7 Match Star Ratings For WWE TLC 2020
6. Drew McIntyre Vs. AJ Styles Vs. The Miz - WWE Title TLC Match
A really strong piece of business before a somewhat dragged-out conclusion doubled as a suboptimal reminder that WWE creative has zero idea about what it fancies doing from one day to the next - WrestleMania will be a PWG-style Mystery Vortex show, at this rate - the work was nonetheless very, very good before the impromptu Triple Threat match.
Logical in a way that never developed the boring connotations that come with it, the story was paced brilliantly to engineer the drama. McIntyre spent a long old time controlling the shine. This choice achieved two goals: it put him over as a dominant champion, and added more than a wrinkle of doubt when AJ finally cut him off and used a chair to assist the Calf Crusher. Playing with the audience's knowledge of the rhythms of a WWE match in a way that never betrayed the fiction, this felt - deliberately and thrillingly - like McIntyre's time.
This emotion intensified when The Miz arrived to cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase. The ensuing Triple Threat match developed a further layer of intrigue, which is just as well, since the action descended into trope theatre and indulged the slow-climb to slow the momentum.
A more understated match than its unhinged Universal Title equivalent, the left hand knew what the right was doing on the night, at least. The competent agent work yielded two different matches to temper the overkill problem that is a constant on these gimmick PPVs.
Mostly.
Star Rating: ★★★¾