Kalisto (C) vs. Enzo Amore – WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Not sure what the reasoning behind giving Kalisto the title after having Enzo only hold it for about a couple of weeks was, but whatever. Enzo’s heel turn has done him wonders, and it has gotten to the point where the Cruiserweights have been in the main event of Monday Night RAw as of late, something I’d never thought I would say. I don’t care much for Kalisto because he’s horribly one-dimensional and he’s hard to get behind after. I try to imagine him as Rey Mysterio (since he’s one of my favorite superstars ever), but even Rey wasn’t adept on the microphone. Money In The Bank and Great Balls of Fire was the only PPV’s from WWE this year where a title didn’t change hands on the entire card, and I’m thinking that if there’s any match on the card that will have a title change, it’ll be this one. Enzo laid Kalisto out this past Monday on RAW, and that usually leads me to believe Kalisto would win and get his redemption. However, I think Enzo will cheat to get his title back. Makes no sense for me to have Enzo, the guy who started to make the CW’s a little more relevant, not have the title for at least an extended period. Not like I care who wins either way, but my gut’s telling me Enzo will take it back.
Winner: Enzo Amore
Alexa Bliss (C) vs. Mickie James – RAW Women’s Championship
It should be blatantly obvious that Alexa will not be winning the title this Sunday, and if she does lose the title, it’ll probably be to Asuka. Mickie James is pretty much an older figure who will probably give the younger Alexa the rub this Sunday. The feud in itself has been alright, with Alexa pointing out how old Mickie is and that she’s past her prime while Mickie claims that she’s still got something left. This kind of reminds me of that time The Miz defended the WWE Title against Jerry Lawler at Elimination Chamber 2011, except these are females. Asuka is probably going to target Alexa after this match as WWE has been making a lot of subtle teases. Mickie is merely a road-bump to that destination. If Mickie does, somehow win, after already pinning Alexa in a tag match last night on RAW, then it’ll be one of the upsets of the year.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Asuka vs. Emma
Asuka has yet to lose a singles match since coming to WWE to the best of my knowledge. So, yeah. I’ll let you figure that one out.
Winner: Asuka
Finn Balor vs. “Sister Abagail”
Okay, so I can unequivocally say that this has been one of the worst feuds I can ever think of. From consistent, unoriginal, repetitive promos week after week, to comically contrived special effects, this feud has gone on for way too long, and there’s no purpose. The matches have been pretty standard, but goodness, the booking, and reasoning behind this are far beyond my comprehension. I can understand why people two years ago may have wanted to see these two characters go at it simply because they’re essentially cut from the same cloth but in different manners. However, the execution has been piss-poor. Bray Wyatt stays in the janitor’s closet and simply rambles incoherently now. We already had to deal with that disgrace called the House of Horrors match, and I’m afraid Bray is gonna have another flop again. While I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see how WWE plays this Sister Abagail thing out, I will not get my hopes up. I have no hope for this feud and no hope that either of these two is destined for anything great in the near future. Sister Abagail or whoever will be representing Bray Wyatt will win in all likelihood because Bray couldn’t defeat the demon or the man on PPV two times in a row. I wouldn’t put it past WWE to have Bray lose again because they never had any clue what to do with him, but I hope logic prevails. Keyword. Hope.
Winner: Sister Abagail
Jack Gallagher and The Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann and Cedric Alexander
So, I haven’t been following the CW’s outside of what they do on RAW so I really don’t have an informed opinion on this match. Considering that this will be the third segment involving the CW’s, in kind of goes to show just how weak and thin this card really is. The only thing I know is that sometime in the past couple of months, Gallagher turned heel and that’s pretty much it. I don’t care who wins or loses, but if the CW’s can take advantage of this opportunity and impress, then it would be a big victory for them. However, I won’t hold my breath. I’ll take the faces here, just for the sake of balance on the card.
Winners: Rich Swann and Cedric Alexander
Three on Five Handicap TLC Match: The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose) vs. The Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus, Kane and Braun Strowman
The Shield reuniting is one of the better storylines of this year, but I can’t help but feel that making this match a handicap match is unnecessary. The TLC card suffers a lot here, because you have not only the Intercontinental Champion but the RAW Tag Team Champions in the same match, and nothing is on the line. So to make up for the lack of depth on the card, hopefully, this match can deliver. The Shield proved to be one of the greatest factions in WWE history, beating any and all comers, but I think it’s safe to say this will be their steepest competition strictly off the numbers game. If you ask me, this should have been just a three on three featuring Cesaro, Sheamus and Braun Strowman. The Miz has certainly added fuel to the fire in this feud, but I don’t think he should have been involved in this feud and should have been defending his Intercontinental Championship instead. Kane’s recent involvement was equally as random.
Kane hasn’t been on television in over a year, and while his return was good for a momentary pop, I think the commentators failed to put some added context as to why he would appear. They could have speculated that perhaps Kane is avenging Undertaker’s defeat at WrestleMania at the hands of Roman Reigns. They could have even mentioned that Kane was involved in The Shield’s very first match at the TLC PPV five years ago. Instead, he’s just hired muscle to help beat The Shield. Handicap matches rarely have any good result in the long term. If The Shield wins, they don’t gain anything. If they lose, they don’t lose anything. If the other five guys win, it’s not impressive because they have two more guys. If the five guys lose, they look weak and considering who they have on their team, they’d look very weak. Overall, the biggest victory this match can have is if it’s one of the best matches of the year. If it has great storytelling, creative uses of tables, ladders, and chairs and ends up being a fantastic spot fest, then this will have achieved its purpose. If it’s predictable, contrived and unorganized, it’ll be a colossal failure. The Shield is obviously winning, by the way, and I don’t think it’s remotely close.
Winners: The Shield
