December 28, 2020 Observer Newsletter: WWE TLC review, Tokyo Dome preview, more

WWE’s last PPV show of the year, TLC, was a unique show, great on performance, good on drama, and weird on ending.

It’s funny because the two key matches, Drew McIntyre vs. A.J. Styles for the WWE title and Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens for the Universal title had great individual performances, and the latter from a dramatic standpoint was among the WWE’s best matches of the year.

But it’s funny, because it’s also everything that was bad about New Japan pro wrestling with the same story in two different matches. There was no subtlety with the interference. McIntyre essentially had three opponents, Styles, The Miz and John Morrison with a 7-foot-3 giant at ringside who ended up helping him at one point by going after Miz & Morrison. But he overcame all that at the end.

Owens had a handicap match with Reigns and Jey Uso, and like with McIntyre, for all that time, nobody kicked out Uso and nobody helped Owens.

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