TLC 2016

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 174 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 6 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

TLC 2016 rounded off the Pay-Per-View year on the SmackDown side, a year where the blue brand has completed a remarkable comeback from being an almost ignored show to WWE's most entertaining and logical weekly programme. TLC also served to culminate several lengthy rivalries, all of which combined with some high-quality action to deliver a really good event for WWE fans.

The show opens with a basic, television-esque battle for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles between Heath Slater & Rhyno and the team of Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt, which existed more to further the Orton-in-the-Wyatt-Family storyline. Next up, we have a No Disqualification bout between Nikki Bella and Carmella which, whilst fairly short, draws a line under their feud which began in August, whilst also setting up the subsequent Nikki-Natalya rivalry.

The Miz and Dolph Ziggler then deliver a strong match in a re-run of an old feud which ended up succeeding beyond anyone's expectations; their Ladder match isn't quite as spectacular as their Intercontinental Title vs. Career match at No Mercy, but it's still well worth watching, and marks another highlight in a year of career resurgence for Miz. Baron Corbin and Kalisto meet in the fourth match in what is arguably the best Chairs match to date, featuring more innovative spots than we have seen in previous Chairs bouts. Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss under Tables rules is reasonable, but is slightly let down by a less-than-enthusiastic crowd.

Finally, AJ Styles provides more weight to support his candidacy for Wrestler Of The Year as he and Dean Ambrose put on an excellent TLC match for the WWE Championship. The finish is slightly predictable and some may say that it brings the match down a notch, but this high-risk battle is as good as anyone could have expected, and still ends the show on a strong note. The pre-show 10-man tag team match is included as a DVD extra, and features an brief reunion between the old tandem of Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, albeit as opponents.

It's interesting that, usually, the TLC show is one of WWE's strongest of the year, since the addition of tables, ladders and chairs generally make for more exciting matches. However, the SmackDown crew is talented enough, and can deliver such strong matches purely using their basic wrestling skills, that the TLC stipulations perhaps would have been better suited for the Raw roster, which tends to place a greater emphasis on gimmicks and weapon-based brawls. Nevertheless, TLC 2016 is undoubtedly a fun show to watch and has several thrilling encounters which you should enjoy reliving here. It's further evidence as to why SmackDown has been WWE's most exciting show since the second Brand Extension in July.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good

TLC 2016 coming soon on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

With tables, ladders, and chairs surrounding the ring and the WWE World Championship suspended high above, AJ Styles heads into his first TLC match defending the title against "The Lunatic Fringe" Dean Ambrose. The rivalry for the Intercontinental Championship reaches new heights as The Miz defends his title against Dolph Ziggler in a Ladder Match. The women of the blue brand get their chance to shine when Becky Lynch defends the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss in a Tables Match. Plus more!

Synopsis:

Match Listing:

WWE Championship TLC Match
AJ Styles (Champion) vs. Dean Ambrose

Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
The Miz (Champion) vs. Dolph Ziggler

SmackDown Women's Championship Tables Match
Becky Lynch (Champion) vs. Alexa Bliss

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton

Chairs Match
Baron Corbin vs. Kalisto

No Disqualification Match
Nikki Bella vs. Carmella

Plus, more action, extras and Blu-ray exclusives!

We like it because:

TLC is always one of the most exciting nights of the year for WWE. But this event has special meaning, as it finishes off 2016’s incredible run of pay-per-view events from SmackDown Live!

WWE Champion AJ Styles also caps off what is arguably the most impressive debut year in WWE history with another stunning performance, battling the former champ Dean Ambrose in a TLC match four months in the making. Styles shows the world just why he’s WWE Champion – and why 2017 could be just as phenomenal.

The Miz and Dolph Ziggler’s epic rivalry comes to a conclusion in dramatic, bone-crunching style – a highly-innovative Ladder Match. Just when it looks like Miz and Dolph couldn’t possibly find new ways to punish each other, they pull out something new to stun the WWE Universe.

Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss’s Tables Match is also great enough to rival anything happening in the Raw’s women’s division – proof that the female Superstars from WWE’s blue brand are just as capable of groundbreaking action.

With all this and much more, TLC is another must-own pay-per-view event!

TLC 2016 will officially be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday February 6 2017.

For more information, click here.

TLC 2013

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 186 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: March 31 2014

Unlike recent TLC PPV events, the 2013 edition featured just one match containing the elements of tables, ladders and chairs. This helped to make the main event of the card stand out, but as an overall programme for the DVD, the show feels inferior to previous TLC PPVs, and in fact that does prove to be the case, despite some entertaining matches.

Beginning with the headline bout, the TLC match between John Cena and Randy Orton to unify the WWE and World Titles is an enjoyable battle, carried by the high stakes for the victor; it doesn't come close to matching the thrills and spills of past TLC matches but, considering the participants, this was an inevitability. From an in-ring standpoint, the best match is the WWE Tag Team Title four-way, which has an electrifying final section (it's elimination rules, so I won't say which teams were remaining at that point).

