WWE TLC 2017: Assessing The Potential Of All 7 Matches
6. The Brian Kendrick & Gentleman Jack Gallagher Vs. Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander
One RAW video package this Monday did more than hours and hours of 205 Live to give fans crucial reason to care about the burgeoning rivalry between The Brian Kendrick and Gentleman Jack Gallagher and Rich Swann and Cedric Alexander. WWE cannot "do" cruiserweights, but they can do vignettes. Within minutes, if that, we understood that Gallagher is a nasty piece of work, Kendrick is a desperate slime, and their opponents on Sunday have the umbrella-breaking balls to stand their ground.
This could be something quietly special on a card on which time isn't at a premium. The veteran Kendrick knows the minutiae of wrestling psychology, as evidenced by his superb Cruiserweight Classic arc. He was the oldest and most familiar face, and yet his matches generated the most drama. His partner has much in the way of potential as a heel, given how cloying his babyface schtick became after an initially promising programme with Ariya Daivari. Swann and Alexander, meanwhile, are hugely exciting talents nonetheless cast as nobodies in empty arenas - so it's imperative that this much is allocated sufficient time to encourage fans to get behind the face tandem, lest it become a silent movie of a spot fest.
Allocated 15 minutes with which to work, and with a first act dominated by Kendrick's experienced hands, and this ostensible filler match has the potential to fuse the inherent drama of tag action, and ultra-smooth workrate, with elusive emotion.
Maximum Star Rating Ceiling: ***3/4