WWE TLC 2017 Review: Kurt Angle Is RAW

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Backstory

This is my WWE TLC 2017 review. I was in Green Bay on Sunday for the thrilling Saints/Packers game, so my viewing came early Monday spoiler free.

WWE TLC 2017 Review

Kickoff Show hype – I actually got to see this before my review was finished for a change. WWE did a good job of telling the audience about Kurt Angle returning to their ring for the first time in 11 years, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt were out due to an illness and AJ Styles from Smackdown LIVE was making a special appearance to battle Finn Balor in a dream match. A lot to digest from Friday afternoon but well done on short notice. If you didn’t know before Sunday at 6pm, you were certainly caught up to speed before the pay-per-view began.

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox – Not too much going on here. A simple way for Sasha Banks to get a victory in front of a big audience and gives Alicia Fox something to do. Only confirms why I tend to skip the Kickoff Show or play it as background noise later in the week in case I missed anything.

Emma vs. Asuka – Perfect way to kick off the show. A nice throwback to NXT Takeover London (also the opener there). The fans in Minnesota were jacked up for Asuka to debut on the main roster. Maybe it was due to the Pack losing and the Vikings winning? Who knows? Either way, I figured this would get 15 minutes including entrances and post-match fun, and well…I nailed it right on the dot. Emma showed off her in-ring skills but couldn’t best the undefeated Asuka. Obviously the right call. Some may have wanted a quick, decisive win here, but I didn’t. Do that on Raw each week with local talent. Worked for Braun Strowman, right? On PPV, Asuka can more than deliver against anybody in a 5-15 minute match. Good start for Asuka, who is my pick to be the next RAW Womens Champion.

Cruiserweight tag team match – Alright, alright, alright. The first of many filler bouts of the evening. My concern heading into this event was that it was SO top heavy that the rest of the card was sure to be fighting an uphill battle. Starting with two women matches and a cruiserweight title was risky, as you never know how the live crowd will respond to that. However, it worked. The faces win (three in a row for those counting), and life moves on with this division. Nice to see all four were able to wow with their athleticism. Definitely one of their better showings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULF5oQaG2-o

Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James – I enjoyed the build up for the RAW Womens Championship match. Bliss was the annoying jerk to the veteran, and Mickie was the former champ now fighting for her family and legacy to prove she still had it. The KISS Method in full effect. No surprise: Bliss was always going to retain, but the post-match interview with Ms. James was cool. Was it teasing a new direction for her character as a mother? A heel turn? A farewell with an expiring contract coming due? Guess we have to keep watching to find out. Survivor Series will likely feature an interbrand bout with all the women, so any kind of talk about the title will have to wait…

Elias/Jason Jordan skits – I will just get this out of the way now. The stuff between Jason Jordan and Elias was decent enough. We all knew WWE had to waste a lot of minutes to get through Sunday (as explained in my column last week). Doing it with these two was fine. Jordan earned SOME kind of cheers, and Elias busted out some Prince lines for the local crowd. Win-win. The match appeared to end early over concerns of Jordan getting a concussion. That’s why the quick rollup and non-kickout looked so rushed.

Kalisto vs. Enzo – My only match prediction I got wrong. Also the only match outcome that was wrong. Not a coincidence at all. The rumors were clear from the start: Enzo was going to regain the Cruiserweight Title at TLC. I had hoped against hope that those reports would end up being false. Being a fan of Kalisto and NOT seeing the belt change hands for the 174th time in the past 12 months, it was an easy decision. Silly me. Enzo is champ again, and I think I am supposed to care about 205 Live. Or something or another.

AJ Styles vs. THE DEMON Finn Balor – First off, major props to AJ Styles for making the trip over. I am curious to see if the blue brand will get a favor from the red brand down the road for a similar situation. Would be cool and was referenced a few times that it may happen. We’ll see. Very cool to see the Sister Abigail junk pretty much ignored completely. The Demon was still there for Finn Balor, but that is awesome and fans actually care. Sister Abigial nonsense with Bray Wyatt? No. Sorry, we don’t care.

