#Wrestling - WWE TLC 2018 Predictions

It's a weird time for WWE, especially for their flagship Monday night show, Raw. We have a heel "acting GM" in Baron Corbin who doesn't just make the fans hate him, but they legitimately want him to just go away and get off our screens, we have a tag team division whose best teams have been written to be laughing stocks, Ronda Rousey whose matches I'm starting to feel aren't worth watching since she's always going to win with an arm bar and never lose the title and apparently we have something called "The Universal Championship" but we rarely see that because current champ Brock Lesnar is a lazy bastard.

Smackdown, however, keeps me interested week-on-week. Of course, there are some silly segments like the Miz sucking up to Shane McMahon (hang on, why has Shane suddenly reappeared every week?) and whilst the New Day's antics are fun, sometimes, like last night's USOs Vs The Bar rap battle are just baffling. We've got some good characters and interesting heel turns like Daniel Bryan's newly found self-righteousness, and Samoa Joe who really knows how to make things personal and that's before even talking about the depth of women's division. Each week, we get some quality matches showing that Smackdown is currently the dominant brand.

The build up for this year's TLC (Tables, Ladders & Chairs) pay per view has been a bit hit and miss... I mean, on last night's Smackdown, surely AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan should have gone toe to toe to build up to their match? Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey's build up on Monday night was a car crash as well.

So, what do I think is going to happen this Sunday at TLC?

Mixed Match Challenge Final - R Truth & Carmella Vs. Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox

The winners of this match each get the #30 spot in their respective Royal Rumble matches in January, and is an easy one to call because honestly, R Truth & Carmella are just a joke with their whole "Dance Break" interruptions, albeit a welcome one. I mean, I can't see WWE realistically giving R Truth the #30 spot and even taunt at the idea of him winning.

Winners: Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox

Normal Match - Finn Balor Vs Drew McIntyre

Whilst this could be an entertaining match due to it effectively being Ireland Vs Scotland, I really don't get why they've put it on a PPV with very little build up. I really wish I cared more about this match. My only guess is that they're building up to a #1 contender match in a couple of months for if/when Strowman wins the title.

Winner: Drew McIntyre because WWE doesn't care about faces right now.

Ladder Match - Elias Vs Bobby Lashley

This match feels very WCW because instead of a title being suspended above the ring, there will be a guitar which can be used as a weapon once taken. I absolutely love Elias as he's just a true maverick and a hilarious character. It could be good fun, if only they'd banish that irritating imp Lio Rush from ringside but...

Winner: Bobby Lashley after Lio Rush gets on his shoulders to take the guitar and get revenge on Elias.

Tables Match - Natalya Vs. Ruby Riott

This has been a very interesting rivalry full of personal attacks towards Natalya and her family, particularly her late father Jim Neidhart so I have no doubt that it's going to be a great bout. No doubt the other two members of the Riott Squad are going to interfere at some point but I really think Natty has been pushed to her limit.

Winner: Natalya because she deserves it and she must be at boiling point by now.

Chairs Match - Rey Mysterio Vs. Randy Orton

Randy Orton seems to be a big fan of chairs, in fact he did comment on the last episode of Smackdown how comfortable steel chairs are. I think this has potential to be a solid match, although it's nothing we haven't seen before.

Winner: Randy Orton as usual. He's just brutal.

Cruiserweight Championship - Buddy Murphy (c) Vs. Cedric Alexander

I love 205 Live as I've always been a fan of the high flying antics of cruiserweight wrestlers so this should be a good match, although probably relatively short.

Winner: Buddy Murphy retains and I reckon kicks off a rivalry with Mustafa Ali after his shining match on Smackdown.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Bar Vs. The USOs Vs. The New Day

I hate triple threat matches but do you know what I hate more than triple threat matches? Tag team triple threat matches. The concept that only a member of 2 of the 3 teams is in the ring at the time and you either need to tag in or be tagged out by a member of the inactive team is silly. Tag team triple threats should be tornado with all people in the ring at the same time.

The Bar and The New Day have been rivals for a while but suddenly the USOs have been injected into the feud, which is nice to see to remind everyone that there are more than two tag teams on Smackdown.

Winners: This is a tough call but I think The Bar Retains which will set up a feud with the USOs after their hideous rap battle.

Intercontinental Championship - Seth Rollins (c) Vs. Dean Ambrose

This has been an interesting rivalry for sure but it's slightly annoyed me that it's just a singles match instead of a TLC or even regular No DQ match if I'm honest. I have no doubt that these guys can put on a good one without weapons, but I'd love to let Ambrose loose with a kendo stick or something.

Winner: Seth Rollins Retains to continue the rivalry for an even bigger title match at the Royal Rumble.

Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match - Braun Strowman Vs Baron Corbin

I didn't quite know how to introduce this, so if you're not sure I'll explain. Braun Strowman recently had an absolutely silly match for the vacant Universal Title against Brock Lesnar and lost really badly, when realistically he shouldn't have but he's also been feuding hard with Acting General Manager Baron Corbin because, well, Corbin is a prick. Braun wanted a title rematch but he also wants to get his hands on Corbin, whilst Corbin wants to be full time GM so this match came about... basically Stephanie McMahon said that if Braun wins, he gets his title shot at the Royal Rumble whilst Corbin gets stripped of all power, whereas if Corbin wins he becomes full time GM.

The reason this is a tough one to call is because of a couple of factors; firstly, it depends on if Kurt Angle is actually coming back to be GM and secondly it depends on if they can get Lesnar to show up to the Royal Rumble.

Winner: I really cannot see them wanting to keep Corbin in a GM role due to fan's reactions so Braun Strowman wins, but the rivarly continues.

Raw Women's Championship - Ronda Rousey (c) Vs. Nia Jax

This rivarly has been boring and shite ever since Jax came back from injury. The rivarly was there ever since Rousey won the title, and then disappeared, and now it's back and just not good. It'll be a boring match.

Winner: Ronda Rousey makes Nia Jax tap out via an arm bar as per fucking usual to retain.

WWE Championship - Daniel Bryan (c) Vs AJ Styles

Let's face it, Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles are two of the finest technical wrestlers anywhere in the world right now so even though we've seen this match a few times before, it'll never not be an entertaining match. Until Daniel Bryan's recent brilliant heel turn, I was convinced that AJ would reclaim the title but...

Winner: Daniel Bryan retains by using dirty tactics like another low blow.

Smackdown Women's Championship - TLC - Asuka Vs. Charlotte Flair Vs. Becky Lynch (c)

I think this could be the best match on the card because all three women are absolutely incredible but simultaneously, I think it could be a short match too. I genuinely think that Charlotte and Becky hate each other so much that they'll concentrate so much on beating the shit out of each other that they'll forget Asuka is there, who will steal the title.

Winner: Asuka because as above, Charlotte and Becky will be too focused on each other to worry about her. This will also reignite the Charlotte / Asuka rivalry and free Becky up to win the women's Royal Rumble after which she can elect to challenge Rousey for the Raw Women's Title at Wrestlemania.

What's missing from this card?

There are two key things missing here... obviously the Universal Championship as Vince loves him too much and won't take the title from him, and where the hell is Shinsuke Nakamura with his United States Championship? For some reason, I thought there was going to be a Nakamura Vs. Rusev match somewhere on the card.

Overall, it has potential to be a great PPV although 12 matches seems extremely long for what isn't one of the Big Four so we could see some quite short matches.

What do you think?

Nate

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