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So they murdered a guy, right?
TLC 2017 was a show that was put together at the last minute. The WWE really didn’t have a choice with the illness that took out Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns. It took a card that looked pretty forgettable and gave us two fun and exciting last-minute replacements matches. I guess the WWE can fly by the seat of their pants sometimes. I know I enjoyed the Raw branded pay-per-view on Sunday night.
With all of this in my thoughts, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE TLC 2017
#5 Enzo regains The Cruiserweight Title
I am guessing 205 Live is nearing its possible end. How else would you explain the game of hot potato they are playing with the title? We have had five title changes in less than two months. I am sure none of us will fondly remember the impressive title reigns of Kalisto and Akira Tozawa.
You cannot deny Enzo has brought a lot of attention back to the Cruiserweight Division on Raw. He is among the best talkers in the WWE and it helps bring attention to a group of wrestlers who are struggling. The problem is, Enzo is a pretty bad wrestler and working with the occasionally sloppy Kalisto doesn’t help.
The WWE has apparently decided to go with the good talker over the high-quality matches that we could be having from the Cruiserweight division. I hope that the frequency of title changes will stop for the time being.
#4 Alexa Bliss escapes getting her comeuppance again
I like Alexa Bliss. She truly is the best talker of the Women’s Division. It isn’t even a contest. However her character never gets any comeuppance for her heel deeds. Maybe I shouldn’t be really surprised but it is still weird to see the same tired trope over and over again.
She called Bayley “weak” and was proven right. She told Sasha Banks that she couldn’t defend the Women’s title and was proven right. Then she called a beautiful 38-year-old woman “old” and was proven right just again.
There is something annoying about a heel being nothing but offensive and getting their way time and time again. I am sure that one day (Asuka) Bliss will get what is finally coming to her.
#3 Finn Balor-AJ Styles exceed high expectations
I was really surprised when the WWE announced that AJ Styles would be wrestling Finn Balor at TLC. They took a match I was not looking forward to (Finn/Wyatt III) and replaced it with a dream match-up. I found it quite strange that some fans actually complained about getting such a high-quality match on a WWE pay-per-view. Some fans are never happy.
People had high expectations from the match owing to the in-ring talent levels of both Styles and Balor. It was a fast-paced 18-minute match that was among the best of Balor’s WWE career. It ended with a perfect “Too Sweet” for good measure and I am totally looking forward to a rematch that they very well deserve.
#2 The Shield wins a 3-vs-5 Handicap Match
Even before Kurt Angle was added to wrestle his first WWE match in 11 years, I expected a lot of twists and turns in the main event. It did not disappoint with its chaotic nature. We had injuries, lots of destroyed tables and murder. It was still surprising to see the Shield win.
They were outnumbered 3 vs. 5. When the heels destroyed Kurt Angle, they should have pinned Dean and Seth for an easy victory. But the faces were able to pick off the heels one by one ending with their pin on The Miz. It was surprising as it leaves little for the Shield to do going forward. I mean if you can beat five heels, what problems do you really face?
#1 Braun Strowman was murdered
I was pretty confident that if The Shield was going to win this handicap match it would require some conflicts between the heels. However, I did not expect Kane, The Miz, Sheamus and Cesaro to throw another human being in a trash compactor and crush him alive.Obviously, we could not expect to see a clear attempt at homicide on Tables, Ladders and Chairs.
You cannot deny Strowman’s popularity with the WWE crowd. However, it was a bit surprising to see him assaulted for no real reason by Kane. Sure, Kane has done horrible things over the years but Braun really didn’t do anything wrong to deserve being murdered.
However, Kane first choke slammed Braun through a table. He dropped a bunch of steel chairs on him. When this wasn’t successful and Braun was naturally angry, Braun went after Kane. His reward was being thrown by his allies into the trash and crushed to death.
I cannot say I was prepared to hear a “That was murder!” chant from the pay-per-view crowd. Even stranger was that Strowman was not mentioned the rest of the night. Maybe, he will find peace after being crushed to death on Sunday night.
