By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch specialist

WWE TLC PPV Evaluation
December 18, 2011

BEST MATCH – C.M. PUNK VS. ALBERTO DEL RIO VS. THE MIZ

This was an excellent way to cap off an entertaining evening of WWE action, and a worthy way to end the year on pay-per-view. All three men clearly came ready to work, and I thought they all worked great together. There weren’t too many unnecessarily crazy and dangerous spots, and I liked the way they added new and creative spots to a match that we’ve seen so many times; e.g. Punk handcuffed to the turnbuckles and the involvement of Ricardo Rodriguez. A big thumbs up for this one.

WORST MATCH – SHEAMUS VS. JACK SWAGGER

Wow, did this ever not click. These two are capable off some very good efforts in the ring, but I thought this match was short, sloppy, and just never even got into second gear. It didn’t help that it was thrown on TV with no back story or announcement (and no, Swagger refusing to sit on Teddy Long’s knee is not a ‘back story’ I’m acknowledging). A bad and forgettable match. There were two such matches on this show, incidentally. But, I’m giving the Divas a break. It’s Christmas.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – DANIEL BRYAN

It seemed that Bryan’s title win would be inevitable as I can’t see the WWE wanting to downplay the significance of winning ‘Money in The Bank,’ but I didn’t see it happening at TLC, and with a win over Big Show. Still, the crowd didn’t seem to mind that in storyline Bryan had vowed to wait until WrestleMania, nor did they seem to care that he won the title in a “cheap” way over a huge fan favorite. In fact, they blew the roof off the place. A great moment, and historically a significant moment: C.M. Punk and Daniel Bryan now hold the two biggest titles in wrestling. Who’d have thought?

BIGGEST LETDOWN – NONE

After the genuine heat and excitement for the Ryder vs. Ziggler match that opened the show, the PPV certainly cooled down for a few matches, but it never went off the rails. What you thought was going to be good was, and what you thought was going to be uninspired was, too. This was a fun show, overall.

BEST QUOTE – JOHN LAURINAITIS

I know that he is certainly a polarizing on-air character, but I can’t get enough of the Dynamic Dudes’s Shawn Michaels. His line about mailing Punk his Slammy and having it held up due to the Holiday deliveries being busy was great.

BEST MOVE – RICARDO RODRIGUEZ

Rodriguez has been a kind of MVP this year in WWE. He is consistently entertaining, genuinely great at the ring announcing, and has been involved in some, let’s face it, beatings of note. His fall from the ladder through a table at ringside was THE major moment of the show. Even Mick Foley tweeted that it was a ‘heck of a bump,’ and that’s a man who knows a thing or two about bumping. Sorry I mentioned ‘Twitter.’ Still, wonder if my column is trending now?

BEST MATCH FINISH – THE MAIN EVENT

A great, exciting match in front of a hot crowd ends with a deserving C.M. Punk retaining his title. It was the right choice.

OTHER THOUGHTS

Triple H and Kevin Nash had a much better match than I expected. Sure, it was slow at times, but it told a nice story and (hopefully) ended what has been a very odd feud for 2011.

At one point, Hornswoggle asked Teddy Long why he was a black Santa, then Teddy Long said that white Santas are scared of the hood before giving a leprechaun a book on ebonics. Then, he tried to get Jack Swagger to sit on his lap before trying to sleep with The Bellas. Someone wrote that segment. And then someone approved it.

Over/under on Epico & Primo changing their tag team name to "The Guys Who Stand behind Rosa Mendes?"

No John Cena on the card. Just wanted to note that.

And, there we go! Another WWE year on pay-per-view is in the books. I’ll be back after ROH ‘Final Battle’ with the complete list of ALL pay-per-views and their rankings before New year’s Eve, including any that I missed along the way – sometimes by the time I get around to a show it seems too late to go into a full review after the show has been covered extensively elsewhere on the site.

WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

The main event, and Daniel Bryan’s ascent to the top tier in WWE. Depending on how they handle the Daniel Bryan title run, in retrospect this could in some ways be a landmark show.

Have a wonderful Christmas, folks!

UPDATED 2011 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE MONEY IN THE BANK (2011-07-17)
2 - DGUSA MERCURY RISING (2011-04-02)
3 – DGUSA ‘UNITED: PHILLY’ (2011-01-29)
4 - ROH BEST IN THE WORLD (2011-06-26)
5 - DGUSA UNITED WE STAND (2011-03-11)
6 – DGUSA ‘UNITED: NEW YORK’ (2011-01-28)
7 - TNA BOUND FOR GLORY (2011-10-16)
8 - WWE EXTREME RULES (2011-05-01)
9 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2011-02-20)
10 - ROH HONOR TAKES CENTER STAGE 1 (2011-04-01)
11 - ROH HONOR TAKES CENTER STAGE 2 (2011-04-02)
12 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2011-01-30)
13 – DGUSA FREEDOM FIGHT (2011-01-07)
14 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XVII (2011-04-03)
15 – WWE TLC (2011-12-18)
16 – TNA FINAL RESOLUTION (2011-12-11)
17 - WWE SURVIVOR SERIES (2011-11-20)
18 – ROH 9th ANNIVERSARY SHOW (2011-02-26)
19 - WWE SUMMERSLAM (2011-08-14)
20 - TNA DESTINATION X (2011-07-10)
21 – WWE OVER THE LIMIT (2011-05-22)
22 - WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS (2011-09-18)
23 – TNA SLAMMIVERSARY (2011-06-12)
24 – TNA LOCKDOWN (2011-04-17)
25 - WWE VENGEANCE (2011-10-23)
26 - WWE HELL IN A CELL (2011-10-02)
27 – WWE CAPITOL PUNISHMENT (2011-06-19)
28 – TNA TURNING POINT (2011-11-13)
29 - TNA SACRIFICE (2011-05-15)
30 - TNA HARDCORE JUSTICE (2011-08-07)
31 - TNA NO SURRENDER (09-11-2011)
32 – TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS (2011-02-13)
33 – TNA GENESIS (2011-01-09)
34 - TNA VICTORY ROAD (2011-03-13)

Thanks for reading, and follow me at twitter.com/nathankyght

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