WWE TLC: Roman Reigns, Sheamus face off in brutal championship match

TLC will close out 2015 for the company and January will begin the Road to WrestleMania, historically the most exciting, engaging and lucrative time of the year for WWE. Vince sits at ringside just because as they go to commercial break.

It also was a good RAW overall. Now, one night later on RAW, the world is wondering about, not only the condition of Triple H, but the repercussions of Roman Reigns’ heinous assault on the COO. Quite frankly, this episode was what fans had been asking for.

Stone Cold podcast: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin interviews Shawn Michaels for a special podcast on the WWE Network after tonight’s pay-per-view. This match should have been a show stealer, but the pacing was off, and the wrestling these two women are known for wasn’t really there. This was a flawless formula that kept the normal three-hour grind moving along nicely. Sometimes, WWE gives SmackDown a USP to make it worth watching. (Although, since Raw was in Philadelphia, they were arguably already there.) But KO really dialed up the heat in his backstage interview with JoJo, when he reminded everyone what “Fight Owens Fight” was all about – battling for everything you’ve earned without showing the slightest iota of concern for what your foe stands to lose. He pinned Sheamus in the deciding fall of a Fatal 4-Way Team Elimination Match on Raw that pitted Reigns, Dean Ambrose and The Usos vs. The League of Nations vs. The Wyatt Family vs. Team ECW. Sigh…maybe they’ll get more time and no commercials in the middle of their main roster rematch next time. Owens will win in what could be the match of the night.

We’ve seen this match so many times, and I hope this is the last time we see it for a while. They were wrong, however, as Ambrose reversed a Pop-Up Power Bomb into a roll up, and got the win. It was a great way to feature the ECW wrestlers in the home of ECW. Dean Ambrose is the new Intercontinental Champion, but what’s next for he and former champ Kevin Owens?

Why you should care: The setup for this world title match is one of the most despised in recent memory, but both of these men excel at very physical contests. During a match between Paige and Becky Lynch on Thursday, Charlotte’s music hit and she made her way to the ring.

But I couldn’t help but think that… if I’m being honest, this seemed like a panic move.

Has Swagger ever defeated Del Rio? The match saw a big schmozz ending, with Del Rio’s cronies in the League of Nations brawling with Reigns’ cronies in Ambrose and the Usos. With Charlotte cheating against her friend and Paige there to have her I told you so moment with Becky Lynch it seems that a double turn in coming soon – and it just might happen on Sunday. Miz was on the outside “directing” Neville. There’s no real chemistry between Reigns and Del Rio, with the two men simply blandly competent. But a lot of my progression, and a lot of my focus and motivation came from that night, so in a weird hindsight way, thank you so much, guys. Indeed, the whole New Day gimmick has revitalized Kofi Kingston’s career and heightened the profiles of Big E and Xavier Woods while many of their fellow NXT alumni (here’s looking at you, Ascension and Bo Dallas) continue to struggle. After both teams started to make their way back up the ramp, the New Day started celebrating, dancing in the ring and going a bit over the top in the celebration.