Tag Team Championship Ladder Match - New Day (c) def. The Usos & The Lucha Dragons
The night kicked off with what many fans had anticipated to be the match of the night, and the three tag teams involved certainly delivered above expectations, setting the tone for night and creating one of the most memorable matches of the year so far.
Defending champions, New Day would enter the ring first to a thunderous reaction, and cut a promo during their entrance as they quickly looked to gain heat from the Boston crowd, stating how the Lucha Dragons hide behind masks and The Usos hide behind face paint, but the New Day, well they don't hide behind anything because "we are stars" as they claimed.
Xavier Woods was on commentary throughout the match, a role that he relished in as he spoke of the amazing spots that took place throughout the match, Big E took control very early on, using his power and strength to his advantage as he cleared house, until the high flying action of their opponents kicked in, with a great spot featuring The Usos diving onto their opponents with a ladder.
A moment that will be replayed time and time again. Source: Bleacher Report
The match would go back and forth throughout with many huge spots as the men involved put their bodies on the line for the entertainment of the fans, which in turn, elevated the titles, due to the risk the superstars were willing to take in order to win the match.
Kalisto stole the match with one of the greatest spots in WWE history, a unique moment that had never been seen before and was truly amazing, as he hit his finisher, Salida Del Sol off the top of the ladder, sending Jey Uso crashing through a ladder on his landing, only to be followed up by a Swantom Bomb by Sin Cara on the fallen Uso.
After several more huge bumps, it would come down to Kalisto climbing the ladder with the belts in sight, only for Woods to remind fans on commentary that this match was no disqualification, and went on to throw his trombone at the climbing Lucha Dragon, before Kofi Kingston knocked him off the ladder, to then climb and win the match for his team, and retain the titles.
Analysis: Wow! That was a fantastic match that was fast paced and full of action from the first bell right up until Kingston grabbed the belts, everyone involved deserves the credit that they are going to gain from a fantastic effort.
The live crowd bought into everything that was happening with chants of "This is awesome" taking place several times throughout, and they were well earned, everyone in the ring took risks and it paid off.
Woods on commentary was brilliant as he continues to be one of the best talkers in the company, listening to him correct the mistakes of the commentators several times throughout the match was satisfying but also highlighted just how bad the current announcing team are.
The spot (pictured) by Kalisto was a moment that the WWE will replay and show in highlights packages for a long time, both him and Jey took a big risk with that move and it was certainly worth it as it came across brilliantly, whoever came up with that spot deserves huge credit.
They made great use of the high flying and technical abilities of the superstars involved and when Big E's power and strength was brought in to counter, it worked well, it was one of the best ladder matches in recent history and is certainly worth a repeat viewing.
Rusev def. Ryback
A throwaway match that neither this particular author or anyone in the crowd seemed to care about in the slightest, it was a battle of two powerhouses whose rivalry is based around Ryback accidently bumping into Lana at ringside and was simply put on to build Rusev back up and show he is still as dominant as he previously was.
The match itself was fairly slow with both men looking to hit big power moves such as Ryback gorilla pressing Rusev but ultimately boiled down to an outside incident, once again, involving Rusev's fiance, Lana. As the match spilled to ringside, Ryback and Lana would collide again which Rusev made the most of by nailing his opponent with a superkick.
Lana quickly got up and showed that it she was fine and celebrated how it had worked to Rusev's benefit, replays would show that Lana didn't actually get hit and she was simply 'acting', back in the ring Rusev would hit the Accolade to force the big guy to pass out and gain the victory.
Analysis: Nobody was interested in this match as Ryback is barely considered to be much of a threat these days, if the WWE wants to build Rusev back to how he was then the current method with Lana faking injuries is simply not the way to do it, he should be just dominating.
They worked hard to try and make the match as entertaining as they could but it fell very flat, Rusev got the win so he is establishing himself once again, hopefully there is no return match at the Royal Rumble and Rusev can just dominate inside the main event as he did last year.
