8 Match Star Ratings For WWE TLC 2019

2. Rusev Vs. Bobby Lashley - Tables Match

Guardrail Rusev
WWE.com

A boring and nonsensical blow-off (?) to a tacky and nonsensical storyline, this was punishingly dull.

It's a match that is difficult to review, really, in much the same way a Randy Orton match is difficult to review. Some things simply happened with no intricacy nor urgency about them, at a dawdling pace, to very little heat, which, b*llocks to those YouTube numbers sold on the thumbnails: ultimately, the fans cared very little about this storyline beyond the level of perverse distraction. At least Randy Orton's latter-day matches are somewhat engaging in that, if nothing involves you in the action, nothing takes you out of it, either; here, Rusev located a steel guardrail that WWE hasn't transported to an arena since literally 1998.

What's worse, he bumped on it before the match-ending table spot, which ruthlessly undercut the drama of that moment and the build towards it. Metal hurts more than wood, no matter how much that crowd demanded tables on a pay-per-view entitled Tables, Ladders and Chairs.

Lana cheated, but not enough nor with the creativity to work the fans into uproar, before Rusev lost at the underwhelming finish.

Star Rating: ★¾

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Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!