Bray Wyatt’s viral infection meant no Sister Abigail in Minneapolis on Oct. 22, but we still got The Demon - and one heck of a dream match.
After flying in from SmackDown’s tour of South America to add some star power to the TLC card, AJ Styles climbed into the ring to face Finn Bálor. Not only was it the first time these two highly rated, fan favorite wrestlers would lock up, it was a showdown between two former leaders of New Japan’s Bullet Club - a faction getting a lot of press these days for its current members’ beef with WWE.
Without mentioning BC by name, Corey Graves and Michael Cole addressed that angle in their commentary, too. Which probably explains why “Too Sweet” chants quickly followed the “This is Awesome” ones which began just after a facepainted Finn finished his entrance through a cloud of dry ice.
Did it live up to the hype?
Everyone will have to make that determination from themself, but it was pretty dang great...
#TheDemon @FinnBalor is definitely making a lasting impression on @AJStylesOrg in this first-time-ever DREAM MATCH! #WWETLC pic.twitter.com/17F1JMeCbr
— WWE (@WWE) October 23, 2017
Balor sold a leg injury from an early calf-crusher for most of the match, but it didn’t stop him from hitting his Coup de Gras finisher after dodging a springboard 450 from The Phenomenal One.
Afterwards, in a show of respect, Finn helped AJ to his feet. And you know they couldn’t resist...
Too. Sweet.#WWETLC @FinnBalor @AJStylesOrg pic.twitter.com/erVtJCJod0
— WWE (@WWE) October 23, 2017
Get complete TLC results and coverage of every match on the card by clicking here.