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TLC 2020 was, for most parts, a good pay-per-view. Both the Universal Championship and WWE Championship matches lived up to the expectations fans had from the two bouts. On the other hand, two title changes also occurred, with two new sets of tag team champions crowned.
A huge albeit expected return of a female Superstar in the women's tag clash, along with a surprising finish to the SmackDown Women's Championship also transpired at the final pay-per-view of the year. However, the main event was a massive disappointment with a head-scratching albeit fascinating finish.
Most importantly, TLC 2020 was successful in opening up several possibilities for WWE going into the next year. The company should be smart enough to consider this a new beginning and must attempt to bring things back on track.
So without any delays, let's dive in and recount some points that have already gotten the people talking. Do share your opinions and thoughts in the comment section.
#5 Randy Orton sets The Fiend on fire to win the Inferno match at TLC
The announcement of this match as the main event of TLC was quite a surprise in itself. If nothing else, it had ensured that Kevin Owens did not walk out of TLC as the Universal Champion in the previous match.
Back to the point, this match mostly consisted of the two guys trading punches amid flaming fire until the final few moments when Randy Orton used a gas can to douse The Fiend. After setting him on fire, Orton delivered an RKO and then set him completely ablaze.
The closing visual was undeniably a cool one, but what it means for The Fiend would be the real question. Does it mean the character The Fiend is dead for good and Wyatt's old persona of The Eater of Worlds would return seeking vengeance? Or does it indicate Randy Orton losing his sanity, something that The Fiend has successfully achieved previously with Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman? The possibilities are genuinely endless.
While the WWE has done a decent job in creating the mystery around what could happen, it would be a difficult task to come up with a convincing follow-through for today's events at TLC.
#4 Kevin Owens puts up a fight of a lifetime against Roman Reigns at TLC
Yes, Roman Reigns retained his Universal Championship at TLC on expected lines, however, this match was yet another testament to Owen's exemplary talents.
Valiantly fighting both Reigns and Jey Uso, KO displayed the kind of babyface fire that is seldom seen in the modern WWE landscape. Every spot was earned, every moment meant something, and the ending itself was tragic yet hopeful.
Having almost pulled down the title, KO was stopped by Uso, whom he had buried under the commentary table midway through the match. Capitalizing upon this, Reigns choked KO out on top of the ladder, allowing himself to pull down the title in this TLC clash.
If there's anyone who deserves to dethrone The Tribal Chief, it has to be Owens, possibly at WrestleMania 37. WWE has plenty of time to build the story, and they would be wise to go in this direction, considering the kind of performance The Prizefighter put up today.
It would also be intriguing to see how The Tribal Chief reacts to Jey Uso's involvement in the match, come Friday.
#3 Drew McIntyre retains his WWE Championship at TLC, possibly to clash with Sheamus at Royal Rumble
Drew McIntyre retaining his WWE Championship at TLC 2020 was absolutely the right decision. There was no point in giving him a second run with the title only to make him drop it a few days later.
However, there were more than a few moments in this TLC match when it felt AJ Styles may walk out with his third world championship win. A fantastic encounter from top-to-bottom, the inclusion of The Miz in the ending stages of the match further indicated that we might be in for a massive title change.
Eventually, things ended in a predictable yet right manner, with another match from McIntyre and Styles possible down the road, considering The Miz played a minor spoilsport. However, the reigning WWE Champion must be ready to face his imminent challenger in the form of Sheamus at Royal Rumble.
Also, the rumors of McIntyre possibly dropping his title as a result of RAW’s dwindling ratings thankfully didn’t come true. If there's any Superstar who can take RAW's momentum forward in the long-run, it's The Scottish Psychopath.
#2 Both tag team title matches at TLC end with new champions being crowned
In the first tag team championship match at TLC, The Hurt Business defeated The New Day to capture their first RAW tag team titles. It’s a well-deserving win considering how much they have carried RAW in recent months.
While the match itself was fantastic, as expected from these two teams, it was the minor disagreement between Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander that will get the people talking. During the ending stages of the match, Alexander tagged himself in by tapping the back of Benjamin. He would go on to secure the pinfall victory by executing the Lumber Check on Kingston. The veteran seemed displeased by Alexander stealing a pinfall which should have ideally been his.
In the other tag title bout at TLC, Asuka and a returning Charlotte Flair defeated the duo of Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. There was no chance that the surprise return would have been anyone other than the former 12-time Women’s Champion. In a way, it was the most unsurprising of surprise returns in recent memory.
However, the question here is, did they have to win here at TLC? Of course, this will lead to an eventual RAW Women’s Championship between the two, while the tag titles are used as a catalyst to reach that point. Also, will this mean the RAW Women’s Champion can now head to SmackDown to seek challengers along with her partner?
#1 Sasha Banks defeats Carmella for the SmackDown Women's Championship in a decisive manner at TLC
In a surprising booking decision, Sasha Banks defeated Carmella at TLC in quite a decisive manner. Tapping out in mere seconds after being locked in with the Bank Statement, the challenger lost cleanly in the middle of the ring.
While a loss doesn’t bode well for a newly energized character, Carmella, to her credit, put up one of the best performances of her career at TLC. She hardly showed any ring rust, even though she was away from the action for several months.
It’s heartening to see Banks finally get a decent run with the SmackDown Women’s Championship after holding the RAW Women's Championship for just 116 collective days in a total of five reigns. She has earned this, and hopefully, her title reign continues at least until Royal Rumble or maybe until WrestleMania 37.
However, it is to be seen if The Boss moves on to some other contender, or will Carmella get another shot after her loss here at TLC.
