5 Surprising Moments From WWE TLC 2018

WWE TLC was easily one of the best main roster pay-per-views of the entire year. It had a very thrilling main event, one of the better technical matches you will see all year with AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, a truly creative chairs match and another strong showcase for the constantly improving Ronda Rousey.

It was a fun night with some logical booking and smart decisions throughout. I wish the WWE could produce these types of shows on a more constant basis for their monthly pay-per-views. It makes me a lot more excited for the Road to WrestleMania for sure.

As I am still figuring out why Rey can turn a chair into a winter sled, I will try to distract myself and present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE TLC 2018:

---

#5 A Lot of Wins for the Good Guys

What a fun way to

sled

into winter.

Evil always seems to defeat good in the WWE recently. Team Heel will always work together while the good guys will be surprised when they are cheated out of victories time and time again. It has led to some frustrating moments in recent weeks. At TLC it finally all turned around, the good guys actually won and won a lot.

Elias won a match on a pay-per-view over Bobby Lashley. Finn actually defeated Drew clean. Rey got a needed win over the evil mask-stealing Orton. Natalya won a table match over Ruby who was disrespecting her father.

Ronda made Nia tap quite easily. It can be so frustrating to watch the good guys make the same mistakes over and over again. It is quite refreshing and surprising to see them actually have some success.

#4 Corbin Gets Destroyed And Loses His Job

It was about this point that Corbin realized he was in serious trouble.

It was about time this happened.

As stated on the previous page, I really hate that in the WWE the good guys never seem to actually work together against the odds. It made little sense that the entire face roster would put up with Baron Corbin’s reign of terror over the last few weeks. That finally changed on Sunday night in San Jose.

Did I expect Bobby Roode, Apollo, Chad Gable, Finn Balor and Heath Slater to be the big heroes in a TLC match? No, but it was still rewarding. It seemed like a bit of a waste of a TLC match to have Corbin being squashed. However, it made logical sense to have Corbin get what he truly deserved. Corbin as general manager, he will not be missed.

#3 Dean/Seth is Really Boring?

Seth Rollins, he is about to do something stupid and lose his title.

I can’t say I expected the Raw main event to fail on Sunday. However, it was still shocking to see the crowd begin a “This is Boring” chant during the Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins match. I can’t say it was entirely unjustified.

The match dragged at twenty-three minutes. Dean with his new heel persona worked a very slow pace throughout the match. Seth was slowed down as well and confusingly didn’t sell his supposedly injured knee.

If the announcers tell me his knee is hurt and he flies around the ring it doesn’t lead to a smartly booked match. Seth decided to be the one dumb face of the night because he heckled Dean and paid for it. I think this match would have benefited from some No-DQ stipulation as opposed to its weird pacing.

#2 Daniel Bryan Wins with a Small Package to Keep the Title

AJ Styles tried this move a lot.

It is good to know you can have a great WWE Championship match without a million finisher kick outs. Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles put the sort of technical match that would fit into New Japan Pro Wrestling. It had a good pace throughout with wonderful counters. It seemed so evenly matched. If the rumors of FOX wanting SmackDown to be more like an athletic contest are true then show them this match.

The most surprising part of the match was the ending. I can’t believe that after the back and forth encounter that Daniel Bryan won with a small package. I would have assumed the new Daniel Bryan would have cheated to win but it wasn’t meant to be. I looked forward to more matches between two of the best wrestlers working today.

#1 Asuka Wins the SmackDown Women’s Championship

Charlotte took a lot of risks on Sunday night.

I can safely say I am constantly surprised how much better the Women’s Division of the WWE is than what the men are doing on a constant basis. Asuka, Charlotte and Becky Lynch are among the hottest act in the entire company. They deserved the main event on the hype alone. Then they delivered on Sunday night.

Some of the spots in the match were insane. I don’t know how Charlotte is walking after that match. She took some of the most brutal table spots you will ever see. I don’t think anyone looks bad after the brutal and physical effort by all three women.

I know the finish will case some mixed opinions. Ronda interfering to cost Becky and Charlotte makes logical sense. It sets up the possible WrestleMania 35 main event and I am fine with that.

I am sure some are worried it cheapened the moment for Asuka. But judging by the crowd’s reaction, Asuka will be fine.