Tonight’s Triple Threat match on WWE Monday Night Raw will decide who faces WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at the December 21 event WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs.
The three challengers, fresh from Survivor Series, battled it out in impromptu qualifying matches on last week’s episode, prevailing against some formidable opponents. It was anyone’s game when Keith Lee faced off against United States Champion Bobby Lashley, A.J. Styles against Randy Orton, and Riddle against Sheamus. Lee, Styles, and Riddle prevailed, and are headed to face each other one on one for a shot at the WWE Championship. What are each man’s chances against the other, and against McIntyre?
AJ Styles
AJ Styles, the Phenomenal One, earned his spot in tonight’s Triple Threat qualifier- a little help from the Fiend notwithstanding-by overcoming fourteen-time champ Randy Orton. Styles held little back in his efforts to prevail against Orton, neutralizing the Deadly Viper with a brutal calf crusher. The calf crusher lock is just one of the lethal tools in Styles’s renowned arsenal. Whether Styles is a contender against his opponents tonight, or McIntyre, is not in question: in a decades-long career spanning WCW, the WWE, TNA, and NJPW, Styles has earned his ‘Phenomenal One’ handle with a crowd-pleasing and hard-hitting moveset, like the Pele kick, sliding forearm smash, and the Styles Clash. While he has toned down his moveset in deference to an aging body, his punishing precision against Orton in the qualifying match proves he still has an edge. If Styles goes the distance to TLC, he is not one to waste a championship opportunity: expect to see some versatile and creative offensive moves from Style to bungle McIntyre’s set up for his signature Claymore dropkick.
Matt Riddle
Speaking of kicks, Riddle’s jiu-jitsu informed style prevailed over Sheamus in the qualifying match, giving the Original Bro some vindication over one of his former SmackDown doubters. Riddle’s high flying style is all about air. His signature Floating Bro has the drawback of all such flying body slams, as fellow fliers Montez Ford and Jeff Hardy can attest: in setting up their flight mounting the turnbuckle, the athlete paradoxically gives their opponent time to recover and scramble away from the point of impact. However, Riddle also has kicks and grappling in his arsenal. The influence of genuine martial arts in his moveset kept him alive against Sheamus, and may do the same against the McIntyre if he makes it to TLC. However, he has Styles and Lee to get through first; Styles has put Riddle away in the past, and Riddle’s tricks may fail to overwhelm his fellow WWE NXT alum, Keith Lee.
Keith Lee
The Limitless One was prevailing over Lashley on his own merits, last week, but won by disqualification when MVP interfered to protect his million-dollar baby, the United States champ. Lee began his run on Raw with a jaw-dropping exhibition match against the Monster, Braun Strowman. It is rare to see Strowman go pound for pound with anyone, but his first bout with Lee saw the titanic athletes take the action from the ring to the barricade, and up the ramp. Lee’s ability to withstand his opponents’ best and most brutal moves, and his own impressive strength and will, make him a marvel to watch, and a safe bet to prevail even against the veteran, AJ Styles, and the versatile and tenacious Riddle. As for McIntyre, the two have faced off on NXT and in their time with EVOLVE, and the current WWE Champion is no stranger to the impact of Lee’s power bombs.
With the championship in all of their sights, these versatile and evenly matched performers will try their impressive skillsets against each other on tonight’s Raw.
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