Daddy’s Hangout TLC PPV Review

This PPV was being built as the Shield returning to the ring together for the first time in three years. It turned out that didn’t happen as WWE has been stricken with a viral meningitis issue, so everything changed. As far as we know, the only ones affected is Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. With Roman Reigns not able to compete, we learned that Kurt Angle would replace him to team with Ambrose & Rollins. This would be the first time Kurt Angle has wrestled in a WWE ring in 11 years. Since Bray Wyatt couldn’t compete, we were treated to a Dream Match as A.J. Styles took Wyatt’s place. If that wasn’t enough, Asuka made her main roster debut as she battled Emma. Alexa Bliss defended her Women’s Championship against Mickie James. Kalisto defended the Cruiserweight title against Enzo. Let’s see what happened at the PPV.

We opened the PPV with the debut of Asuka as she took on Emma, who earned this shot on Raw a few weeks ago. If you followed her in NXT, you know she was arguably the greatest performer down there and that includes men also. For weeks now, they have aired vignettes anticipating her arrival and she’s finally here. The match with Emma was really good with Emma holding her own throughout the match. Asuka used her patented offense that we’ve grown to love and combined some MMA work too. The crowd was behind Asuka and in the end, she picked up the victory with the Asuka Lock. Winner: Asuka

Match Rating: 3/5- Great way to open the PPV as it got the crowd hot from the beginning.

We had the cruiserweight tag team action as Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann took on Jack Gallagher & The Brian Kendrick. This could be me, but I would love to see Alexander & Swann be a tag team and challenge for the Raw championships. I’m a huge fan of this team and hate that they’re relegated to cruiserweight status because they could be so much more. As far as this match, it was exciting with so much action and the crowd was definitely into Alexander & Swann. The action was all over the place and in the end, Alexander hit the Lumbar Check on Kendrick to pick up the win for his team. Winners: Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann

Match Rating: 3/5

We had Alexa Bliss battling Mickie James for her Women’s Championship. This feud hasn’t been bad, but I just hate how they’re using this to call Mickie James old. Honestly, Mickie James deserves so much better as the last time she was with the WWE, they referred to her as Miss Piggy. This feud can be about a lot more than the age of Mickie James and maybe her quest to become Women’s champion again without age references. The match was better than expected as the crowd was really into the match as they got a nice reaction when James slapped Bliss on the butt. Bliss retained the title when she rammed James shoulder first into the ring post and followed it with her patented DDT. Winner and Still Women’s Champ: Alexa Bliss

Match Rating: 3.5/5- Very impressed with this match as they made the right call in having Bliss retain as Asuka will be aiming for her really soon.

We have the Cruiserweight Championship match as Kalisto defended the title against former champ, Enzo. I’ll be honest, since the rumors of Neville requesting his release and going back to Austin Aries leaving, this division is getting weaker. With Enzo, he’s bringing attention to the division, but if the WWE would’ve invested time in the division as a whole, things would be different. I’m not going to go in details, but Enzo regained the title after poking Kalisto in the eye and hitting his finisher. Winner and New Cruiserweight Champ: Enzo

Match Rating: 2/5

This is the match that everyone was anticipating as Finn Balor took on A.J. Styles. For all of you that don’t know, these two men were once leaders of the Bullet Club at one point in time. Since Bray Wyatt couldn’t compete, A.J. Styles was brought in to face Balor. As far as the match, you have to go to the WWE Network and watch it yourself as it was PHENOMENAL!!! In the end, Styles missed the Springboard 450 Splash, Balor followed with a clothesline, torpedo dropkick and Coup De Grace for the win. Winner: Finn Balor

Match Rating: 4.25/5- After the match, they gave each other the “Too Sweet” gesture out of respect and the crowd went nuts!!

I’m not going to mention the match before this, but this is time for the main event. Kurt Angle teamed up with Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose to battle Miz, Kane, Braun Strowman, Cesaro & Sheamus. This match had so much crazy shit going on it that it’s crazy. We had the return of Angle, but Strowman slammed him through a table and it took him out of the match. Afterwards, we had a garbage truck, Kane & Strowman fighting each other which ended with Kane pulling down several chairs onto Strowman. The Miz’s team turning on Strowman and tossing him into the garbage compactor. Kurt Angle returned at the end when it seems like they were going to dismantle Rollins & Ambrose. In the end, Rollins, Ambrose & Angle surrounded Miz like the Shield normally. Rollins & Ambrose hit their finisher on Miz followed by the Angle Slam. Ambrose, Angle and Rollins hit the triple powerbomb to pick up the win. Winners: Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose

Match Rating: 4/5- All I can say is TOTAL CHAOS!!!

Overall Rating: 7/10- This PPV was much better than expected as most of the matches delivered. With Survivor Series around the corner, how will things play out heading into Raw? Could this unfortunate situation with Reigns lead to a heel turn? Honestly, I doubt it, but we’ll see what happens moving forward and below are my top 3 matches of the night.