The Real Women's Evolution and Top Hot Takes from WWE TLC 2018 Results

The TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view provided fans with another quality four hours of pro wrestling, but beyond the in-ring content, it supplied a few major takeaways as WWE wraps up a tumultuous 2018 and looks forward to the new year.

What were they and how might they affect the company as it moves into 2019?

The answers lie within.

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins Underwhelm on PPV ... Again

After the lackluster, underwhelming Intercontinental Championship match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, it is time to admit that the showstopping match we have all been waiting for out of those two accomplished and celebrated Superstars just may not happen.

From The Shield's first breakup in 2014 through 2016, the Superstars battled no fewer than six times in television and pay-per-view singles matches. Not once, even with the assistance of a Lumberjack gimmick or the Hell in a Cell structure, did they deliver the blow-away match fans expect out of them.

A lot of that can be attributed to slow starts in those matches and, worse, the manner in which they shoehorn dramatic storytelling elements into a match. The crowd does not react favorably or in some cases, at all.

Sunday, chants of "boring" and "Becky" greeted the audience as an otherwise hot San Jose crowd turned on the bout.

WWE faithful will argue fatigue or claim Ambrose and Rollins had an "off night," but the fact of the matter is, they have had "off nights" in nearly every big match in which they have competed against each other.

As long as those in charge and the performers themselves continue to lean so heavily on character work in the middle of a match, when that should be reserved for the weeks leading into the actual action, the likelihood they live up to lofty expectations from fans who know how good they both are is low.

Ronda Rousey Joins Discussion of Best Big-Match Performer in WWE

Ronda Rousey has only been an actual professional wrestler since the beginning of 2018 and only had her first match this past Spring at WrestleMania 34. The quality of her ring work to this point is staggering when one takes that into consideration. That her finest performances come in high-profile pay-per-view bouts has only served to solidify her status as one of the best big-match performers in the sport.

And she needs to be.

Rousey is a star. She is everything WWE wants its Superstars to be. She transcends the industry and the company relies heavily on her to deliver in her pay-per-view appearances. The quality of her match can make or break a show, based solely on how heavily promoted she is on it.

To this point, Rousey has exceeded all expectations, delivering time and time again, against wrestlers of varying degrees of quality. Whether she was tossing Stephanie McMahon around the ring, selling for Nikki Bella or woman-handling Alexa Bliss, Rousey has been responsible for some of the hottest and most engaging matches of the year.

Such was the case Sunday in San Jose, when Rousey made Jax look like an unstoppable force, selling for the majority of the match before firing off a babyface comeback that saw her use power and ferocity to down Jax and tap her out.

Rousey's varied offensive moveset helps but her timing is impeccable. She knows when to execute each move, how long to sell and when to pop back up for the finish. It has helped tremendously, resulting in a year comparable to the great rookie campaign of Kurt Angle.

Rousey is as reliable a big-match performer as WWE has at this point and an asset to the company at a time when star power is low.

WWE Creative Admits Failure with Writing off of General Manager Corbin

Baron Corbin's general manager persona was written off of WWE TV in grand fashion Sunday, losing to Braun Strowman after nearly every babyface he had wronged in the weeks leading into the pay-per-view laid him out with their respective finishers.

It was a fitting end to a character who had tormented fans, beat down their favorite Superstars and been responsible for an unprecedented ratings decline.

It also represented WWE Creative's admission of failure in regards to the character and the last two months of storytelling.

The writing team tried to channel the days of the McMahon-Helmsley Era, providing fans with a detestable authority figure and merry band of heels to root against.

The fans did not root against Corbin and Co., though. Instead, they tuned out. In droves.

That style of story is antiquated, the stuff of the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras. Fans demand more than the tired storytelling methods that have dominated television for two decades.

Corbin, unfortunately, will receive the bulk of the blame for the failure of the story, but he did what he could with the material written for him. That material, among the blandest in show history, may have doomed him to midcard mediocrity for the foreseeable future.

AJ Styles' Time in the WWE Title Picture Is over

AJ Styles has been the face of the SmackDown brand for the last two years and has spent a great deal of that time as WWE champion. After losing to "The New" Daniel Bryan Sunday night via small package rollup, it is time for The Phenomenal One to take a step out of the title picture or risk staleness.

Styles is among the best wrestlers in the world. We get it. He is almost at the point where a championship is not necessary for him to remain a vital part of the SmackDown brand. He can work a Randy Orton or Rey Mysterio or Shinsuke Nakamura in the midcard and have that program mean as much just via his presence.

The grizzled veteran has done everything he set out to do in WWE, proving he can be the top dog on a brand. Now it is time for him to fend off staleness, step out of the title picture and prove he can thrive in a storyline in which the WWE title is not the centerpiece.

Doing so will only elevate his value to the company and cement his legacy as one of the best in company history.

TLC Represents Organic Evolution of Women's Wrestling in WWE

There was no bigger takeaway from Sunday's pay-per-view than its place in the history of WWE's women's evolution.

Whereas Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair headlined a Hell in a Cell pay-per-view at a time when the company was patting itself on the back for finally featuring women in a prominent spot, and Evolution continued that trend, TLC was headlined by Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Asuka. This is because their story was the hottest on the show and Lynch was the most popular wrestler in the building.

Sure, there was talk about history, but that match, coupled with Ronda Rousey's Raw Women's Championship defense against Nia Jax and a Tables match pitting Natalya against Ruby Riott, made a showcase for women's wrestling that occurred far more organically and naturally than the forced and overly hyped celebrations WWE has thrown for itself in the past.

At a time when the male-centered storylines failed to strike a nerve with the audience, the hard work and dedication to growth and evolution allowed women to steal headlines and forced WWE's hand. They could not deny Lynch's tremendous popularity or the intensity of her rivalry; Rousey's star power or the emotional element of Nattie's feud with Riott.

Given the creative turmoil in the current WWE product, the women saved the day and did it without the grandiosity that accompanies so many other attempts by the company to promote its female performers.