United States Championship Chairs Match- Alberto Del Rio (c) def. Jack Swagger
Both men began the match with chairs in hand, and continuously hit them together until Jack Swagger was able to gain the control, hitting a clothesline onto the champion sending him to the outside.
Alberto Del Rio would regain the advantage after some sharp chair shots and looked for a super kick which was countered by the All American throwing a chair at him, taking full advantage of the stipulation.
With the challenger managing to wrap Del Rio's ankle inside a chair to lock on his ankle lock, it what looked to be a very painful maneuver, it seemed as if the champion may tap, as he reached the ropes only to realize it didn't make a difference, so he was forced to drag himself out of the ring and onto the floor for the escape.
Swagger than introduced a large amount of chairs in a pile as he hoped to hit a suplex onto them, but Del Rio hit the counter and placed Swagger in the cross arm breaker with the use of the ropes.
Swagger found himself on the turnbuckle and after several shots of the chair to the back, Del Rio would hit his double footed stomp on Swagger who landed on the pile of chairs as the champion retained.
Analysis: It was a good match between two superstars who know each other very well inside the ring after their feud over the World Heavyweight Championship in the past, and that led to good chemistry.
The idea of a chairs match isn't exactly very appealing, especially when talent are limited to the type of moves they can do with the weapon itself, but both men worked hard to make the match interesting and entertaining.
It was a surprise to see Zeb Colter not play any role in this match, there was potential to have him come out and reunite with Swagger here, but the WWE clearly thought otherwise and it seems that he will now just be off T.V. once again.
8 Man Tag Team Elimination Tables Match:The Wyatt Family def. Team ECW
As soon as the bell rang, Tommy Dreamer wasted no time in loading the ring with weapons as the fans chanted "ECW" at the extreme legends, then the match descended into chaos as all eight men brawled around the ring with weapons in hand.
Erick Rowan would be the first man to be sent through a table, after several failed attempts by him to get rid of D-Von Dudley, the experienced tag team would hit 3D and put the Wyatt member through the table- Erick Rowan is eliminated by The Dudley Boyz.
After receiving a beat down from the Wyatts it would be Rhyno who fell victim to Team ECW's first elimination as he was sent crashing through a table after a big boot by Luke Harper- Rhyno is eliminated by Luke Harper.
Following Rhyno's elimination the Dudleyz would then go to work on Harper, attempting to eliminate him and after successfully taking him down and setting the table, it seemed as if they may, but Bray Wyatt would hit a one armed slam on D-Von to send him crashing through the table- D-Von Dudley eliminated by Bray Wyatt.
The two ECW veterans cleared the handicap situation with the use of Kendo sticks much to the joy of the fans in attendance, and then focused on the monster, Braun Strowman, as they launched him into the stairs, before Dreamer used a cheese grater on his groin.
The team then decided to cover Strowman in tables with the idea being that he was stuck underneath and they had dealt with the problem, but a suicide dive by Harper would send Dreamer crashing through a table on the outside, leaving Bubba on his own - Tommy Dreamer is eliminated by Luke Harper.
The last man standing for his team, Bubba Ray Dudley put up a fight against the Wyatts, taking out Harper and getting lighter fluid from under the ring which he poured all over a table, but before he could set it on fire, Strowman would return to slam him through the table for the victory- Bubba Ray Dudley is eliminated by Braun Strowman
Analysis: Whilst it was slightly chaotic in the beginning the match was fun overall, it was good to see three legends of the business in the ring within this environment one more time, and they certainly provided the extreme carnage that fans wanted.
It was wise having Strowman get the final elimination as it continues to build him as a strong and dominant force in the company, although it was very unfair of the WWE to tease the burning table, only to never deliver.
Intercontinental Championship Match- Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens (c)
This match was featuring two of the rosters very best talents, so it was always going to be entertaining with their contrasting in-ring styles coming together making for a fun match, that the champion, Kevin Owens took control of in the early going after a clothesline to the back of the head.
Owens would then hit Dean Ambrose with some huge shots on the outside which would lead to him just making it back inside the 10 count, for him to unleash punches and jabs on the champion as he went into the Lunatic mode.
