Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Dallas Allsopp, Bodeen Green and Chris King will be giving their opinions on TLC 2019, and discuss the fallout from this event.

TLC was not greatly hyped by WWE, with very few matches announced with a week to go to the pay-per-view. The event itself wasn't disastrous, however it wasn't great either. Was the show really as bad as some people have made it out to be? What is next as we start the road to WrestleMania 36?


ALLSOPP: I wish this feud had been ended before TLC. It has done nothing for either wrestler, other than cause more go away heat for King Corbin, whilst Roman Reigns appears to have lost all credibility. I envision this feud finally ending at the Royal Rumble, with Corbin and his minions attempting to eliminate Reigns unsuccessfully, with Reigns eventually winning the match to move onto a WrestleMania 36 feud with Bray Wyatt. In terms of the ending to TLC, I was not happy to see them steal the thunder from the women, who had put on a much better TLC match than the men. But hey, Vince McMahon always has to keep Reigns strong, right?

GREEN: I went into TLC way too optimistic for this feud. Their match was slow and ugly to watch, lacking any intensity whatsoever. The worst part about this is how the feud now makes no sense. When Roman Reigns was being beaten down by King Corbin's men, no-one came to his aid, but when Reigns and Corbin fought again, half of the SmackDown roster joined him. This feud serves no purpose in establishing both men as Reigns keeps losing. With no-one helping him, the idea that he is the locker room leader doesn't make any sense. Corbin also looks weak as he can only beat Reigns with the help of his minions. This feud will be ended at WrestleMania 36, as I don't see how Reigns can get a title opportunity so close to WrestleMania 36 whilst feuding with Corbin. Whilst the Spear off the balcony looked cool, in the end it was just another ending you'd expect to see from a weekly show.

KING: Whilst their story so far had been built around nothing substantial except for dog food, I was somewhat excited to see their match at TLC. There were definitely some good and bad moments from the match, but it didn't live up to my expectations. In my opinion, King Corbin has turned into a bonafide major player over this last year, from challenging for the WWE Universal Championship to becoming King of the Ring. He deserves this push he's currently getting. Roman Reigns is the perfect opponent for him to gain all that cheap heat, and the WWE Universe loves to boo Corbin at any chance they get. I don't see this feud lasting much longer, as I can see Reigns in a big WrestleMania 36 program. Perhaps, they will have a blow off match in the next month or so.


GREEN: I can see what WWE are doing or trying to do with the Bray Wyatt character. They are using his matches to better highlight the psychology of Wyatt and The Fiend. As this match began, Wyatt looked friendly as he was laughing at the pain inflicted on him by The Miz. However, as The Miz inflicted more punishment, Wyatt's expressions became darker, leading to him inflicting more punishment. This is also a theme in his matches as The Fiend, with The Fiend only looking stronger with each move. Both characters are impossible to keep down, but are motivated to attack for different reasons. Wyatt turns darker every time he is hit, whilst The Fiend is controlled by his hurt / heal gloves. With this in mind, both characters are worthy to face Daniel Bryan, however the fact that it was The Fiend who originally defeated Bryan leads me into thinking we will see the Firefly Fun House presenter compete at the Royal Rumble.

KING: I truly enjoyed Bray Wyatt's character being utilized instead of The Fiend against The Miz. I felt it needed to be done to show how psychotic he really is. Wyatt is the only person that could pull off this split personality and turn it into gold. WWE needs to make it where Firefly Fun House Wyatt makes special appearances during the weeks building up to his matches, and that is when The Fiend shows up. Yes, The Fiend needs to take on Daniel Bryan at the Royal Rumble for the next encounter.

ALLSOPP: I foresee The Fiend making an appearance to well and truly take Daniel Bryan down. The Fiend will arguably be headlining WrestleMania 36, therefore there is no way he loses his feud with Bryan. Wyatt proved at TLC that his standard persona is vulnerable, albeit still able to win matches. But Bryan is a million miles ahead of The Miz, therefore the additional power from The Fiend is required in order to win.


KING: To be brutally honest, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch are pretty much the entire Raw women's division right now. They shouldn't be the only ones highlighted, but they are. Their feud has been given the most airtime on Raw over the last few months. I was praying that WWE wouldn't play hot potato with the Women's Tag Team Championship and have The Kabuki Warriors lose at TLC, and thankfully they didn't. As far as where the division goes from here, I'm not too sure. I guess it all depends on who is the NXT Women's Champion, as I think Shayna Baszler could help re-establish the Raw women's division, plus she and Lynch have unfinished business from Survivor Series. I felt like this match or The Miz vs. Bray Wyatt were the only two on the card that deserved to main event the pay-per-view. Without question, I knew if Roman Reigns vs King Corbin closed the show it was going to be bad, so thank God WWE didn't go down that route.

ALLSOPP: The Raw women’s division has a clear issue, as outside of The Kabuki Warriors, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, there is no-one able to break into that upper echelon. This means that unless we have Shayna Baszler come up from NXT, the Raw Women’s Championship will remain the property of one of these 4 wrestlers. The TLC match fully deserved to main event TLC, however it highlighted the lack of strong and credible women’s wrestlers coming up through the ranks on Raw.

GREEN: I'm going to answer this question with an air of caution, as there is a chance that Kairi Sane suffered a concussion during the match. The match was easily one of the better matches of the night, despite a fair few botches and slow moments. The fact that it was a TLC match also solidified it as the main event. In terms of what this did to the woman's division, it is interesting The Kabuki Warriors looked strong as they beat arguably the two biggest women in the division right now, establishing themselves as major threats. Whilst this wasn't fully established due to the Roman Reigns and King Corbin brawl almost immediately after they won the match, The Kabuki Warriors look unstoppable heading towards WrestleMania 36. Lynch and Flair looked closer then ever, which may lead to them teaming up more in the future, or Flair may turn on Lynch instead.