I'm pretty sure no one even reads my PPV predictions anymore, but I'm still gonna write them lmao

Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal vs. Carmella & R-Truth
Mixed Match Challenge Finals
Winners: Fabulous Truth
If I had to pick a match to be on the pre-show, it would be this one.

I didn't watch last year's MMC. I didn't watch this year's MMC, either. So, with all that said, I don't know ANYTHING about this tournament, and I only picked this team for one reason.

R-Truth is gonna come out at number 30 in the women's Royal Rumble. He is literally the ONLY man that I'd be okay with doing that, simply because he's funny and I like him, and it totally fits his character.

Also, Carmella should come out in the men's Rumble, like, "y'all didn't specify which one I was supposed to be in," and she wins the whole thing.

Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio
Chairs Match
Winner: Rey Mysterio
So, I'm gonna be honest. While Raw makes it really hard for me to be interested and pay attention to the show, I very rarely have that problem with SmackDown. They have interesting storylines, they put on great matches, and it's just a consistent and good show.

With that said, I completely forget these two are feuding until they start doing something on SmackDown. So I'll go into the show, EVERY WEEK, forgetting about them, and then Randy will do something evil, and I'm like "Oh yeah..."

Anyway, Rey > Randy, so he should win.

Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre
Singles Match
Winner: Drew McIntyre
I want Finn to win because he's a fave, but Drew is pretty good too, and I think they've got big things planned for him, so he should probably win here.

And in case y'all didn't know: on Raw (which I didn't watch), they said Finn was injured, but he's apparently just sick, and they think he'll be fine by TLC.

And finally: I think this will be a pretty great match because both of these guys are awesome.

Ruby Riott (w/ Liv Morgan + Sarah Logan) vs. Natalya
Tables Match
Winner: Natalya
Wow, I don't even know where to start with this.

First of all, I have no doubt this will be a great match because Ruby and Nattie are two of the best women on Raw. They'll work great together.

Second of all, this storyline is absolute trash. Nattie's dad died FIVE FUCKING MONTHS AGO. What the absolute fuck, WWE? I don't think she'd approve of this storyline if she wasn't okay with it, but it feels so wrong. It's one thing if her dad died in 2003 or something, but he literally died in July.

Even Cody Rhodes refuses to let people even reference Dusty in a promo if he's in a storyline with them, and Dusty died 4 years ago.

And remember during that Paige/Charlotte feud, where Paige brought up Charlotte's dead brother? That caused an uproar; what made WWE think they should do it again?

They obviously like Nattie. She's a veteran (both in the women's division and in general) + they've positioned her as one of Ronda's best friends. If she wanted to say no to this, she could have. I'm not blaming her for this storyline, but wow, I hate hate hate hate it.

Elias vs. Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush, I guess)
Ladder Match (I think there's a guitar involved somehow?)
Winner: Elias
Y'all, I have not been keeping up with Raw.

I hadn't watched it all the way through in weeks, and this week, I just didn't watch it at all. (Partly because I was at a Christmas party, partly because I knew it was gonna suck).

With that said, this match absolutely did not need to be a ladder match. There are multiple matches that could've used/benefitted from this stipulation, and this was not one of them. (AJ/Bryan and Seth/Dean both would've been great with a ladder)

I honestly don't even know why they're feuding. I really just picked Elias because he's the one who normally uses a guitar.

Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman
TLC Match; if Baron wins, he's RAW GM
Winner: Braun Strowman
I know there's a chance Braun might not even show up, but I don't care; get rid of Baron Corbin. Let him be a wrestler, I don't care, but don't let him run the show.

Raw is the only show without a British GM, and it's the only one that sucks. Coincidence? I think not. Find another retired British wrestler and make them the Raw GM.

Also, what the fuck is gonna be hanging from the ceiling? You gotta win a TLC match by climbing a ladder, but neither of these guys has a title. Is Stephanie McMahon gonna be up there, waiting for Baron to win her?

I honestly don't see this match being very long.

Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Winner: Buddy Murphy
I'm pretty sure Murphy is retaining here. He's so incredibly talented, and I want him to get a nice reign with this title. Cedric is amazing, too, but he had his time to shine.

I think TLC is gonna have four really, really good matches, and this is one of them. They had the best match at the Australian show + Murphy had the best match at Survivor Series with Mustafa Ali. The cruiserweights can do no wrong.

The Bar vs. The New Day vs. The Usos
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match
Winners: The Bar
Tbh, I wouldn't have been mad if this match got a stipulation. This + the women's title match should've been the TLC matches. It's a tag team triple threat, which is exactly what the first TLC match was. It would've been perfect!

This is one of those four matches that I think is gonna be really, really good. SmackDown has the best main roster tag team division and it's not even close. Legit, these are the three best teams on the main roster (and if we're doing a top five, we've got Undisputed Era and, maybe, the War Raiders rounding it out; no Raw teams in sight).

Any combination of these teams in a two-on-two match would've been amazing, so imagine how good this is gonna be with all three of them.

I think The Bar is winning just because... I don't know, really. I feel like they should hold the titles for a while without Big Show with them.

Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax
Raw Women's Championship Match
Winner: Ronda Rousey
And the award for worst match of the night goes to...

I've ranted about Nia on Twitter if you want to see my thoughts on her.