Owens countered his challengers attempt at an elbow drop from the top rope with a German Suplex but his Cannonball move was avoided by the Lunatic Fringe, with the champion then hoping to hit the Pop-Up Powerbomb it would be reversed for Dirty Deeds!
However Owens managed to get one finger on the ropes to stop Ambrose from taking the title, another attempt at the Powerbomb was failed and reversed this time into a Hurricanrana which would see the three count and a new champion, as Dean Ambrose won to a huge ovation from the crowd.
Analysis: Whilst the way Ambrose won the title seemed a little strange, the match itself was very entertaining yet again as both men just click inside the ring and deserve even more time to showcase that.
For Ambrose he will make a good champion, he is one of the most popular talents on the roster and the fans loved seeing him win the title, for Owens it's a shame to see him drop the belt so quickly but someone as talented as him will still be used in a major role somehow.
Diva's Championship Match- Charlotte (c) w.Ric Flair def. Paige
Charlotte started things by offering a hand shake to her opponent, but Paige refused and instead hit a kick to the ribs (who is the heel!), with Paige in control, the champion went to the floor, allowing Ric Flair to distract the challenger.
Charlotte hit a running knee on Paige due to the distractions and followed it up with a neck breaker before ragging Paige down to the floor by her hair, seemingly acting as a heel now.
Flair was trying to take off the second turnbuckle but was caught by the referee, but was still allowed to stay at ringside, back in the ring and Paige locked in the Figure Four Leg lock, which saw plenty of Woo's from the crowd.
After several near falls, a Rampaige DDT by the number one contender seemed to have the match won, but Flair would pull his daughters leg onto the ropes to break up the pin fall and save the match.
As Paige screamed at Flair for cheating, the champion pulled off the turnbuckle her dad had already loosened and as Paige went back to her,she would go head first into the exposed metal and Charlotte would gain the pin.
Analysis: The heel turn is continuing for Charlotte, who apparently cannot do that without her dad, the match was solid but could have been so much better had a face/heel role been established.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship TLC Match - Sheamus (c) def. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns started the match with a huge punch to the face of the champion which the announcers played up for several minutes, it wasn't long before both men were outside the ring, and the use of the weapons would begin.
Reigns would be the first to go crashing into a table, even after sending Sheamus into several chairs to clear the table in the first place, the Celtic Warrior would then try to climb the ladder but was stopped via chair shot.
The match once again spilled to the outside and the champion hit white noise as both men went through the table in a good spot that led to the champion cutting his arm, and then the pair would head back into the ring and work each other with the ladder.
Reigns hit a very brutal Samoan drop onto the ladder which looked painful, Reigns made his way into the ring first and began to climb, only to be stopped by Sheamus, but the former Shield man would hit a Superman Punch to take out his opponent.
Sheamus once again stopped him by pulling the ladder, sending Reigns crashing down into the mat, just as the champion placed his hand on the title, Reigns would come back again and hit another Superman Punch which sent the Irishmen crashing into a table.
Just as it seemed Reigns had it won out came Del Rio and Rusev, after a beat down on Reigns Sheamus came back but the fight wasn't out of the challenger just yet as he took out the League of Nations until being hit with a Brogue Kick, allowing Sheamus to retain.
Following the match Reigns lost his cool and took out all three men with a vicious beating which led to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon coming down, which in turn created perhaps the biggest moment of the night as Reigns took out the boss.
After several chair shots, and plenty of over-selling by The Game, Reigns would put the COO through the table and then hit a spear to finish the job, with the crowd finally on his side to finish the show.
Analysis: Both men worked very hard in the ring to make an entertaining match, whilst it was at times a little slow paced, overall it was a great main event, and one of the better TLC matches in recent memory.
The crowd were very undecided on what they wanted, cheering for numerous things and not giving the respect to the two men who were literally beating the hell out of each other, until the end, which saw the full crowd finally behind Reigns as we head into the road to Wrestlemania.
It will be interesting to see where it leads to, but hopefully the WWE has finally succeeded in getting Reigns over as a babyface after nearly a year of attempting it.