12 WWE TLC 2018 Impulse Reactions
Ladder To Heaven.
Like the predictions article that fed into this event last week, this list has 12 talking points instead of the traditional 10 because this show was too long.
There have been a number of post-pay-per-view pieces since SummerSlam that have referred to the reviewed card as the best of the year, and whilst TLC couldn't quite live up to the standards set by Hell In A Cell, Survivor Series and especially Evolution, it was probably only undone by a needlessly flabby undercard that served to predictably kill audience enthusiasm for a couple of the key matches that actually justified their place on the show.
Debate will likely rage for days about the quality drop-off during one contest in particular (more on that later), but more than just this supposed blood feud payoff was impacted by inadvertent malaise.
It's a shame too. The latter half of 2018 was - on United States soil at least - an effort in loyalty-building between WWE and their Network subscribers. Raw's been repugnant, but between exceptional specials on Dean Ambrose, Becky Lynch et al and the aforementioned run of robust supercards has made the 9.99 experience well worth every penny.
Yet more added value came from all the usual suspects on this show too, even if much could have been reserved to flesh out the notoriously mind-numbing festive period instead...
12. "Good Job Little Buddy"...
Patronisingly chucked back into Kickoff Show opening slot hell much like predecessors Neville and Austin Aries, Buddy Murphy and Cedric Alexander were left to have a tidy overachiever of a match that unfortunately played out to those familiar shrouded empty seats.
Better to get crumbs that go starving, but an air of pointlessness hung over what was otherwise yet another blinding contest from two of 205 Live's very best.
Buddy Murphy occupies a curious spot in particular at the moment. Transposed from the back of the queue in an NXT that had long passed him by, he's made huge physical, financial and creative strides forward thanks to the reimagining of both the brand and his short-term future with the company. But will his long-term one look more like those that have come before him?
If he's given the same spot at WrestleMania as he was here, will it get cut from the DVD and leave lingering resentment? Will his title reign be terminated without merit and harbour anger and annoyance within him for such neglect? Whatever can go wrong has gone wrong for that purple belt he wears proudly - can Murphy's Law finally be disproven via the talented Aussie?