5 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE TLC 2016

by Scott Carlson

1. A Phenomenal Performance

AJ Styles Dean Ambrose
WWE.com

Put aside the ending of the match, which wasn’t an utter trainwreck, but definitely was a step down of sorts.

AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose tangled in their latest battle, a TLC match for the WWE World Championship. Both men went full tilt, with Ambrose climbing a ladder stationed on top of one announce table to elbow drop Styles through another, and AJ hitting a 450 springboard splash on Dean through a table on the floor. But it was Styles, who went 100 mph, who really shone in this bout.

It’s hard to believe that Styles wasn’t even in WWE a year ago. He’s risen to a popularity and dependability level that WWE desperately needs right now. Styles earned a rare clean pinfall victory over John Cena this summer and hasn’t looked back.

Sure, he’s had to endure some comedy spots with Ambrose helping James Ellsworth beat him multiple times, but 2016 definitely has been AJ’s year, and Sunday’s performance helped cap it off.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.