Elsewhere, the two handicap matches - CM Punk vs. The Shield and Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family - are adequate but nothing more; AJ Lee vs. Natalya is good if slightly inferior to AJ's matches with Kaitlyn over the summer; Big E Langston vs. Damien Sandow is average; R-Truth vs. Brodus Clay is filler with some odd psychology; and The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston is an unexpectedly dull match, given its No Disqualification rules. The bonus match is Dolph Ziggler vs. Fandango, which has a quite frankly nonsensical result.

There is just enough action to make this a worthy show, and it is certainly better and more noteworthy than Survivor Series, but it is still one of the weaker TLC events to date, making this harder to recommend on DVD.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 - Okay

TLC 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 183 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: March 23 2015

The final card of 2014, TLC already feels like a distant memory. Since the show took place, we've had the somewhat unwanted return of The Authority, Daniel Bryan coming back and Roman Reigns receiving a ton of abuse which calls into question his status as WWE's next top star. Mind you, that's not to say that TLC 2014 isn't up to scratch, because there are some enjoyable matches on show at this, erm, show.

The event peaks early with the Luke Harper-Dolph Ziggler Ladder match: whilst not one of the all-time classic matches of this genre, it's very exciting and surprisingly brutal, and is one of the better Ladder matches in WWE from the last few years (it also benefits from Ziggler's hometown crowd in Cleveland, Ohio providing a great atmosphere during this bout). Next, The Miz and Damien Mizdow battle The Usos in a match which isn't as must-see as Miz' gimmick would have you believe, but features another hilarious performance from his stunt double Mizdow.

After the first ever Stairs match (hence the slightly modified name of the PPV), which sees Big Show beat Erick Rowan in a slow, occasionally sluggish brawl, John Cena takes on Seth Rollins in a Tables match which is fun to watch, but still has little reason to exist besides bridging the gap between this show and the WWE Title match at Royal Rumble (which was much better than the Tables match held here to help set it up), although it does feature an intriguing conclusion. Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee isn't exactly a classic bout either, but at least they have a proper match here, unlike their previous collision at Survivor Series.

The next two matches do little to justify the purchase of this DVD: Ryback vs. Kane under Chairs rules is another slow battle that sees the announcers actually laughing during some of the more physical spots, and Rusev vs. Jack Swagger is a rushed and unnecessary recycling of their summer feud. Finally, Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt is an exciting TLC match, but the bizarre finish makes Ambrose look a bit idiotic (to put it mildly), and to claim the victory, Wyatt essentially no-sells the high level of punishment he took prior to - well, I'll let you watch and find out. The New Day vs. Goldust and Stardust is the bonus match here, and is joined by a few additional backstage promos (one of which is with The Bellas, even though they also receive interview time on the main card).

Whilst an improvement on TLC 2013 as an all-round show, as well as the previous month's Survivor Series (Sting debut aside), the 2014 instalment of TLC isn't really a DVD that you should rush out to purchase. Mind you, there are several entertaining matches which deliver some pretty dramatic and occasionally violent spots, so whilst by no means a five-star event, TLC is one of the better shows held on Pay-Per-View in 2014, and so this DVD is a decent way to close out an unforgettable year in the wacky world of WWE.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 - Okay

TLC 2015

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 183 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 22 2016

(To read a full event review of WWE TLC 2015, click here.)

TLC 2015 occurred at a time when the WWE product was at a pretty low level. A combination of absences for top talent, poor casting in main event situations and generally dull writing meant that TLC was predicted to be a catastrophe of an event. Fortunately, though, the wrestlers delivered on the night, and the show closed with a memorable angle that temporarily reduced the fan hatred towards Roman Reigns, all of which makes this a pretty entertaining wrestling DVD to watch.

The opening three-way tag Ladder match between The New Day, The Lucha Dragons and The Usos widely surpasses expectations, and features an incredible Salida Del Sol by Kalisto which was arguably the most memorable spot of the entire year in WWE. The subsequent Ryback vs. Rusev bout suffers from an uninteresting plot whereby Ryback looks like an idiot for repeatedly falling for Lana's attempts to make out that The Big Guy had injured her. As for Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger: their Chairs match was as good as you could expect, and given the staleness of both men's characters at this point (even though ADR had only returned to WWE two months prior), it's a pleasant surprise, even if the "CM Punk!" chants put a dampener on it.

The eight-man tag team elimination Tables match between Team ECW (The Dudleyz, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno) and The Wyatt Family is a fun, hardcore brawl that evokes memories of the original ECW as much as one could have given the PG climate (although we're given a flaming table tease just before the finish). Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose is a really good match that would have been better, had they been given a few more minutes to play with. Charlotte vs. Paige is better than their overly long Survivor Series battle, but as this was during Charlotte's slow-burn heel turn, and at a time when Paige was definitely still a heel, fans seem unsure who to cheer for, resulting in a weak atmosphere.

