TLC 2020 Review

Sunday, December 20th, 2020
Tropicana Field   
St. Petersburg, Florida

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(Triple Threat) TLC Match For The WWE Championship

AJ Styles vs. Drew McIntyre (vs. Miz)

It's so hard not to wonder what McIntyre's run would be like with people in the stands. Good lord, the camerawork is nauseating here to start off. McIntyre destroys Styles in the early going. The action spills outside and McIntyre even does it right in front of Omos, who just stands there. McIntyre tries his first ladder climb, but Styles hits him with a chair. McIntyre reverses a reversal and turns it into a slingshot into a chair in the corner. McIntyre counters a Styles Clash into a Future Shock and both men are down. They remind us that there is still another TLC match and I still can't believe that they think that is a good idea. McIntyre takes a ladder and suplexes it on Styles. Styles is able to lock on the Calf Crusher. Styles now uses the chair to beat on McIntyre's leg and then locks in the Calf Crusher again, this time with his leg in the chair. Styles is going for a leap to the outside, but McIntyre is able to toss a chair at him. Back in the ring, McIntyre throws Styles onto a ladder and then tosses Stles over the ropes and onto a table. In runs the Miz and he hits a powerbomb on McIntyre through a table. Morrison hands the briefcase to the referee and this is now a triple threat. In comes Omos, who take Miz out and then chases Morrison to the back. Styles and McIntyre both start climbing the ladder and then Miz sets up a second ladder so that he can climb. Miz gets his hand on it, but McIntyre blocks it. McIntyre knocks Styles off and then Miz. Styles leaps back on before McIntyre can grab it. McIntyre gets knocked off and Miz makes his way up. McIntyre uses the second ladder to knock them both down. Styles falls to the floor and McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick on Miz. McIntyre climbs the ladder and retains his championship. This was a hard fought match and the Miz cashed in added a nice wrinkle to the story. This was far from a classic, but it was still a good way to start the show. 

Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

Paul Heyman is with Kayla Braxton and it's actually a pretty boring promo, which is rare. 

WWE Women's Championship Match

Carmella vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha is able to quickly slow down Carmella and then hits an arm drag off the apron. Reginald catches Carmella before she hits the floor and then holds her up so that she can hit a headscissors. Sasha fights back and hits a Meteora. They work their way to the apron and Carmella counters and pulls Sasha on her back to the apron. Carmella hits a superkick, but it goes nowhere for her. Sasha hits a Frog Splash, but Carmella is able to kick out. Carmella hits an X Factor and that one looked convincing. We get a few quick pin attempts from both women, none of which are successful. Reginald pulls Carmella out of the ring, so Sasha hits a Meteora on him. This allows Carmella to take advantage, but Sasha still kicks out. Banks puts the Bank Statement out of nowhere and Carmella taps. This was another hard working match here tonight. It wasn't anything memorable, but it was one of the better Carmella matches that I can recall off hand. 

Match Rating: ***

Raw Tag Team Championship Match

Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin vs. New Day

New Day comes out hot and Xavier Woods hits a top rope leg drop for an early 2 count. It's really good to see Shelton still out here in a meaningful match. I am enjoying just watching these two teams go back and forth here. Cedric is really underrated too. Shelton catches Kofi during the Boom Drop and puts him on his shoulders. Kofi rolls out of the way of a leaping Alexander and hits the SOS for a 2 count. Cedric and Kofi have a nice segment full of reversals and now all four men are in the ring. Shelton hits Paydirt on Woods and then gets a kick to the face from Kofi. Alexander tags in himself while Shelton is waiting for Kofi to get up and Shelton hits the Lumbar Check for the victory. This was all action from start to finish and hard not to enjoy. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Sami Zayn cuts a promo to show that he continues to be one of the highlights of 2020.

