defended in months anyway. I was surprised that these two guys had good chemistry together, and gave us a solid match. This is another match that could have used more time, and once again, I look forward to a rematch. **1/2



The Rhodes Brothers vs The Real Americans vs The Ex-Heyman Guys vs The Mysterious Show
I guess they had nothing for Show and Mysterio, but they do make a good tag team so I'm fine with it. Elimination rules apply here, and I will admit that I was wishing for a ladder match to be made here like at Armageddon 2006. What the hell is with the lack of gimmick matches in this show though? Anyway this match, quite frankly, stole the entire show. They were given plenty of time with twenty minutes and it was so much fun. When it came down to the final two teams, I had no idea of who was going to win, and that made it so exciting. Match of the Night. ****



Brodus Clay vs R-Truth
This was more of an angle advancement than a match as it was basically the heel turn for Brodus Clay. No reason for it to be on PPV though and it was pretty damn boring. 1/2*



Kofi Kingston vs The Miz : No DQ
This was an impromptu match made on the pre-show after Kofi attacked Miz. Nobody really cares about this feud and that was made evident with the live crowd chanting 'boring'. It wasn't too bad and started off quite well, but it was pretty boring in the middle. Just make Miz a full heel already! **



Daniel Bryan vs The Wyatt Family
A lot of people seem mad about the fact that Bryan was beaten here, but he was beaten by three huge guys, so it's not like he's been buried. This did have it's slow moments when the Wyatt's were in control, but when Bryan was in control, it was a ton of fun. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the opener, but it was still good. ***



John Cena vs Randy Orton : TLC
I'm still shocked by the fact that a Cena/Orton match was given a 'this is awesome' chant from the audience. This is the 'biggest match in WWE history' and to be frank, it was pretty damn awesome which I really wasn't expecting. This was never going to be the usual high-flying TLC match that we're used to, but they still managed to make it work with some stiff chair shots and table spots. The slow climbing was a little annoying but you always get that with these matches. I even loved the throwback to their I Quit match with the handcuffs. I don't think anyone expected this one to end cleanly with no interference at all, but that's exactly what we got and the match was all the better for it. Great match. ***3/4



8/10. Finally for the first time since Summerslam, WWE have given us a good PPV, and it wasn't just good, it was great! There was nothing really terrible outside of the Brodus/Truth match. The main event definitely delivered, we had two very good handicap matches, a good divas match, a fun IC Title match, and a must-see Tag Title match. A recommended show for sure.