WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE TLC 2012 Review

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE TLC 2012. How does the final PPV of 2012 fair? Let's find out and start the review. 

Match #1: Rhodes Scholars vs Mexican Masks; #1 Contender to Tag titles in Tables match

We open up the show with a #1 contender match. There was a divas battle royal in the pre-show. Was it any good? Well, I don't know. I didn't even bother to watch it….kinda. I tried to watch it, but found myself distracted with more important things…

Apparently, Naomi won the match and will get a title match later tonight. What? Well, that came completely out of left field. Naomi has done nothing but dance to an overweight dinosaur all year, but now gets a title match? And to add to it all, WWE continues to talk about Kaitlyn/Eve. Either continue feeding the storyline or just pull the plug. Come on, you're better than this….I think. The tag match was definitely a lot better. It had a couple of cool moments and I really liked the finish. Sin Cara is about to go for a springboard, but Cody Rhodes shoves Sin off the ropes and goes through a table. I just love this sequence of images. It's like Cody said, "F*** you, Power Rangers!!!". That's what you get for trying to save Angel Grove. Rhodes Scholars will get another tag opportunity. Considering their rivalry with Team Hell No was put on hold, this comes as no surprise. I actually liked the early development between Hell No and Rhodes Scholars, so it should be great to see how this unfolds as we come closer to 2013. 

Winner via pinfall and NEW #1 contender to WWE Tag Titles: Rhodes Scholars

Match #2: Antonio Cesaro vs R-Truth; US Championship

As I've said for the past month, why did we have to see this match again? This was no different to the match they had at Survivor Series. You have waisted so much of my time. Antonio wins with the Neutralizer. Hopefully, Antonio gets a new program. As for Truth, I'm sure Arkham Asylum is looking for their patient. 

Winner via pinfall and still US Champ: Antonio Cesaro

We interrupt this show to bring you Miz TV. Aw yes, Miz TV. The show that's quickly becoming an easily excuse to eat up time. 3MB are the guest for tonight's edition. 3MB decides to poke fun of the Spanish announce team for speaking their language. This is coming from the Southern guy, a Scotsman, and an Indian. Yeah, that one speaks for itself. After they continue to insult Mexicans, Ricardo Rodriguez arrives to do something about it, but his comedic mind can't seem to help him in this situation. That's when Alberto Del Rio arrives to help his friend. Yeah, so if there was ever the idea to make Del Rio a face, this was it. Miz eventually joined in the fight and this leads to a match for later tonight. It will be 3MB vs Del Rio, Miz and a partner of their choice. Now, it's 3MB vs Clusterf*** Galore. Who would've thought Del Rio and Miz would be working together because of Mexican stereotyping? It's like something out of a bad fan-fiction. Regardless, we have another match on for tonight. Apparently, Daniel Bryan and Kane seem to like this idea…..

Match #3: Kofi Kingston vs Wade Barrett; IC Championship

In a pretty forgettable match, Kofi wins with the Trouble in Paradise. While I didn't see the point in Wade winning the IC championship, I also didn't see the point of him even starting a rivalry with Kofi. I just didn't see the point in any of this. I'm gonna do the Award Show for a third straight year (I know, cheap plug) and I need to get this out of the way. I personally think the mid-card division for 2012 has been a complete joke. While tag team wrestling may have risen and become more popular than it has in years, it meant a dent to the mid-card division. I almost feel bad for the fact that I want to name a mid-carder of the year for 2012. I really hope 2013 is a better year for this division since there's no excuse for this. WWE has loads of talent in the mid-card, but it's just a matter of using them correctly and getting good rivalries/storylines going forward. Let's up that changes moving forward. 

Winner via pinfall and still IC Champ: Kofi Kingston

Match #4: The Shield vs Ryback and Team Hell No; TLC match

I should note that CM Punk did cut a promo from the skybox before this match started. It was the basics, but it was enjoyable. The TLC match is happening this early in the night? I can understand why, but this just seems odd. I'm guessing John Cena washed Mr. McMahon's car to earn another PPV main event. They hand this things out like candy to Cena. You know, I'm starting to think Ryback enjoys getting that triple powerbomb through the announce table….

To my surprise, WWE actually made Shield look very competitive. Think about it? We have three NXT rookies going up against two former world champions and a man with a large appetite. I thought this would be a Shield disaster, but they made them look very good. They showed their moxie and were able to put together some fun spots. I think a match like this will do wonders for Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns. Hard to say what all three of these guys will be doing 3-5 years from now, but this is a decent start. Shield kept doing the group attacks on their opponents. Kane was buried underneath a pile of weapons. Either that or he was taking a nap under all those chairs. Ryback was kept at bay for most of the match, and Bryan end up taking the pinfall. The finish comes when Shield does just enough to win this match cleanly. They powerbomb Bryan through a table and manage to pick up the victory.  I thought this was a much better idea for WWE. I originally thought CM Punk would've gotten involved in this match, but Shield getting a victory like this tells a much better story. It makes them look like a strong group united and are determined to do whatever it takes to serve injustice. Oh, and somebody better give Seth a Christmas bonus for taking that fall. 

Winner via pinfall: Shield

Match #5: Eve vs Naomi; Divas Championship

I'm really convinced WWE is simply trolling you with the diva division. Why else would it be this random? You know they aren't taking this seriously when they have Naomi act like a complete noob when we saw her get trained during her NXT days. Nobody watched NXT Season 3, thus it never happened. Eve wins the match and nobody gave a crap. 