The main event between Sheamus and Roman Reigns under TLC rules was a match that the die-hards simply didn't want to see, and the chants early on are disrespectful since they occur so early that the two combatants aren't given a chance to put on a show, regardless of whether it was a must-see match or not. That being said, both men put in a great effort, and near the end, the crowd is definitely drawn in by the sheer graft shown by Sheamus and Reigns. And the post-match angle, as alluded to earlier, finally reversed anti-Reigns fan sentiment, which led to his WWE Title win the next night on Raw to a very popular crowd response, in Philadelphia no less (and drawing a high rating in the process). It's just a shame that it couldn't be maintained, eh?

The only DVD extra is a Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch match from the Kick-Off Show. I use the word "only" because it's the solitary extra, as Banks and Lynch put on a decent match (though time restrictions prevent them from reaching the heights of their NXT Unstoppable match the previous May). By the way, this is the one instance where I am happy that WWE omitted the wrestler entrances, as Sasha's included her and Team B.A.D. members Naomi and Tamina performing a Christmas rhyme that was so poorly written that it was one of the most embarrassing moments of the entire year. Fortunately, that abomination on one's hearing is not on this DVD.

Normally, a DVD like this would only get an above-average rating from me. But given how badly the WWE landscape seemed at the time, the fact that this show featured several big positives and plenty of enjoyable action makes this one of WWE's better shows to own. And for Roman Reigns fans, it's evidence that under the right circumstances, The Big Dog could and would be expected as the Main Man in WWE.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable

The Ladder Match

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 539 Minutes
Certificate: 18
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: September 17 2007

Prior to this release, match compilations of specific stipulations had been rare. The Ladder Match began a successful series of format-based DVDs, but it also set a very high bar (no pun intended); The Ladder Match is all about action, and this release is one of the best WWE DVDs ever.

Beginning with a Stampede Wrestling bout between Jake Roberts and Big Daddy Ritter (Junkyard Dog), the first WWF/WWE bout is Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels from 1992 (originally released on a 1993 video called Smack 'Em Whack 'Em). The landmark Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon match from WrestleMania X is surprisingly not here (it would be on the sequel), but their SummerSlam 1995 rematch is featured and is a classic in its own right. We then see Triple H and The Rock put on their best match to date at the time at SummerSlam 1998.

Although the match quality has been high so far, the next bout is where the compilation truly begins. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz from No Mercy 1999 was an unbelievable stunt match which changed the stipulation and tag team wrestling forever. Their hostilities increased when The Dudley Boyz joined the feud: whilst the Triangle Ladder Match from WM 2000 isn't here, their two TLC bouts from SummerSlam 2000 and WrestleMania X-Seven are featured and are all-time classic stunt wars. In between is WCW's answer, a three-team Ladder bout from Starrcade 2000 which is pretty exciting in its own right, and a Chris Jericho-Chris Benoit match from Royal Rumble 2001.

TLC 3 from a 2001 SmackDown! is slightly less spectacular but a worthy addition nonetheless. From there, we get singles bouts between Edge and Christian (No Mercy 2001), Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker and Jeff Hardy (both from Raw episodes in 2002; the latter bout is very dramatic), and Chris Jericho and Christian (Unforgiven 2004). Mixed within those scraps is TLC 4 from the original Raw Roulette in 2002, a seven-person production of chaos and major moves which still stands as one of the best Raw matches ever.

Disc 3 begins the modern era of the stipulation with the original Money In The Bank match, a superb platform to not only showcase spectacular stunts (step forward Shelton Benjamin) but to also provide an opportunity to launch main event careers (in this case, Edge). We then get good-to-great singles bouts between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, Edge and Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy and Johnny Nitro. There are also Edge's two 2006 TLC bouts against Ric Flair and John Cena, and the compilation-ending four-team Ladder match from Armageddon 2006, a tremendous collision overshadowed by a very gruesome injury to Joey Mercury.

At the time, only the aforementioned omissions and two subsequent MITB clashes were missing, making this a more than worthy round-up of classic Ladder and TLC matches (and subsequent DVDs would handle almost all absentees from this release). This is all about the stunts, the drama, the carnage, the "OMG!" moments - in short, The Ladder Match is all about capturing the elements that have made Ladder and TLC bouts so exciting, from the E&C-Hardyz-Dudleyz series to Money In The Bank, and the DVD definitely excels at that.

The DVD needed the WM X and, to a lesser extent, the WM 2000 bouts and later MITB showdowns to be truly complete but, even without those matches, this is a brilliant wrestling DVD which rarely has a dull moment across its entire running time. If you don't already own The Ladder Match, buy it today!

Overall Rating: 9.5/10 - Classic