WWE brought their final pay-per-view of the year to Baltimore on December 18, 2011 and without John Cena in the house, they did more than deliver. CM Punk retained his WWE Championship in an amazing TLC match with The Miz and Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Big Show before Daniel Bryan shocked the world and cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase to take the championship and Zack Ryder finally got his shot at Dolph Ziggler and the United States Championship, walking away with the gold.
Check out the WWE TLC 2011 Photo Gallery
- The crowd really made the opening match between Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler. Baltimore loved Ryder and it raised a really good match to a great match. I’ve always been a strong proponent of the crowd’s ability to make an event great or horrible by their reactions, regardless of the in-ring action. Ryder’s big moment came and the crowd reacted accordingly. After the match, Ryder’s elevation from nothing to superstar was complete as he celebrated with his father and The Big O, constant guests on his YouTube show.
- As for Ziggler, the time has come for him to rise to the main event. With the results of this show, his options are plentiful. CM Punk should be walking away from The Miz and Alberto Del Rio and John Cena looks to be going at it with Kane. Could we see Ziggler against Punk in short order or even a Royal Rumble win followed up with a full on star-making match against Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania? The possibilities are endless.
- The Tag Team Title match between Air Boom and Primo & Epico wasn’t advertised, which became a running theme early in the show. Air Boom are just coming back after Evan Bourne’s suspension and Primo & Epico are new to the scene. The good thing is that tag teams seem to be coming back into style. As I mentioned on Twitter, it’s great to see them look like a team, meaning matching tights and double-team moves. The match was good for what it was but had limited time, which was to be expected since it was announced beforehand.
- Randy Orton and Wade Barrett had an entertaining match although I don’t see Barrett as the breakout star most see him morphing into. They can continue this feud by noting Barrett made a single mistake, which was gloating. Barrett took the time to gloat before diving off the ropes into a RKO through the table. It was a visually stunning spot that gave the opening to continue this feud.
- Beth Phoenix beat Kelly Kelly in an unadvertised Diva’s Title match. The crowd was out on their feet for this one, the first time they had been silent all night. While people might scream for Kelly Kelly when they see her on the cover of Maxim, her constant screaming in the ring throws everything off. This division desperately needs new blood.
- Triple H destroyed Kevin Nash in their Sledgehammer Ladder Match. There was a lot of banter online about how old both of these guys are, but they delivered the best possible match they could with the stipulations in place and told a story. Some of the match was slow but the final sledgehammer shot with Triple H laying out Nash after seemingly disbanding The Kliq was well done. For all those people complaining about their ages, where were you when Hulk Hogan and Sting locked up earlier this year? Those two could be Triple H’s father.
- Sheamus defeated Jack Swagger in a brief match. Swagger hasn’t meant much all year and this was more to get Sheamus on the show than anything else. There was no harm done to either guy and I don’t expect a full-fledged program to come out of this.
Check out the WWE TLC 2011 Photo Gallery
- Big Show defeated Mark Henry to win the World Heavyweight Title in a short match with an awkward ending. Henry worked over Big Show’s hand only for Big Show to muster up a knockout blow that didn’t seem to have any pop to it. The crowd could barely react to the finish of the match, as it didn’t carry much weight. After the match, Henry laid out Big Show with a DDT on a chair, which led to the surprise of the night.
- Daniel Bryan defeated Big Show to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The crowd went nuts for this and it was nice to see Bryan get in Michael Cole’s face after taking the title. While I’m happy with the overall result, something seems off. Apparently Mark Henry was injured, which led to this scenario. I’d like to see the company really get behind Daniel Bryan but I fear this is simply a stopgap solution in which Bryan might not come out smelling like roses. I had hoped for David vs. Goliath in the form of Henry vs. Bryan at Wrestlemania. My hopes have now shifted to Technician vs. Show Off in the form of Bryan vs. Ziggler.
Watch Daniel Bryan win the World Heavyweight Championship
- Cody Rhodes spent the better part of the evening jumping Booker T in what seemed like an effort to avoid having a match with him. When the match eventually got underway, these two delivered a good performance. Booker T came up dizzy from the spinaroonie, allowing Cody to pick up the win. Expect this feud to continue into the Royal Rumble as they gave an ample amount of excuses for a rematch with all the attacks throughout the show.
- The main event was one of the best TLC matches in history. CM Punk retained the title after playing handyman for a good portion of the match. Punk was originally handcuffed to a ladder by Ricardo Rodriguez and had to kick the struts out of the ladder to get free and stop Alberto Del Rio from taking the title. Later on, The Miz cuffed Punk to the ring ropes, forcing Punk to play ring technician and remove the turnbuckle with his bare hands. If you’ve ever set up a ring, you know this isn’t easy. All the men in the match beat each other limb from limb, using everything at their disposal. Kudos to Ricardo Rodriguez for taking the fall of the match, going from in ring ladder outside through a table. Two tables were set up for his fall and he missed the first one, landing awkwardly. It looked just about insane as this match became. Punk pulled out the victory and the crowd was on fire for it all.
- Overall this was a really well done show. WWE delivered and has certainly been on a roll lately when it comes to pay-per-view. I doubt many people noticed that John Cena wasn’t in the house for the show and that says something. As 2011 comes to a close WWE really seems to be on an upswing and January marks the start of the road to Wrestlemania, which is typically WWE’s best time of the year. Between the Ring of Honor guys holding the top titles, a good mix of WWE Legends working with the up and coming talent and breakout stars such as Dolph Ziggler, WWE has a lot to look forward to in 2012.
For the latest news and views subscribe above, follow me on Twitter and join my group on Facebook.
CONTEST: I’m giving away a FREE copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic on December 20th! Simply follow me on Twitter and retweet one of the contest messages to enter!
Comments