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There were tables, ladders, chairs, kendo sticks, ropes, and devastating knockout blows. There was the blood-soaked cut above Andrade's eye, as well as the injury to Aleister Black's face. TLC is now history but stood out as one of WWE's most realistically violent pay-per-views of 2019.
Not one title changed hands, but TLC was by no means inconsequential. On the contrary, much of WWE's future direction was laid out just before the Royal Rumble and The Road to WrestleMania gets underway. This show was a bridge to the future and some of WWE's top Superstars were brave enough to cross.
Join us as we take a look at WWE's last pay-per-view before the Royal Rumble in this special TLC inspired edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good - The women main event TLC
WWE's women made history once again and this time at the TLC pay-per-view. The Women's Tag Team Championships, which have only been in existence since February, have finally received their due by main eventing a major pay-per-view.
It's another stepping stone for WWE's women, who over 14 months have made history with WWE's first all-female pay-per-view in Evolution, as well as the first-ever all-female main event at WrestleMania.
Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, two of the women who main evented WrestleMania 35, took on the defending Women's Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors in TLC's main event. The bout, a TLC Match, did not disappoint, as all four Superstars left everything on the table (pun intended).
Becky Lynch found herself tied to a ladder by the sadistic Kabuki Warriors, and Kairi Sane took a brutal chair shot to the face before delivering a flying elbow to Lynch outside the ring and atop a table.
Asuka also brutally power-bombed Flair through a table before climbing the ladder and securing the victory for her team. For her, it was history repeating itself, as she climbed the ladder last year to defeat Flair and Lynch on her way to becoming SmackDown Women's Champion.
By the end of the match, all four women had put on what was arguably the greatest Women's Tag Team Championship match in WWE history, as The Kabuki Warriors retained as dominant champions, and the titles came away looking stronger than ever.
The Good - Daniel Bryan returns
After having his hair sheared by the maniacal Fiend only several weeks earlier on Friday Night SmackDown, Daniel Bryan made his return to the ring - this time sporting a new look and an old one.
Surprising Bray Wyatt after his successful bout against The Miz, a calculating Bryan attacked the former cult leader from behind. Sporting a burgundy hoodie, fans couldn't make the Yes Man out right away, but judging by the immediate "Yes! Yes! Yes!" chants, definitely knew it was Bryan. There isn't anyone who moves like that except for Bryan, so no one was surprised when the hero of WrestleMania 30 revealed himself.
Bryan was aggressive in his attack and stalked Wyatt inside the ring. Striking with superior speed and twisting Wyatt's limbs into a pretzel, Bryan plotted his revenge like a man possessed. Eventually, the former WWE Champion removed his hood to reveal a freshly shaven face and head.
Bryan's new look is a throwback and reminiscent of 'The American Dragon' version of himself. He looked more like the NXT Superstar of Nexus fame than the long-haired bearded version forever immortalized in wrestling lore.
His message was clear. Once again, this was a new Daniel Bryan. He wasn't a heel but didn't exactly acknowledge the "Yes!" chants either. While he acknowledged the fans, that didn't stop him from being a man hellbent on revenge, which should only continue in the weeks ahead.
The Bad - No Usos
The Usos have not been seen on WWE Television since Jimmy Uso's arrest in late July. Despite rumors that the duo's WWE return is a matter of when and not if, the company missed several ideal opportunities to bring the former multi-time Tag Team Champions back into the fold at TLC.
First, there was The Viking Raiders' open challenge, which was answered by The O.C. This is despite the fact that some fans in attendance were chanting for The Usos. When The O.C. came out to unsuccessfully challenge the RAW Tag Team Champions, the match was received with little fanfare.
Then there was the conclusion of the Roman Reigns/King Corbin TLC Match, when Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and The Revival ganged up on The Big Dog to gift wrap the victory for The Lone Wolf. So much for living up to a moniker.
Despite Roman Reigns being in serious need of a couple of allies to even the score and despite several fans chanting for The Usos, the duo was once again nowhere to be seen.
Later in the evening, a huge brawl broke out between Corbin, Ziggler, The Revival, The New Day, and Shorty G, and although there were a plethora of Superstars involved, The Usos were not among them.
While The Usos will inevitably make their WWE return, there may not have been a better opportunity to do so than tonight at TLC.
The Bad - Aleister Black as a babyface
When two men compete with all they have, it's difficult to put one of them in the bad category, but despite putting on a stellar bout against Buddy Murphy, Aleister Black simply failed to get over as a babyface.
Since coming up to the main roster from NXT just before WrestleMania 35, Black has found it difficult to find a niche on RAW or SmackDown. Those struggles have only continued lately.
Black is covered in dark macabre tattoos, is rumored to dabble in the occult, and speaks in a terrifyingly soft voice just like one of wrestling's greatest heels: Jake 'The Snake' Roberts. Black also seemingly spends an exorbitant amount of time alone in a dark room, pondering horrific and violent acts against WWE's main roster talent.
His ring entrance is right out of a horror film - he springs to life like a vampire rising from his casket for a midnight snack. Some have even gone as far as labeling Black the next Undertaker.
With all that stated, the former NXT Champion is an obvious cant-miss heel, but undeterred by the obvious, he has been consistently marketed as a face. Even The Undertaker, one of the most beloved WWE Superstars in history, began his career as a heel before the WWE Universe began to fall in love with his dark brooding persona.
Black is astounding in the ring and that trend only continued in his TLC victory against Murphy. He gave all he had, left the ring bloodied, suffering what appears to be a broken nose and possibly dislocated jaw.
However, there's still one major problem with Black. He does nothing to differentiate himself from the heels he faces. Without Jerry Lawler's remarks on commentary or Murphy's heelish antics inside the ring, fans would have probably never even known that Black is indeed supposed to be the good guy, which will undoubtedly prove to be a major problem for him heading forward.
Also Read: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Aleister Black
The Ugly - The Miz
The Miz has floundered since his babyface turn and especially since his feud with former tag-team partner Shane McMahon. A WWE Superstar once synonymous with the Intercontinental Championship, Miz has been a forgotten component on the main roster since WrestleMania.
Once one of WWE's top heels, it's now difficult to believe that there was a time The Miz actually main evented WrestleMania. Currently, The Miz finds himself as the unfortunate third wheel in the feud between Bray Wyatt/The Fiend and Daniel Bryan.
The Mizanin family found themselves as Wyatt's latest target and the twisted children's show host successfully manipulated Miz to face him in a match at TLC. Although he made promises and appeared genuinely moved in his promos beforehand, The Miz proved one thing - he doesn't belong in the championship picture.
This was obvious from the get-go at TLC. The Miz claimed that his match against Wyatt was the 'most personal and important matchup' of his career - his family was being stalked and this included his two baby girls.
Yet, The Miz walked to the ring and then began posing as if he was at a Hollywood movie premiere. Wearing a leather coat, white shades, and a purple bandana, The A-Lister looked like he was trying out for a Jimi Hendrix cover band and was entirely out of place in his deeply 'personal' feud against Wyatt.
When he entered the ring, he arrogantly posed, as he usually does. Wyatt then entered the ring unhindered - there was no pre-bell altercation, no pre-fight violence. There was little sense of urgency for Miz and he didn't seem like a man hell-bent on revenge. Instead, it was his rival Daniel Bryan who stole the show after what could only be described as an incredibly peculiar match.
To add insult to injury, former WWE Superstar and current AEW Champion Chris Jericho tweeted the following after The Miz's TLC match:
