WWE TLC 2018
December 16, 2018
SAP Center
San Jose, California

Watch: WWE Network

Meet our reviewers

• Lawson Leong: Co-host of the Talking Smark and Talking Naruto podcasts. Lariat enthusiast. Follow @Lawsoncomedy89.
• Kevin Wilson: Voted #1 Joshi expert, making my live VOW review debut and I am a bit scared. Follow me for cute Joshi GIFs @JoshiPuro
• Kelly Harrass: You may be wondering why Kelly didn’t review the first few matches. Well, Kelly was busy seeing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for the second time this weekend and is joining the review in progress. The movie is incredibly good and you should go see it too. Follow Kelly on Twitter @comicgeekelly.
• Steve Case: Bringing the power of positivity to the WWE show review world…..I hope. Follow @coachcase44

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Buddy Murphy (c) def. Cedric Alexander

Kevin Wilson: The crowd seemed to actually care a bit which is a good sign, although it probably helped it was leading the show and they kept up a steady pace. I love Alexander’s offense, his mixture of snug strikes and high flying antics kept things interesting and Murphy is better than most of the WWE audience knows since he is stuck on a show no one watches. In a few parts they got a bit cute and the ending felt anti-climatic, but still an enjoyable match that showcased what WWE wrestlers can do with just pure ability and athleticism. ***1/4

Steve Case: First thing I noticed about this was that the crowd was really hot for it and into everything they did. Getting a 205 chant on the pre-show with half the crowd leads me to think maybe 205 Live is catching on, or at least Murphy and Cedric are. The match was solid, but not near the level of their previous matches. I did appreciate Murphy pulling a Suzuki and choking Cedric from the top rope. I feel like the story of these two has been over, and they both know that. This should serve as fuel for Cedric to turn on Ali from his jealousy. Not sure where Murphy goes from here, but the dude is great, so I’ll be watching. ***1/2

Ladder Match
Elias def. Bobby Lashley

Lawson Leong: This match was functional enough. My favorite spot was when Lashley gave a ladder a Dominator onto Elias’ prone body. I’m unable to muster any feelings towards Elias as a babyface. I can, however, muster memories of enjoying Lashley from his TNA run. This would’ve been better with more spots from Lio Rush. Also, the fact that in 2018 a PPV ladder match occurred on a pre-show with a commercial break blows the mind of every past incarnation of myself.  **

Kevin Wilson: Why is this match on the pre-show? I mean I get that these two are more style than substance but I assumed the gimmicked matches would be on the main show. Anyway, this as a gimmick match feels really forced, which I guess is the theme of the show but it was particularly unnecessary in this case. I will give them credit for using the ladders in an entertaining and violent fashion but I’ve seen 512 ladder matches in my life so you have to do something special or memorable for me to really care. This was pretty standard. I’ll include the post-match in my review since it was all tied together, as Lashley and Lio get their heat back and negate the point of the match even happening. This was, as the kids would say, FINE but nothing more than that. **

Steve Case: I had no idea this was a “retrieve the guitar at the top of the ladder” match, but I’m here for it. Double J is smiling somewhere. This was a lot better than it had any right being. Both guys took some rough looking ladder bumps and both seemed to be working hard. Rush getting involved was a given, but it was minimal enough. Elias wins the battle but loses the war, taking a beatdown after the match. So this will continue. I’m into this version of Lashley as the cocky badass with a mouthpiece. But the posing? Yeeeeeeesh. **3/4

Mixed Match Challenge Finals
Fabulous Truth (R-Truth and Carmella) def. Mahalicia (Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox)

Lawson Leong: R Truth was the best person in this match by far. This peaked at his and Carmella’s entrance. Watching Carmella wrestle Alicia Fox made me question everything. That was bad. Jinder is also bad. If you’re reading this, you knew that already. Thankfully it ended quickly.  *

Kevin Wilson: They give the winners of the tournament a sweet prize (#30 in the Rumble and a FREE VACATION) and we end up with these four? I was hoping this would be a short comedy match and they mostly stuck to that. The match was ok when they were dancing, it wasn’t ok when Fox and Carmella were awkwardly trading spots. Truth seemed fired up but that’s about the nicest thing I can say about the actual wrestling, and I was fine with the match suddenly ending with a Carmella submission. I’m not sure what to say, this seemed more worthy of Main Event than the main card of a PPV. Limited redeemable qualities. *1/4

Steve Case: I have not watched one second of Mixed Match Challenge ever. Color me excited for the segment where Truth and Carmella share pictures of their all expenses paid vacation in Stamford! Can you imagine selfies with Vince in the parking lot? This was about what you probably expected. Truth is comedy gold, Fox is comically bad, Carmella did her part, and Mahal was there so the Singh Brothers could dance. This crowd ate it all up though. Hopefully, they keep up the energy. *½

Triple Threat for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships
The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) (c) def. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso)

Lawson Leong: Hooray! Finally a match with wrestlers I like (I missed the cruiser match on the pre-show). Not enough is made of the relationship between the New Day and Usos. A lot of tag teams have feuds but very rarely in this company do teams have a rapport beyond that. The Usos are the best team in WWE history and don’t have bad matches. This was solid, but never quite hit the next gear that previous clashes between these teams have. ***1/4

Kevin Wilson: With these three tag teams you know what you are getting, and while they delivered their usual goodness something felt missing. I’m not a huge fan of triple threats in general and tag ones are particularly goofy since the champions could in theory never even be legal in the match, but even though they mentioned that on commentary it didn’t really play a big role. The match had the spots and the exchanges but didn’t have the drama, I expected more nearfalls or last minute breakups but they didn’t really go that route. When the Usos finally tagged in the action picked up as they bring so much fire but that was the only segment that stuck out. It’s hard not to call a match between these teams good as all are talented, but maybe I am just so used to seeing these six wrestle that they have to really step up and do something amazing to leave an impression. An entertaining match but nothing that will make it memorable when comparing it to their other matches.  ***

Steve Case: I am a HUGE fan of the New Day’s Christmas gear. Bonus points to Kofi, who’s bells on the gear were audible throughout the match. This was a solid Smackdown tag match until the Uso’s got involved, then it kicked up a notch to an actual pay per view level match. Cesaro lifting up Kofi for the suplex for an Uso to come hit Kofi with a crossbody from the top was nice. These three teams have great chemistry, so this was never not going to be a quality match. The Uso’s really shined in this though. They brought an energy pushed the pace incredibly. I could watch these three or any combination of them any day, but they really need to freshen this scene up. That said it still completely destroys the RAW pee jokes by a mile. ***1/2

TLC Match
Braun Strowman def. Baron Corbin

Lawson Leong: How funny would it have been if Slater just kept counting through Braun’s music and the match ended via count out before Braun could get in the ring? Someone needs to explain the power of entrance music to me in this universe. Someone also needs to explain to me how countout rules work in a TLC match.

This explains why they gave away a free TLC match on RAW. If this were the PPV era this would have annoyed me. But now, it’s fine that we got an angle instead of a match. NR

Kevin Wilson: We knew going in that this was going to be booked creatively, since Strowman has a legitimate arm injury. This certainly was creative and surprisingly logical, so logical that it makes you wonder why wrestlers don’t always have all their friends come down at the start of no DQ matches. Since I wasn’t looking forward to this match I am perfectly fine with them going the route of “everyone beats up Corbin” even if it clearly is more a storyline conclusion angle than a traditional match. Not sure how you “rate” a match like this so I won’t, but for an angle it served its purpose and it was fun to watch.  NR

Steve Case: That was fine as a good old fashioned piece of comeuppance. Say what you will about who should and shouldn’t be “wasted” in something like this, but this was the hated baddie getting his butt kicked by the plucky babyfaces and it worked. Angle returning was good and made sense, and makes you wonder where he goes from here, especially with the rumors of a full-time in-ring return floating around. Hopefully this is the reset they’ve been talking about. Lord knows RAW needs it. NR

Tables Match
Natalya def. Ruby Riott

Lawson Leong: I’ve always liked Nattie and felt she was underrated. The storyline leading into this match was horrendous, but these two had a fine little match at the end of it. It’s amazing that something so simple as pictures on the tables got the crowd to pop. Tables matches are hard to make good, I would’ve preferred this as a straight singles match but, it’s December, so we had the stip. At least the heel got comeuppance. **1/2

Kevin Wilson: Exciting to see Ruby Riott in a PPV singles match, well deserved. Natalya is hit and miss with me but brought it here the best she can, maybe she really got invested in the storyline and used that to fuel herself to show more emotion and passion. Natalya putting the other Riott Squad members through tables was a nice touch, not only as it was satisfying as a fan but it got them to stop interfering. Having pictures on the table was a bit silly but it got a good reaction so hard to really fault it. But the match fell off a cliff for me as a few of the spots were awkwardly done and they had more downtime than I’d prefer which is a natural consequence of tables matches. The last few minutes it felt like they were setting up spots in slow motion which took myself and the crowd out of it a bit. The end was telegraphed and predictable, and since I’m an evil person I was hoping for a swerve of some sort with Riott stealing the win. I’d rate the first half higher than the second half as the pace was quicker and the action more interesting. So we’ll just split it down the middle and call it **1/2

Kelly Harrass: So, uh, looks like I didn’t miss much so far tonight. I would have been upset if I missed Ruby Riott’s dead dad table though. Looks like I got home at the right time. To be honest, the match peaked at the intro of the dead dad table. Nattie’s Ruby Riott table felt like diminishing returns. **

Steve Case: WWE wishes this crowd could travel to every city they go. They were behind NATTIE of all people. I think that has a lot to do with Ruby and the Riott Squad getting genuine heel heat, but still. When these two were actually working, this was a very good match. Both Squad members getting taken out added to the story and it was done early to get it out of the way. I love how tight the Riott Squad is. Outside of the Undisputed Era, they are the best faction/group in WWE. The problem with this match was Ruby having a -** match with the Anvil table, and the two of them taking way too much time to set up the spots in general. That said I still think the work was good, and the finish was strong and definitive, with Nattie avenging her father in his trademark jacket. **3/4

Finn Bálor def. Drew McIntyre  

Lawson Leong: One of the few things I had been enjoying about RAW was the continued push of Drew McIntyre. And just when it seemed like they were going to go all the way with him, they beat him twice, including here. I know that in this company, this IS how they go all the way with people, but I hate it. The match itself was ok, but I expected better. And negative points for beating the guy you’re supposedly pushing. **3/4

Kevin Wilson: McIntyre in his entire career has never really clicked with me, he has no charisma that resonates in my soul even though I do recognize he is technically very sound in the ring. I can see why Vince likes him, he’s pretty much everything that WWE wants as a wrestler, I just hope one day he finds a way to be interesting. Dolph coming down continues our theme from earlier of heels getting their comeuppance (or at least attempting to) but it leading immediately to the conclusion of the match felt a bit dirty. The story doesn’t feel like it will be that Balor won but rather that Dolph made McIntyre lose. Which is ok I guess but as a fan of Balor it didn’t seem to really raise his stock. There were some good spots and I never felt bored, but aside from the avalanche Schwein nothing really stood out either. A solid match but nothing more, still waiting for WWE to wow me on this PPV but most matches have felt more like they are continuing storylines than anything else.  **3/4

Kelly Harrass: This battle of the hunks was kind of boring, wasn’t it? I don’t feel like there was anything inherently wrong with the match. The work was solid and the story worked. Normally I hate the interference finishes, but it totally worked here. Two jackass heels acted like jackass heels and Balor was able to take advantage of it to pick up the win. Everything about this was a solid as Balor’s abs or Drew’s pecs, but it just didn’t draw me in. **½

Steve Case: I’m torn on this. I enjoy Finn Balor and think he has a lot more to offer than they allow him. So him getting a big win is a nice change of pace. That said, I LOVE me some Drew and think he should be THE guy. So he should be beating guys like Balor in good matches like this one was, and not losing to them because of freaking Ziggler. This was a strong match until the Ziggler involvement lead directly to the finish. A cool finish yes, but it was tainted for me because of Ziggler’s involvement. I’ve been done with Ziggler for about two years now, so Drew continuing to be strapped to him and keeping him from the top annoys me. **1/2

Chairs Match
Rey Mysterio def. Randy Orton

Lawson Leong: Two pros went out there and had themselves a professional wrestling match. **

Kevin Wilson: As a noted Mysterio mark, I will enjoy this even if no one else does. Its tough to do a proper chairs match when they can’t hit each other in the head, but Mysterio had some creative and painful looking spots that hooked my attention. The seated senton looked like the kind of thing that would change someone’s life forever but since Mysterio is a wrestler he recovered with no serious issues. The carnage here was solid, I have to respect two veterans that have put in their time still killing each other for my amusement. Unlike the ladder match I thought these two made an active effort to be creative with a stale gimmick, with the only dull part being when Orton started setting up spots in the slowest manner possible. Even with a weak storyline coming in these two did about all you could hope for, nothing groundbreaking but a fun match that used the gimmick in an entertaining and satisfying fashion. ***1/4

Kelly Harrass: Sorry Rey Rey, Baron Corbin and Kalisto still have the best chairs match. It wasn’t even the second best chairs match because no one used Big Show’s giant chair. And Randy didn’t lose a chunk of his leg like in his HIAC match with Jeff Hardy so this isn’t even the best Randy gimmick match of the year. So what was it? It was fine. **

Steve Case: Kudos to Rey for the LA Park style gear. Just wish would have played guitar on a chair. This match was fine. Nothing spectacular, but nothing bad either. The sliding splash with the chair was a fun spot. Outside of that, it was a match that happened. **1/4

Raw Women’s Championship
Ronda Rousey © def. Nia Jax

Lawson Leong: The last time these two wrestled Nia had the best performance of her career. This was as good as that match but with a finish, and a great one at that. Ronda’s prodigious greatness in the ring is inarguable at this point. It’s one thing to have a match of the year with Charlotte, it’s another to have two very good matches with Nia. Not only is the crowd invested in Ronda, but the story they told around Nia’s “facebreaker” actually worked and made the crowd buy into the idea that Ronda could lose (despite Nia’s poor theatrics around her own gimmick). Ronda didn’t even utilize her incredible judo in this match, and it was still great. She did crossbodies off the top, because she had to, against someone like Nia. That final armbreaker spot was gold. Ronda’s had several of the best and most memorable finishes of the year in this company. I want to see her wrestle the horsewomen already. And Asuka. And Ember Moon. Give me all of that. Give me the great women’s wrestling that is already right there at their fingertips. ***3/4

Kevin Wilson: Rousey has been pretty consistently in one of the better matches on each PPV, and that trend will continue. Jax was surprisingly solid here as Rousey has no issue being thrown around the ring to make her offense look hurt-y, they work really well together. Rousey’s normal punches look weak but I like the knee and step-up punch, for being a rookie she continues to impress me. I never brought that Rousey was losing this which hurt some of the drama (even though they tried with the Facebreaker threat), but it was a smartly structured and well-paced match considering both wrestler’s limitations. I loved the ending, the setup was well done and they still protected Jax for her future match with Lynch since she never hit the Facebreaker. About as good as I could hope for, most entertaining match of the night so far.  ****

Kelly Harrass: Ronda’s biggest strength is how she moves differently than anyone else in the company. That comes in handy when she’s against a woman of Nia’s size and strength because she can climb her like a tree and lock in all kinds of crazy submissions. These two have shockingly great chemistry together, hopefully the matchup doesn’t get played out. I can’t call this an in-ring classic or anything, but it was exactly what it needed to be; Ronda looked good coming off of getting destroyed last PPV and it was a very entertaining watch. ***½

Steve Case: These two have weirdly great chemistry. Yes, they practiced this match ad nauseum I’m sure, but they still have to go out there and perform. Nia hasn’t ever looked better than in her two matches with Rousey. Ronda continues to amaze me. Her offense is smooth. She does a great job of mixing in MMA with traditional pro wrestling. Her selling and facial expressions are spot on, and she looks more comfortable and confident in the ring. AND SHE FINALLY GOT THE MAKEUP RIGHT! I mean she already has a better superman punch than Reigns ever did. The crossbody off the top to the outside was beautiful, and will likely pop up on ESPN and other sports media tomorrow. Nia also sold like crazy for Ronda the whole match. Just wish she could be like this with others. The post match has me scared that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Nia tonight. ***3/4

WWE Championship
Daniel Bryan © def. AJ Styles  

Lawson Leong: This started a bit slow but it built pretty well. I love the Yes Lock being rechristened the Lebell Lock again. As much as I love and sometimes miss babyface Bryan, his work as a heel is undeniably great. I still feel like Styles has yet to find what he once had. This match was well structured and executed, there was just a little something missing from it at the end of the day. It was still great, and a saving grace of this show, which had been floundering in the first couple of hours. ****

Kevin Wilson: I was concerned at first as they didn’t start with much urgency but once they got going it turned into a really entertaining match. While I know not everyone enjoyed the journey to get there, becoming a heel has really helped Bryan as he is far more interesting in this role and seems to be putting more into it. It was more mat/submission based than some fans may prefer but since both have a submission finisher I can’t really complain and they kept the methods of which they weakened each other varied so it didn’t feel repetitive. They seemed to bring the best out of each other as like the last match these two have great chemistry, if this feud continues a bit longer I certainly won’t complain. An entertaining back and forth match with plenty of drama and suspense, if you had given up on Bryan in WWE you may want to come back and give him another shot as he’s finally on the right path again.  ****1/4

Kelly Harrass: Without a doubt, this was my favorite AJ Styles match of 2018. The difference between this match and a majority of AJ’s output this year was that this was just a solid wrestling match. There weren’t any nut shots. Instead we got strong limbwork and fairly hard hitting action. Bryan has switched over to all black gear and I love the change. It’s no frills and all business, just like Bryan’s current in ring style. AJ has a rough year and a feud with this version of Bryan was the perfect thing to snap him out of it. Here’s hoping that we see more of this out of these two in 2019. ****

Steve Case: This was a tremendous match. Heel Daniel Bryan has brought the real Daniel Bryan back from the dead. He works with an edge that was missing before. He no longer looks like he’s going through the motions. He’s having the kind of matches he wants, and we are two for two on PPV’s. This was two of the best in ring workers ever putting on a great title match. They were presented as equals, worked as equals, and the finish showed they are on the same level. This was an old-school kind of match. The pacing was good and the work was smooth and snug. I don’t know where either go from here, though if they had a re-match at the rumble I wouldn’t be upset. ****1/4

Intercontinental Championship
Dean Ambrose def. Seth Rollins (c)

Lawson Leong: This match was boring, as the crowd let us know. Ambrose as a heel has been botched completely. This feud has been botched. Instead of watching this, might I suggest watching this classic they had in FCW; a match so great that Ambrose and Rollins have never come close to duplicating this on the main roster. As someone who has really enjoyed Rollins in 2018, it sucks that this is how he had to close out the year. This match is indicative of everything wrong with WWE main roster feuds and house style. The work was competent, they did their moves and all that, but who cares? The little tantrum Seth threw towards the end was at least something I could grasp onto as a thread. That should have been how the match started, probably. These two have done better, and I hope they do in the future. **1/4

Kevin Wilson: They lost the crowd for this one, which was noticeable since they have been generally loud during the show. Dean’s long run on offense to start wasn’t particularly exhilarating, it was perhaps sound from a technical perspective but it wasn’t interesting. Rollins’ selling of his knee was all over the place, he’d go from limping/buckling to running across the ring to do a tope or a powerbomb in seconds, I’d prefer he just go one way or the other as being inconsistent is more annoying. I wish Renee wasn’t on commentary for Dean’s matches as while I normally tune out commentary, the banter with her about Dean was distracting. I enjoy both of these wrestlers on a normal day but this wasn’t good as it felt like they were telling multiple stories at the same time but none well. Hell the crowd was even booing Rollins at one point they were so confused and the fist bump bit wasn’t necessary. Those are all my complaints, I have nothing nice to say. Disappointing, these two are capable of better. *1/4

Kelly Harrass: If you like a big ole slog, this is the match for you. Seriously, this was total dogshit. The feud sucks and their match reflected that. The crowd was dead because they worked this like a house show match on the middle of the card. If you’re going to use someone’s cancer in a story, that feud better be the hottest damn thing in the world. This match, this feud, they’re both trash. Anybody that’s still pushing the “Seth Rollins WOTY” talking point should probably stop. The sound of a wet fart slapping across the seat in the arena, followed by the shuffling run of a man with a full pair of underpants.