SmackDown is miles ahead of Raw in terms of EVERYTHING. Better tag division, better women's division (which is INSANE because Raw has Sasha, Bayley, Ember, Ruby, Nattie, Mickie; they just don't know how to book them), better men's division. They've even got a better GM.

(I will say, the men's division isn't entirely Raw's fault; a lot of their guys have gotten injured or have left for one reason or another. Kevin, Sami, Roman, now Braun)

I honestly do not give a single fuck about this match. They are literally giving Nia Jax a push for legitimately injuring one of the top stars in the whole damn company. The ONLY Survivor Series match anyone was looking forward to had to be changed because of her.

I know she earned this title shot at Evolution, but they could've just let this match fly under the radar. They could've just not talked about it very much, but instead, they let Nia come out nearly every week and cut horrible promos. And I'm pretty sure if they ever announce women's tag titles, she and Tamina are gonna be viewed as threats.

And then there's Ronda, who was pushed way too fast way too soon.

Just... ugh. I don't want to watch this.

Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
WWE Championship Match
Winner: Daniel Bryan
This match has already happened a few times; I feel like this could've done with a stipulation. I think they'd have a really great ladder match.

With that said, I think this match will be pretty good. They're both great wrestlers, and it's always interesting to see what Daniel Bryan will do as a heel.

However, the two matches after this (which are co-main events, in my mind) are gonna blow this one out of the water. This match will still be great, though, and I think it'll be a sleeper hit.

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Intercontinental Championship Match
Winner: Dean Ambrose
At NXT Takeover: Brooklyn (the very first one), they kept saying that they had a double main event. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley (which went on first) and Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor in a ladder match.

They made the decision to have KO/Finn go on last. Normally, that is something they should do. But at that particular show, Sasha and Bayley had the best match of the night. I honestly don't remember much about the ladder match, which sucks, because I know it was good, and those guys are amazing.

(I'm not complaining; they probably thought a ladder match should go on last since they don't happen too often in NXT)

I hope they don't make that mistake here at TLC.

Especially because this Seth/Dean feud has been weird and dumb.

They literally had Dean cut a promo while getting a shot in his butt. Who decided that should be a thing?

However, I know that despite this weird storyline, they'll put on an amazing match. It'll be one of the best matches of the night. We've seen what these guys can do together when they feuded back in 2014.

I am honestly looking forward to this match.

With all this said, here's why I think Dean is winning.

I think both Seth and Dean are gonna be in the Rumble next month (on my birthday aye), so Seth will get his rematch at whatever's after that.

And I think Seth is winning the men's Royal Rumble. He's gonna go on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal title at Mania, and he's gonna FINALLY be champion.

(I feel like the order of Universal Champions should've been Finn, Kevin, Seth, Roman. Brock and Goldberg should've never held it; maybe throw someone in between Seth and Roman)

I don't exactly know who Dean will feud with after Seth, but I'm thinking maybe Drew McIntyre?

Anyway, yeah, a lot of fantasy booking with this match ha

Becky Lynch vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
SmackDown Women's Championship TLC Triple Threat Match
Winner: Asuka
THIS IS GONNA BE THE BEST MATCH OF THE NIGHT

So here me out about Asuka winning, okay?

There's a rumor that Becky's losing the title so she can win the women's Rumble and face Ronda at Mania. Okay, cool (only if Becky wins, but that's not important right now).

I am very very tired of seeing Charlotte as champion. I want Asuka to win the belt here so she can finally be a champion on the main roster.

(OH LET HER PUT CHARLOTTE IN THE ASUKA LOCK, AND CHARLOTTE TAPS OUT, BUT IT DOESN'T COUNT)

And imagine the singles match between Asuka and Becky when she finally gets her rematch. It'll be so so good.

These women are gonna put on a show for us, and I can't wait.

Also, I just love SmackDown when it comes to first-time women's matches. They don't have Stephanie McMahon constantly shouting "FIRST TIME EVER, HISTORIC!!"

Paige mentioned it when she first announced the match, and I don't think she's mentioned it since. Commentary will mention it, but it's more as a fun fact than anything else. Like when two wrestlers face each other for the first time and you figured they'd have wrestled each other before.

Oh! And after her rematch with Becky, we can get Charlotte/Asuka again, and it can go all the way to WrestleMania, with a big blowoff. Like, they can have super cool stipulation, and it'll be a Mania rematch, but different (especially with the roles reversed, since Asuka would be champion).

Unrelated, but I don't hate Charlotte; I think she's incredibly talented. I just hate the way WWE books her; she's already a seven-time champion, and that just bothers me. I'm not saying she doesn't deserve it, but like... she didn't earn half of the opportunities (like when she won the belt at SummerSlam; Paige just GAVE her the match, practically. Or even this TLC match; Asuka earned her way into it; again, Paige just let Charlotte be in it)

Anyway, not the point, but I've enjoyed seeing Charlotte without the title. She's a big enough name that she doesn't have to hold it to feel important.

***

This is looking like it'll be a REALLY good PPV; there's some matches that feel weird or unnecessary (Elias/Lashley, Drew/Finn, mostly), but all the good matches make up for it.

Honestly, I'd only change one thing: make Braun/Baron literally any other type of match, and give that TLC stipulation to the SD tag title match.

Let me know if there's any matches you're looking forward to, if you agree or disagree with my predictions, or anything, really. :)