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match

Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax vs. Asuka & Charlotte Flair

Asuka and Baszler start things off, but after Asuka avoids a stomp to the arm, Charlotte wants in and she quickly shows off that she is back. It eventually ends up back to being Baszler and Asuka again and Baszler works on Asuka's arm. Charlotte gets a hot tag as Ric Flair looks on backstage. Charlotte hits the moonsault from the top rope to the floor on both opponents. She rolls Jax back in but Jax hits a Samoan Drop. Asuka hit a blind tag and hits a missile dropkick. Charlotte gets the Figure Eight on, but it's broken up by Jax. Charlotte hits Natural Selection and we have new champions. I'm not sure I understand the booking here. Not only just having Charlotte and Asuka win, but having back-to-back tag team championships change hand. This was decent, but basically a TV match. I will say that it is definitely nice to have Charlotte back. 

Match Rating: **

Sami Zayn, R-Truth and Big E have some words backstage. 

TLC Match For The Universal Championship

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Owens comes out of nowhere and attacks Reigns as he is watching the title belt being hung above the ring. Owens hits a cannonball in the ring and then another outside the ring. Owens hits a splash off the apron to the floor. Jey Uso runs into the ring and Owens greets him with a superkick. Uso tries to sneak up again, but Owens swats away his superkick attempt with a chair. Owens then stomps on his ankle and officials are out to look at him. Reigns then comes out of nowhere with the Drive By. Reigns brings him in the ring and starts using the ladders on Owens. He moves onto the chair now and Owens does a nice spot where he tries to fight it off. This is what separates a guy like Kevin Owens from so many of the current performers. Reigns hits a back body drop onto two propped up chairs. We get our first climb of the match and Owens drills him with a chair in the back. Owens makes his way up, but Uso is back and stops him at the top of the ladder. Owens tries to fight him off, but Reigns comes in and hits Owens with a Superman punch. Owens makes a comeback and hits a Stunner on Reigns. Owens hits a variation of the pop up powerbomb on Uso through the announce table. Owens climbs the ladder, but Reigns runs up to bring the attempt to a halt. Reigns then hits a powerbomb on the ladder. Reigns then throws Owens through a table and tosses a chair on him. Reigns then hits a Samoan drop through another table for the exclamation point. Owens plays the underdog who just won't quit, so Reigns hits a Spear on him through another table. Owens still will not quit. Reigns charges him for another Spear, but this time he moves out of the way and Reigns makes the barricade explode. Owens gets his fingers on the title, but Reigns pulls him down and throws him into the ladder. Owens hits two superkicks and goes for the pop up powerbomb, but Reigns counters with a Superman punch. Reigns goes off the ropes and Owens hits a pop up powerbomb this time and it's through a table. He has both hands on the title and Uso again breaks it up. Owens gives him a Stunner for his troubles and climbs again. Reigns get there just in time and hits a low blow. He puts in the guillotine and Owens drops to the mat allowing Reigns to grab the title and win the match. They really worked a smart match here and I thought this was significantly better than the opener. I know everyone is praising Reigns with his new heel persona, but Owens was absolutely terrific here. 

Match Rating: ****

Firefly Inferno Match

Randy Orton vs. The Fiend

Someone really just hates me to put this match on this show. Who in the company saw their other matches a few years ago and was like "yeah, we need more of this". At least their aren't worms on the ring this time. The Fiend no sells because his character makes no sense and then goes on attack. He hits Sister Abigail and then makes a bunch of fire appear all around the ThunderDome. I'm not sure what Orton thought all these magical boxes and assorted things that weren't there before this match were going to do. I don't know guys, I'm already having a hard time focusing on this stuff. Orton's sitting in a rocking chair and Wyatt lights a stream of gasoline, but Orton gets out of the way and the chair just gets lit on fire. Orton starts using the steel steps to attack Wyatt. Orton goes to a steel chain and starts using that on him. Wyatt lights a piece of wood, but Orton avoids him and hits the DDT off the apron. Wyatt locks the Mandible Claw on, but Orton pushes him into the fire and it lights his jacket on fire. They get in the ring and he hits a RKO, which should be the end of the match. Orton then dumps gasoline on Wyatt and sets him completely on fire and Orton poses to end the show. This sucked as bad as you thought it would. There was enough ring action to keep it out of the 0 range, but barely. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Well, this was a really good show if you can just stop it right after Reigns' victory. The Reigns/Owens match was great and the Hurt Business/New Day was really well worked. Everything else was entertaining with the exception of the garbage to close out the show. Hopefully this is the end of the Fiend character for a long time, but it won't be. 

Overall Rating: 79%