Steve Case: Guessing I’m going to be the high man on this. Here’s the thing, much will be made about the “This is boring” chants during this match. It wasn’t boring to me. It was not their best match, but far from bad/boring. It was well worked and they tried to push the personal story between the two. This match was a victim of two things. The first was the placement on the card. If you flipped this with the Braun/Corbin segment, I think it plays with the crowd better. The second is the state of RAW in general. The stench of that show has affected everyone not named Ronda Rousey associated with it. These two, two of the better talents on the roster for the last 5 years, had a good match that everyone was ready to hate because, well, RAW. They can and will have a better match. This was just fine though. Gentleman’s ***

Triple Threat TLC Match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Asuka def. Becky Lynch (c) and Charlotte Flair

Lawson Leong: I loved this, it was the best thing on the show, easily. A lot of times WWE chaos feels manufactured or forced, but this completely sucked me into the chaotic atmosphere they were going for. The sequence of big spots were perfectly structured and timed, and there were no lulls in the action once it really got going. All three of these women came off like superstars and titans. If Charlotte’s new thing is that grasping a kendo stick makes her go into a red eyed violent frenzy then I’m all for that. Asuka was the Asuka of old, the badass we all remember that went undefeated in NXT for over a year. And Becky was somehow the biggest star of them all. This match was the reason I signed up to review this bad boy, and it was as awesome as I’d hoped. The finish didn’t bother me at all because it set up matches I need. Becky vs Ronda and Charlotte vs Ronda. Hopefully the latter at the Rumble and the former at Wrestlemania, after Becky wins that Rumble. ****1/2

Kevin Wilson: This was great and everything I wanted. Small disclaimer: I am the #1 Kana/Asuka fan in the entire world and my match thoughts may reflect that. It was a garbage weapons brawl for sure, they are more than capable of having technical matches but that wasn’t what the doctor ordered for this one so I was glad they fully embraced it. All three of them gave and took hellacious bumps, with the Becky dive off the ladder in particular looking incredibly painful. They did so much I can’t even name or remember all the spots right now but they held nothing back and really laid into each other, no one can say they took it easy or coasted, this was as brutal as any TLC match you’ll see in modern WWE. Unlike some other matches on the card I had no idea who was winning this match as all three had a logical path to the title, so the drama and suspense was there as I rooted Asuka on. While I wasn’t expecting a Rousey appearance, at least it makes sense in storyline and frees up Becky and Charlotte for the Rumble and to finish their other feuds. Asuka looked like her former asskicking self before the ridiculous Carmella feud and to see her holding the title to end a WWE PPV is both surreal and perfect. Becky and Charlotte came out just as strong as they looked great in the match and lost via Rousey, so there really were no losers here as the women put on a truly memorable and captivating match. A high quality TLC match and a great way to end the show.  ****1/2

Kelly Harrass: Oh thank god, this delivered in a big way. I’m very happy they decided to slot this in the main event because it gave these women all the time and shine that they deserved. The match was fast paced and brutal, exactly what I was hoping for. Charlotte took one of the grossest looking hits of the year when Becky jumped off a ladder and essentially landed on Charlotte’s ribs with a seated senton. I thought for sure that Charlotte would be out of the match following that, but she made her way back into the battle eventually. In a rarity for WWE, all three women came out of this one looking great. Asuka walked out with the title and a renewed killer streak. Becky lost her title, but she wasn’t pinned and it was only with the interference of Ronda Rousey that it happened. Charlotte took a loss too, but she was also a victim of Rousey and she fought her way back from a ton of punishment. Without a doubt, the women are the highpoint of WWE and this main event further drove that home. If you’re only going to watch one WWE match this month, make it this one. ****½

Steve Case: This was GREAT. It accomplished a number of things. It made Asuka look like the killer she used to be again. It kept the Flair/Becky feud hot. Both Becky and Flair looked incredible. Becky pancaking Flair was a crazy spot, as was the cannonball senton through the table. Even Ronda coming out and costing them both was great. It keeps them both strong while stroking the flames of the intertwining feuds between the three of them. It also took nothing away from Asuka because the crowd went nuts for her win. A lot can be said about this company, and it gets said every single day, but the way they are booking the women is outstanding. And they are doing it organically. Who is a face? Who is a heel? Who cares? I don’t feel like anyone is being pushed down our throats, and low and behold, the crowds act accordingly. Crazy what happens when you listen to the audience. Awesome end to a good show. ****1/2