5 reasons why WWE TLC was the best PPV of 2018

With WWE TLC done and dusted, PPVs of the calendar year 2018 have come to an end. From Royal Rumble to TLC, we have seen 15 PPVs in a span of 12 months. Although there were some good PPVs, most of the others were underwhelming.

While some PPVs like Hell in a Cell started on a good note, the ending was horrendous, rendering the entire PPV bad. A PPV like Backlash was underwhelming throughout the night.

However, TLC has done something special. WWE has done a commendable job with TLC, and we think TLC was the best PPV of 2018. On this list, we take a look at a few reasons why TLC was the best PPV of 2018. So without further ado, lets begin.

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#1 Most of the matches were brilliant

Even with an unconventional finish, AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan was probably the match of the night

From a quickfire cruiserweight championship match on the pre-show, to the WWE SmackDown women's championship in the main event - most of the matches were outstanding. Even though there were some underwhelming matches, the good outweighs the bad by a considerable margin.

The WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan was outstanding. The chairs match between Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio was surprisingly well executed, and Ronda Rousey was brilliant in the RAW women's championship match.

The New Day, The Bar, and The Usos can't do anything wrong when it comes to tag team matches, Finn Balor and Drew McIntyre had a good bout before Dolph Ziggler intervened, and Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins had brilliant chemistry as always.

Even with some mediocre matches like the MMC final, the PPV as a whole stands tall when it comes to quality.

#2 The match order was perfect

TLC 2018

Even though it may sound unimportant, the match order plays a crucial role in determining how good a PPV is.

Throughout the year, WWE always got the match order wrong during PPVs. While it feels logical to have the Universal title close out a PPV since it is the kayfabe top title of the company, it isn't around much. In those situations, either the WWE title or the match with the most steam heading into the event should close.

Just take Crown Jewel as an example. Rather than having the World Cup final close out the show, WWE had a rather slow and underwhelming match between four seasoned veterans close the show.

However, this time WWE got it perfect. Without an iota of doubt, the SmackDown Women's title match was the most talked about match heading into the PPV. Thus it deserved to close the show.

Other than pushing the cruiserweight title match to the kickoff show, the match order was impeccable.

#3 Logical match results

Dolph Ziggler cost Drew McIntyre his match against Finn Balor

When Asuka unstrapped the SmackDown women's championship to beat both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, the whole arena erupted with joy. Considering all the pathetic booking The Empress of Tomorrow went through, it is common sense that she deserved that moment. Similarly, most of the match results were logical, an aberration from what WWE had been doing this year.

Daniel Bryan retaining his title in his first defense was the right move, and the whole RAW "face" locker room destroying Baron Corbin was brilliant since it was the best way to keep Braun Strowman away from in-ring action.

Dean Ambrose needed the IC title win, Drew McIntyre looked incredibly strong even in his defeat, and The Bar retaining the SmackDown LIVE tag team titles was the most logical call since both New Day and The Usos already stacked up a pile of numerous title runs.

#4 No one was booked weakly

Even in defeat, most of the superstars looked strong. The first name which comes to mind while mentioning this is Drew McIntyre. Finn Balor needed a win against Drew now more than ever. However, Drew didn't have to look weak. WWE Creative tackled this problem by having Dolph Ziggler return the favour for Balor from two weeks ago.

Similarly, most of the superstars on the losing side did not look weak. Charlotte and Becky were victims of an interference from Ronda Rousey, Seth Rollins looked brilliant even in his loss to Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles and Randy Orton were rolled up respectively by Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio. Even Baron Corbin was ambushed by multiple superstars with a steel chair each in their hands.

Usually, WWE makes a mess during such bookings. During SummerSlam 2018, they had Braun Strowman literally squash Kevin Owens, obliterating his entire credibility in two minutes.

#5 The main event

The TLC main event was outstanding

The main event of a match is the most looked segment in retrospect. If it fails, people will most often consider the entire PPV a failure - immaterial of how the other segments of the card performed.

WWE Hell in a Cell is one of the most recent examples of this bias. Most of the initial matches were outstanding. However, the main event between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship was horrible, and hence the fans left with a bad taste. That single clash tainted the entire PPV.

However, for TLC 2018, that was not the case. In an all women main event, all three superstars gave their absolute best to put on a great show. First of all, props to WWE for making full use of the popularity this feud had. This main event was probably one of the best main events WWE has had in a long time.