Hey guys! So last week on SmackDown, Charlotte cost Becky Lynch her match against Paige. Then on RAW, things escalated to crazy heights when Paige slapped The Divas Champion’s Hall of Famer dad Ric Flair. As this episode of SmackDown was the go home show to TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, how will the challenger and champion make their final moves before their match? Let’s watch!
Our first helping of Divas is Summer Rae managing her boy toy Tyler Breeze in a match against Dolph Ziggler:
Come Divas match time, Becky Lynch makes her way to the ring, getting a lot of love from the WWE Universe:
Paige makes her entrance and we get a flashback video to the chaos from the MizTV segment from RAW. Paige seems thrilled with herself and he bell rings, let’s start this match!
Things heat up fast as Paige catches Becky in a headlock takeover and Becky uses her legs to power out and counter into a leg-based headlock. We then see that Charlotte is watching this match backstage. We get the focus back in the ring and Becky delivers a pair of her armdrags and Paige cowers out of the ring. As Becky argues with the referee about Paige’s shenanigans, the Anti-Diva slides in and kicks Becky in the chest, knocking her down. She goes for a cover and gets a nearfall on the Lass-Kicker.
Becky tries to find refuge in the corner, but Paige is on the offensive, nailing her with her patented knees to the mid-section. Paige hits a few strikes before taking Becky to the corner and using a running high knee strike followed by another knee to a crouched Becky Lynch. She gains another nearfall and then places Becky in a submission hold, also taunting the crowd for their admiration of Becky. Becky powers out and snapmares Paige adding some European uppercuts more good measure.
Becky turns it up with a few clotheslines and a dropkick and then nails an Exploder Suplex, sending Paige reeling to the corner. Becky sizes Paige up and misses a corner splash but both the Divas’ reflexes came to haunt them as the double clotheslined each other. As both women lay on the mat, we here Charlotte’s theme and the Divas Champion makes her way to the ring. Charlotte and Paige have a war of words before Paige turns her attention back to Becky. She goes for the Rampaige DDT but Becky counters into the DisArmHer and makes her tap! Becky Lynch has won this match!
The last Divas appearance is Lana and her fiance Rusev were on commentary for his TLC opponent Ryback‘s match with The Ascension:
Thoughts: Concerning the match, I thought both ladies did the best the could to entertain us as much as possible within the time frame without creating a spot fest. I’m not 100% sure what is going on with Charlotte’s involvement in the finish. Yeah it is obvious that she outsmarted Paige and that cost the British Diva the match, but when she came out, she was giving such a heel aura to me. As this match being the final act before the match, it was okay but still lack a certain “uumph” feeling that left me really wanting to see this match. I wonder how they will have Becky respond with Charlotte’s interference helping her win? Will she get angry or be grateful. That is what I wanna see. Becky is the piece of this puzzle that can spark things up
What concerns me regarding Summer Rae and Tyler Breeze is that the trajectory he is on is not so good. He is kinda just floating around and losing quite a bit and that affects Summer Rae. The whole VIP section is a good device but I feel like there is so much more these two can do. Summer Rae can cut a promo out of thin air and it would be worth Emmy consideration. I really want these two to succeed but it is kinda like Tyler’s debut is the only real grand moment they will have together.
I don’t wanna go on a tirade about Lana and Rusev but all I’ll say to you guys is that as a fan, I yearn for them to go back to the stoic, emotionless, militant ways pre-WrestleMania 31. The are coming across like such a joke and it sucks when you knew where they were just at the top of the year. Over a year’s worth if investment into the characters thrown down the toilet for a comedy shtick that is not even working.
This was supposed to WWE’s last chance to get us as fans somewhat invested in the TLC PPV and to be blunt, the buildup for this has seemed so half-assed. My only hope is that we get a new feud that can be easily built and carried because the road to WrestleMania 32 is on the horizon and things have never felt so dull. Here’s to hoping TLC gives us a great match and an end to this awkward feud.
