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[2018-12-16-WWE-TLC] Becky Lynch vs Asuka vs Charlotte (Tables, Ladders & Chairs)


paul sosnowski

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And this was pretty shit hot as well. I have no idea where it falls in a list of your best TLC matches, but if there's one thing this has over a shit load of the others it's that I truly bought the violence the wrestlers were trying to sell me. It had plunder and they took their time setting up some elaborate spots, but in amongst it all they never let you forget that ultimately these three women did not care a lick for one another. When was the last time anybody made a dumb kendo stick look like a proper weapon? Because these three have been smashing folk to bits with kendo sticks lately and this had some of the most brutal whippings yet. I really didn't watch much of Charlotte during her babyface run this year, though I know people seemed to be mostly cold on it. If that heel turn at Survivor Series promised a return to form then she's absolutely lived up to it because she was outstanding in this. Stuff like that "every man bows down to a QUEEN" bit would ordinarily feel super corny, but for whatever reason it totally worked in this, maybe because as soon as she said it she just slapped Becky clean across the face really hard. Her big somersault through the table looked great as well. It wasn't graceful, especially not compared to her moonsault that she always gets perfect rotation on, it looked more heavy, like she wanted to land with as much mass and inflict as much damage as possible. It also made for a great payback spot because that Becky legdrop off the ladder was fucking lunacy and about collapsed Charlotte's lungs. Her verbal sell of it ruled but then I'm not sure how much of that was selling. Then we got the spear through the barricade, which is a tired spot in WWE at this point, but this one looked as good as any Roman Reigns car wreck. She took off like a track athlete and absolutely crushed Asuka. They also went above and beyond during the parts where they were feebly reaching for the belt. Those moments always come off pretty hokey because, like, just climb another rung and reach up there, you know? But all three of them were desperate in throwing shots at the top of the ladder, sometimes just slapping each other about the shoulder or ear, knocking their arms out the way when someone tried to grab the belt. The finish works for me as well because Rousey's been saying for weeks that she has receipts, and considering how nearly every other babyface in the company consistently looks like a doofus it's cool to see one actually get something done for a change. It sets up plenty of options for where they could go next and they now have four women on the roster who are red hot with a ton of momentum at the right time. 

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Violence, violence everywhere. Outside of the typical "Take 20 minutes to climb a ladder" spots, this was tremendous. TLC/ladder matches have become too focused setting up for the spots but this felt far more natural. The focus was actually on trying to hurt your opponent rather than do something really ridiculous to pop the crowd (although there were still some pretty cool spots) which is what the typical WWE plunder match has become. Asuka, Becky, and Charlotte made it perfectly clear they hated each other and would do anything it takes to win. That's all it needed and they delivered in full.

Best TLC/ladder match in years. ****1/2.

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On 12/18/2018 at 7:55 AM, KB8 said:

Stuff like that "every man bows down to a QUEEN" bit would ordinarily feel super corny, but for whatever reason it totally worked in this, maybe because as soon as she said it she just slapped Becky clean across the face really hard. 

That really stood out to me as well. Whereas so many matches try to shoehorn these types of lines into matches to be as dramatic and epic as possible, this felt much more like trash talk in the middle of a fight.

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