8 Match Star Ratings For WWE TLC 2019
6. Aleister Black Vs. Buddy Murphy
This was ace, and would have smashed well beyond ace and into undiluted banger territory, had the crowd given half a toss past the final third.
Buddy Murphy didn't just pick-uh a fight-uh with Aleister Black; somehow rescuing a balls storyline with drawn character depth, he picked Aleister Black's specific type of fight by almost literally breaking his jaw with a relentless series of stiff kicks. Black's nose and mouth were bloodied hardway after an early, because-of-course series of rest holds that threatened to grind down the pace. They lost the crowd, as these mandated phases tend to do, but recovered to put on a scintillating, brutal fight to the finish that resonated very much as a fight. In one great moment, Buddy Murphy - who borrowed the pacing and physicality of a quality New Japan match here, and not merely the spammed moves - smashed Black over and over again with Will Ospreay's Cheeky Nandos kick with such zeal that it almost could have justified a referee stoppage.
This sequence informed the gravity of the next, in a very well-constructed battle settled by Black's deeply impressive perseverance and unique interpretation of babyface fire.
This was excellent - so much so that Black is excused, should he wish to leave his room and simply attack somebody for a BS impromptu match on RAW.
Star Rating: ★★★¾