Great match as expected. Not likely to top any Matc of the Year rankings but more than lived up to the fan freakout from Friday afternoon about seeing them lock up in a WWE ring. It felt like there was A LOT held back for a rematch. Balor hinted at another showdown in the future. Never say never I suppose. The result was never really in question as far as I am concerned. Balor was going to defeat Wyatt, so guess what? Balor was going to defeat who replaced him too.

That man ended up being AJ Styles. Both are being positioned for a main event title opportunity in December, so they’ll be at the top of the card either way. Don’t worry about the ‘winner’ and ‘loser’ here. Entertaining bout with a clean finish followed up by a respectful embrace. That’s all this was ever going to be. It was never going to change much in the grand scheme of things. WWE just needed a suitable substitute and one that would make fans excited. Balor taking on Styles did just that and then some. Now everything will go back to normal with them. Almost like this never even happened come next week…

Kurt Angle, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins vs. The Miz, Braun Strowman, The Bar, and Kane – Time for the main event and really the main reason why this event was so intriguing. Roman Reigns (and The Shield) out, Kurt FREAKIN’ Angle in! My, oh things can flip on its’ head in such short notice. Earlier in the show, we saw Angle get a vest to be an honorary member of The Shield, so the entrance through the crowd was not that big of a shocker. It was telegraphed and all but told us he was going be in full Shield gear.

Yes, it was disappointing not to get the Medal theme song and red, white, and blue entrance, but that can come at a later time. Remember, this opens up the door for an epic WrestleMania 34 feud and match for Angle. Including the pyro entrance and YOU SUCK chants. Pyro still exists at Mania, right? Luckily, we did end up getting the real Angle song later on in the match for the big save, so all’s well that ends well. We got Angle in The Shield for a big crowd reaction and Angle as himself. A two for one deal!

The actual match was just as predicted – chaos all over the place with Kane and Braun turning on each other and Angle pinning Miz in the end. That was my pick, and it was right. There was no other way to conclude the main event. WWE had to ‘make good’ for Bray and Reigns missing the event, so it had to have a lot of face victories, feel good moments and 100% ending the evening on a high note.

Sheamus and Cesaro looked good. Braun was treated as a monster as usual and could be officially turning face based on his team mates turning on him. Kane was his usual self and was very motivated after a long layoff. The Miz was his slimy weasel character and got his comeuppance in the end. Just as he should have. The heel side was awesome all night.

Same with the faces. We will get the full blown trio of The Shield reuniting in a month or two. That moment will still happen. On Sunday night though, Dean Ambrose looked good. Seth Rollins looked good. Both flew all over the place and absolutely earned their payday for the multiple table spots. They had to do all of the moving to distract us from Kurt Angle being able to do very little, which brings me to the main talking point of TLC…

…Kurt Angle returned to the ring!

Even if this was done last minute, the two day notice may have actually gone to WWE’s benefit. The news immediately started trending, and I can tell you my Facebook page (which features very little wrestling) had more WWE talk on it than usual. There was genuine interest in seeing Angle come back and having it come as such a surprise creating instant momentum that may have fizzled out if it was announced ahead of time. I don’t know. Just a hunch: TLC got a big boost from Angle returning with only two days notice.

He wrestled like I figured. A lot of chair swinging and simply spots. Most of the action belonged to Ambrose and Rollins. Plus, Angle even got ‘taken out’ for a lengthy period of time. Smart move that played into his real entrance music playing later. Loved the moment and fit well with the entire cluster that this main event was. The running powerslam through the table may have been rough, but I think Angle should be able to take that. A german suplex, ankle lock, and Olympic Slam was all we needed to see. His greatest hits so to speak.

Two thumbs up on the main event and especially keeping Kurt Angle out of danger. He looked nervous and had a few close calls. Hopefully, with more time and preparations, his potential farewell tour to WM34 is a go. A SAFE go.

SUMMARY: WWE did it. The filler was fine, and the main selling points more than delivered. A good show and sets the stage nicely for some RAW vs. Smackdown LIVE invasion stories next month.

NRW: The Match

Well over 1,600 views now. An updated version is coming soon with more special features added on, including commentary! Thanks to all of you who commented and/or watched. Even if YOU may not care one bit, it means a lot to us. Much appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2FkvheQzxg&t

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