'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgT/2gAIAQEAAAAAEn//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG/9oACAECEAAAAHX/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAF/9oACAEDEAAAACf/xAAeEAACAwADAAMAAAAAAAAAAAACBAEDBQAGITEyY//aAAgBAQABPwDvuhbRjdIVbZvaUczgdOg/kzD9Y9H7cyO6YqGSknZn68mvQFRSGiUDMiMR5z//xAAaEQACAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACBAABAxNC/9oACAECAQE/AEEF2MJ7B7uf/8QAGhEAAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIABANCwf/aAAgBAwEBPwCzZyoygHXpn//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
I hope they are still fighting when WWE RAW airs on Monday night. WWE TLC was a unique pay-per-view to say the least. We had no appearances on Sunday night from major stars like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and Bayley. Still, the show still had a thrilling Ladder Match, an amazing showcase for Black and Murphy, a wonderful return and an exceptionally brutal main event. It will make for an interesting Road to WrestleMania, although it is difficult to see where the company is going on that road at this point in time and that is fine by me.
As I am still figuring out why the RAW Tag Team Championship match was all about KFC chicken, I will try to distract myself by presenting this list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE TLC 2019.
#5 A Lot of Wins for the bad guys
WWE doesn’t always do a good job supporting their heels. They seem to build them up enough just to get fed to the popular babyfaces who sell a lot of merchandise. It happens time and time again. At least for one night at WWE TLC, evil had a really great day.
The four major matches on the card all ended with a clear bad guy victory. Baron Corbin (with some help) defeated Roman Reigns. The children's show host Bray Wyatt destroyed The Miz. Rusev was unable to get his revenge against Bobby Lashley in the Tables Match. Even Asuka and Kairi Sane were able to cleanly defeat the two biggest stars in the Women’s Division in a TLC match. It was a rare sight to see and it's probably WWE extending existing feuds into early 2020, but it provided very credible victories for a host of Superstars who desperately needed it on Sunday night.
#4 Fourteen Minutes for Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy
If you would have told me that Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy would get a main roster WWE pay-per-view match against each other in 2019, I would assume you were lying. If you told me they would get nearly fifteen minutes to put on that amazing match, then that would be one of the biggest surprises of the entire professional wrestling year.
This match, along with the incredible Tag Team Ladder Match, was easily the show stealer at WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs. Buddy Murphy and Aleister Black are tremendous wrestlers, but they have been virtually invisible in the main roster storylines for a vast majority of this year. It made it easy to forget how good both of them are in the wrestling ring.
Their match on Sunday was a fast-paced and hard hitting encounter by two of the most talented competitors in WWE. The kicks were stiff, the near falls were believable, and Black's bloody nose added to the brutality of the match. It truly seemed like each man could win until Aleister hit a perfect looking Black Mass to Murphy’s chin. Let us hope this surprising showcase leads to great things for both men in 2020. They deserve it after Sunday night.
#3 Roman Reigns Loses
It is amazing to think on the year that Roman Reigns has had in the WWE in 2019. As he amazingly returned from cancer in February of 2019, you would have expected a triumphant year from one of the company's biggest stars. It was certainly a surprise to think he hasn’t exactly had the most memorable of years in 2019. Reigns has lost to both Erick Rowan and Shane McMahon this year at WWE pay-per-view events. So he certainly could get back his victory against Baron Corbin, the most hated heel in the WWE - the most hated heel who never seems to actually win any of his feuds, that is until Sunday night at WWE TLC.
The Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match between King Corbin and Roman Reigns was a slow and straight forward affair. Why it was a TLC match isn’t exactly clear. It shouldn’t have been too surprising that Dolph Ziggler and then The Revival interfered in the match. It took four people (and a team of security guards) to cost Roman Reigns a match on Sunday night, but the idea of a feud based on dog food continuing into the Royal Rumble is surprising to say the least. Hopefully we can have less dog mascots in the near future as well.
#2 The “Debut” of the New Bray Wyatt
We don’t deserve your greatness Bray Wyatt. You certainly didn’t know what to expect from the Firefly Fun House Wyatt in his debut against The Miz at WWE TLC. Would this character work as well as The Fiend does? I would say so.
It started with his perfect entrance. He was basically a friendly Mister Rogers and the crowd loved it. Wyatt continued his nuanced character work as he took a beating from the motivated Miz. He even seemed to enjoy the pain as well. Bray Wyatt can sell a match better than anyone in WWE. It was surprising to see how quickly he took out The Miz once Wyatt became angry. They are building his character perfectly.
It was a successful debut for Bray Wyatt, but the fun continued after the match as well. As he was about to hit The Miz with his Firefly Fun House mallet, the lights went out. Who appeared but Daniel Bryan sporting his Ring of Honor style look. I cannot wait to see Daniel Bryan continue his feud with Bray Wyatt, as Bray seems to be bringing out the best in the entire WWE roster.
#1 The Kabuki Warriors Wins Clean
Well that was quite brutal. The Women’s Tag Team TLC match was an interesting choice to end the final WWE pay-per-view of the year. Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Asuka and Kairi Sane are arguably four of the best female wrestlers in the world. Clearly these four could put on an amazing performance on Sunday night. At the end of the match, I just really hoped the four wrestlers were not seriously injured.
It seems something major affected poor Kairi Sane during the main event. Whether it was a chair shot, the television monitor off her head, or the power bomb from Charlotte onto a table, Sane seemed to be a non-factor at the end of the match. That certainly puts a damper on things. Why even Charlotte Flair seemed to bounce off the ground when she was driven through a table by Asuka.
The brutal and dangerous nature of the match aside, the ending was a true surprise. Asuka was able to take out both Charlotte and Becky Lynch and get the titles for her team. Asuka has been through a lot in a very disappointing 2019. Hopefully this will remind the WWE that she is among the best in the world and should be treated as such. Sunday night was a good start towards that goal.
