The pay-per-view had to be restructured due to medical issues affecting Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt, and with both John Cena and Brock Lesnar also off the show, the late additions of Angle and Balor clearly exposed Raw's lack of depth and showed that most of the show's programming really needs to improve. The Shield's return and the debut of Asuka were the only things on the card worth getting exciting about to begin with, and WWE had to take desperate measures to ensure that the TLC show wouldn't completely fall apart.Angle filled in admirably on such short notice while Styles delivered a show-stealing match with Balor that demonstrated why both stars deserved to be pushed. But Angle's in-ring return was a last-minute thing, and Styles is headed back to SmackDown, meaning that Raw will have to find a way to turn around its struggling ratings after the show's latest episode generated its worst viewership since way back in June.
The good news, though: Reigns will likely be back relatively soon, and we still have The Shield's official in-ring return to look forward to. With WWE being forced to hold off on The Shield's first match in three years, Lesnar set to come back on this week's Raw and the door now open for Angle to wrestle, things are actually starting to look up again for the red brand.
Here are five things we learned at WWE TLC, the last stop before next month's Survivor Series PPV.
Unfortunate circumstances forced Angle into the ring at TLC, but after Angle said just a couple of months ago he has yet to take the very strict WWE physical, his inclusion in the TLC main event suggest he passed the physical and is cleared to wrestle.
WWE wouldn't put Angle in the ring if there were any real concerns about his health, so his return at TLC virtually guarantees that he will wrestle in the future, which is a huge coup for the company. Angle has played a key role in two huge angles since his return to WWE after WrestleMania, and his appearance in two main event segments on Raw resulted in incredibly impressive viewership increases for both of those episodes.
Angle, though protected and limited, delivered a quality performance at TLC that should set the stage for him to wrestle again.
As we've seen with all the buzz and excitement created by the announcement of Angle's in-ring return, there is still plenty of interest in seeing Angle back in the ring, especially after he demonstrated at TLC that he still has "it." While there are no immediate matches lined up for him, Angle's great performance at TLC has to have ensured that WWE management will have enough faith in him to put him in the ring.
With WWE's part-timer well drying up thanks to the (apparent) departures of Goldberg and The Undertaker, Angle is one of the few attractions the company has left, and the overwhelmingly positive response to his return, combined with his apparent drawing power, ensures he'll be back in the ring soon, possibly at WrestleMania 34.
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