WWE TLC 2018: Star Ratings For All 12 Matches

3. Daniel Bryan Vs. AJ Styles - WWE Title Match

Stars Daniel Bryan AJ Styles
WWE.com

The new Daniel Bryan is a phenomenon.

There wasn't much of a storyline to speak of heading into San Jose; the TV build was more or less an extended vignette for this new, incredible character. Styles' redemptive arc was barely a subplot. And yet, because Daniel Bryan is such an outstanding heel - think about how nice the man is in real life versus how he presents himself on television, and how much you believe it - he managed to rally the fans behind his marginalised opponent in a match of incredible drama. AJ and Bryan constructed something so great and so visceral and so believable that they had the crowd biting on sh*t that otherwise tastes like unimportant padding in other matches. The signature kick-outs and secondary submission teases here felt far more damaging, far more important, than most finisher kick-outs.

Wrestling within a classic babyface versus heel dynamic, AJ and Bryan worked the sort of studied reversal sequences common in this era, but in such a way that they never felt like obvious or cheap methods of telling the story or popping the crowd. Bryan countered AJ's reverse DDT by coldly driving knees directly into his head in an awesome mesh of style and violence.

This wasn't merely two elite wrestlers displaying parity to put the result in doubt; this was two elite wrestlers working a blood-pumping fight and beautiful pro wrestling match all at once.

Star Rating: ****1/2

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential 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 former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current 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!