Winner via blah blah blah: Who cares

Match #6: Big Show vs Sheamus; Chairs match for WHC

I really enjoyed this match. It's nowhere near as good as their match at Hell in a Cell, but this was a decent match to add into the series. The finish comes when Show has to pick up a fat boy, chair and uses it on Sheamus to pick up the victory. I was a little surprised with this finish. I actually thought Sheamus was gonna get his revenge and take the title, but they are gonna roll with Show a little longer. I kinda like this move since it doesn't make it too obvious. The rivalry is kinda up in the air in continuing or stopping. If this is the end, who challenges for the title next? If Sheamus is done with Show, what does he do after this? I think these are all good questions. I think they can get another match out of Show/Sheamus until it comes time to cash in the MITB, but I'm fine with this rivalry ending this way. 

Winner and still WHC: Big Show

Match #7: 3MB vs Alberto Del Rio, Miz, and Brooklyn Brawler

That's right. Out of everybody available in the back, they pick the Brooklyn Brawler. Now, even though I can see people complaining about this, I actually got a chuckle out of this. Come on, it's the Brawler fighting in his hometown. Why not have him pick up his….tenth win? Yeah, let's go with that. And I'm not really that big on the Zack Ryder bandwagon, so I'm glad they did this. It isn't like this match has major implications. It was filler. You're complaining about a filler match. Do I have to continue? Brawler wins this match by having a member of 3MB tap out to the Boston Crab. While you can argue this hurts 3MB, I didn't see them as a group that would take down main eventers. That's what the Shield is for. 3MB is mostly around to take down the undercard and maybe mid-carders. Either that or they are one-hit wonders. 

Winner via submission: Brooklyn Brawler, Alberto Del Rio, and Miz

Match #8: Dolph Ziggler vs John Cena; MITB ladder match

The audience was very vocal for this match. I thought the Brooklyn audience was very enjoyable tonight. I always enjoy when an audience can get into the show. This was a ladder match, but you can tell they decided to bend the rules (the tables). At the same time, I could care less for being accurate with the rules. As long as it's more entertaining, break all the rules you want. This was a very good match. It still think the TLC match was the match of the night because of the spots, but this one makes an argument for being the match of the night. I was pleased with this contest. I love how every time Cena pulls off a new move, the commentators squeal like a bunch of schoolgirls. It's one new move in 3-4 years. That isn't saying a whole lot. Speaking of schoolgirls, AJ interferes when Vickie decides to stick her nose into this match. After AJ gets her revenge on Vickie, Cena starts to climb the ladder. That's when AJ surprises us by pushing Cena off the ladder….

John Cena: AJ, I thought what we had for 20 minutes was special!!! You bitch!!! How could you!!! 

Dolph seems confused by this, but AJ just smiles at him and leaves. Dolph uses this opportunity to climb the ladder and is finally able to get that victory over Cena. The show ends with Dolph celebrating and Cena….smiling? I know he's Cena, but does he need to have that s***-eating grin on his face regardless of what has happened? It's like you aren't even trying to act. Regardless of that hiccup, I actually like this ending. It makes you ask the question what people have been asking all year, "what the hell is AJ thinking?". I would really like to know since she has been all over the place this year. I guess you can say AJ just turned heel, but it's kinda hard for me to make that claim when you look at her 2012 resume. I kinda think of this as AJ acting like AJ. At the same time, I'm not ruling out the possibility of AJ turning heel. If that's the case, I don't want to see an alliance between Dolph and AJ. Dolph is starting to find his own identity by slowly breaking away from Vickie, so you have to forgive me if I'm not jumping on the Dolph/AJ possibility. I just think it would be a step backwards for Dolph. What I'd like to see is Dolph completely break away from this and eventually move on to the WHC, while having Cena figure out why AJ did what she did and deal with it. It keeps Dolph moving towards something else and adds whatever interest is left for the Cena/AJ deal. Cena will rue the day he wanted a business dinner. 

Winner and still MITB holder: Dolph Ziggler

Overall Impression:

I thought this was a pretty fun show. I'll admit that it wasn't perfect since some matches did drag. The first hour of the show didn't feel very memorable, but I didn't think it was that bad. I really think the tables match got the PPV to a good start, but those two mid-card title matches were pretty boring to watch. Everything picked back up with that TLC match and I think the evening continued to be on par for the rest of the night until the ladder match. This night featured some good wrestling AND good storyline development. We are left with a lot more questions than answers after tonight. Why did AJ screw over Cena? Hmmm….anyone else feel that question is oddly worded? Anyway, what does the Shield do after this? How will WWE continue to make the Shield a formidable foe? When will Dolph cash in the MITB? What do Show and Sheamus do after tonight? Yeah, so I think I made my point. All these make tomorrow's Raw more intriguing, which is one of the goals of a PPV. If I have to give WWE TLC 2012 a score between 1-10 and 5 being average, I'll give this an 8 out of 10. This is a PPV you really should check out. It makes a strong case for being the best WWE PPV of the year. I still think Extreme Rules was better, but dammit does this give it a run for its money. This is a PPV I highly recommend checking out. That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. If you enjoyed any of these rantings, check out some of my other reviews and tell me what you thought of those. Anyone excited for the Slammys? Yeah, not even I could do that with a straight face. There's a reason why I do my own look at with the Best and Worst of at the end of the year. I will reveal more details later in the week on the 3rd Annual WrestlingNerd Awards. It should be a treat those new to the page in 2012. I will see you guys and girls in the next one. 

WrestlingNerd's Official Score of WWE TLC 2012: 8 out of 10

PS: If you were wondering why there was no SD review or TLC thoughts last week, it's because I didn't feel it was right doing any reviewing or writing after the school shooting. I think everyone can join me in saying that our thoughts and prayers go out to anybody that was effected by this tragedy. This comes as a difficult time for the family and friends that now have to deal with lost ones going into the holidays, so let us all show some respect to those 26 innocent lives…

Thank you for you time and my thoughts and prayers are with you.