TLC 2012: Recapping and Grading the Pay-Per-View

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TLC came live on pay-per-view Sunday night from Brooklyn. The pay-per-view lacked CM Punk and Randy Orton due to injury, but still boasted a pretty solid card.

How would the Shield fare in their first match in the WWE? Would Dolph Ziggler retain his Money in the Bank briefcase or would John Cena take it from him?

These are just two of the many questions we had going in. Here is a recap and grades for TLC this year.

Pre-Show Divas Battle Royal

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The pre-show battle royal was pretty hard to watch. There were several botches, and whenever a battle royal isn't over the top (which the divas battle royals usually aren't) there can't be many great spots.

The most surprising thing, other than the winner, was Rosa Mendes being eliminated over the top rope.

I am really happy Naomi won, as it gives her a chance to showcase her skills in the ring, and Eve has a new opponent to work with.

Either way, the grade here is going to be low.

Grade: C-

Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. Rhodes Scholars

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I will be honest, I missed most of this match. But from what I saw, it was solid.

The right team won, as the Rhodes Scholars put away Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. Team Hell No needed to take on a heel team, and they will get it when they face Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow.

The ending was fun. When it looked like Sin Cara was getting the upper hand, Cody Rhodes pushed him through a table for the win.

Like I said, from what I saw it was good.

Grade: B+

Antonio Cesaro vs. R-Truth

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The match wasn't horrible. It was nothing to write home about, but it was nothing too memorable.

Cesaro is a beast in the ring. However, there was a rest hold that went on for about two-plus minutes that really killed the rhythm of the match.

R-Truth's offense was crisp and impressive. I think a heel turn and a run in the upper-mid card, or even main event, would be great for him.

As for Cesaro, he will continue to impress with his wrestling. I don't think he is completely over as a heel, but he really should be.

Grade: B-

Miz TV...What?

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I think the WWE is getting way too carried with Miz TV. I said that watching Raw the other day, but now it's official. 

Miz TV on a pay-per-view is way out of place. I paid money to watch wrestling, not a segment that should be on Raw or SmackDown.

3MB was the guest and proclaimed it would perform live tomorrow on Raw at the Slammys. They then proceeded to verbally and physically degrade the Spanish announcing team.

That led to what looks like Alberto del Rio's face turn. This set up a six-man tag team match for later between 3MB and del Rio, Miz and an opponent to be named.

That was the weirdest face turn of all time. It was super random, made no sense and for some reason the crowd loved it.

I really don't know how to grade this. It was stupid, but it worked. However, again, Miz TV should not have taken up precious time on pay-per-view.

Grade: D

Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett

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Wade Barrett and Kofi Kingston have really been putting on some great matches. Their styles complement each other well.

I was hoping Barrett would win the title here, but a win for Kingston means their feud will continue. That means we will see more solid matches from these two.

I have said it a lot, but I really hope that Barrett would use Winds of Change (spinning side slam) as his finisher. It looks brutal, and it can come out of nowhere.

Anyway, this match really picked up the pace and had the crowd into it.

Grade: A-

CM Punk...Promo?

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Again, instead of saving time to give the wrestlers enough to work with, CM Punk was given a promo.

I love hearing CM Punk's promos, but again this is a wrestling pay-per-view and people pay money to watch the wrestling matches. This pay-per-view began feeling much too like a typical Raw or SmackDown we get on a weekly basis.

Just for that reason, I cannot give this a high rating.

Grade: D

The Shield vs. Team Hell No and Ryback

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Wow, that match was intense and brutal.

The PG era does not often see hardcore matches of the Attitude Era/Ruthless Aggression Era, but this definitely came close. There were a ton of awesome spots in this match.

Roman Reigns spearing Kane through the barricade was sweet. Seth Rollins getting tossed off a ladder through a bunch of tables looked violent.

The Shield won, which was the right way to go. Everyone put on an awesome performance.

I even thought the Shield's new entrance song was cool. It reminded me of a generic Attitude Era song; it had attitude.

Awesome match.

Grade: A+

Eve Torres vs. Naomi

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This was a short filler match, but I honestly did not mind it.

Naomi showed some flash and actually got the crowd into the match at one point. She had some nice moves and showed great athleticism. 

Maybe the WWE should let her work in the ring more. 

Eve looked sharp as usual. She is definitely one of the best, if not the best, worker in the ring. 

Grade: B

Big Show vs. Sheamus

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The match between Big Show and Sheamus was way too slow, as usual with most Big Show matches these days.

I am a huge fan of Big Show, especially when he was in his prime. This chair match with Sheamus bored me with its pace.

His age and time in the business is hurting his work. It may be time to scale back his schedule and pass the torch.

I also was not a fan of the finish. His KO punch could not finish Sheamus, but the use of an oversized chair got the pinfall?

Questionable at best.

Grade: C

3MB vs. the Miz, Alberto Del Rio and the Brooklyn Brawler

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I figured the third man in Miz and Alberto del Rio's tag team would be Zack Ryder because they were in New York. Instead, Brooklyn Brawler was the man who took the third spot in their tag team.

It was actually a fun inclusion. He got the pin by submission, but it was set up with a Skull Crushing Finale.

It was a short match, but it was fun.

Grade: B

John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler

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The match between Dolph Ziggler and John Cena was good.

However, I think I can speak for most people when I say that it is getting annoying that heels can never win on their own. I am glad Dolph Ziggler won the match, but having AJ Lee screw over John Cena took away from his victory. 

Based on the match itself, which saw some solid wrestling and good use of foreign objects, it was great. The ending kind of spoiled it for me though.

Grade: B