WWE TLC 2018: Star Ratings For All 12 Matches

Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, it bears repeating, are very close friends in real life.

You'd never, ever have received this impression upon watching this incredible war. Beyond the customary massive stunts, all of which were built towards and executed brilliantly, there were several understated moments of wonder across all 22:31 of a match that grabbed an exhausted crowd by the throat and commanded them to pay strict attention.

Those that did were treated to something as driven by awesome character work as easy high spots. Charlotte, when draping Becky across a table late in the war, slapped her full-force in the face. Even within a simple set-up transition, the animosity bled through. There was no wasted motion here, nothing that felt contrived or laboured even in a stipulation reliant on choreography.

Becky, driven by instinct and temper, cut off Asuka before succumbing to her whirlwind offence. Charlotte Flair, riffing on the vicious ring generalship of her lineage, manipulated the flow of the action, dusting off her big moonsault spot only after the most organic of transitions. Asuka, in a gruesome moment, beat the piss out of both Becky and Charlotte with a kendo stick, as if to remind them and all of her doubters that, amid this personal grudge, a professional of the highest calibre laid in wait to steal their spot.

All three wrestled with such passion and fire, so believably, that this felt like a game-changer as it unfolded. They'll eulogise this some day.

Hell, we're eulogising it now.

Star Rating: ****1/2