TLC has become one of the more anticipated pay-per-views on the WWE schedule. With the guarantee of a ladder match, generally between athletic competitors, and a TLC match, you're almost guaranteed to have at least two exciting matches on the card, and depending on the rest, you could certainly have more.
The show tends to have at least one Match of the Year candidate, whether it's The Shield against Team Hell No and Ryback in 2012, CM Punk vs. Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio in 2011 or Edge vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Kane in 2010.
This year is no different, as Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose could both end up being Match of the Year candidates, and John Cena vs. Seth Rollins could also be very entertaining. So, without further adieu, here's my look at this year's Tables, Ladders and Chairs (and Stairs!) card.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper in a Ladder match for the Intercontinental title
This is the match that many are expecting to be the best on the card. We all know how good Ziggler can be in a ladder match, but this is the first time Luke Harper has had a chance to compete in a ladder match in WWE. For a big man, he's actually remarkable agile, and has competed in a couple ladder matches on the indy scene. These two should put on a great show together. The question is, who walks out with the belt?
On the one hand, Harper just won the belt last month. He hasn't really been given a chance to do anything with it, so pulling the plug here would seem a little bit premature. However, at the same time, Ziggler just received that push at Survivor Series. It would seem a bit off to have him be the sole survivor of the Survivor Series match, get rid of the Authority, just to have him lose his next big match.
The fact that this is a ladder match does factor in, however. Many times the WWE has shown that they don't really consider it a bad thing to lose unless you're pinned. So there are a lot of conflicting ideas going into this match.
I honestly view this as a coinflip. The two will likely continue feuding after this match, at least until mid-January, when they turn toward the Rumble. I'm going to give the slight nod to Harper, just because I think he deserves a chance for a real run with the title, but I'm not particularly confident about it.
Winner: Luke Harper
The New Day vs. Gold and Stardust
You have a brand new team against a team that is floundering somewhat. The result isn't in doubt in this one. The question becomes where both teams go after this.
The New Day, in their limited time together, has already shown that as far as in-ring talent goes, they really have meshed well, and could be a remarkably entertaining team. However, I do question if their gimmick will hold them back.
On the other side ... what is the WWE going to do with the Dusts? I will say their promos against The New Day have been some of their best work to date. So that's a good sign. At the same time, this feels like a gimmick that needs to end at some point, and I feel like this could be the beginning of the end for the team. Maybe we'll finally get that Cody/Goldust match at Mania that it seems like we've been talking about forever?
However it ends, whether it begins dissension between the Dusts or not, The New Day will certainly win. I suppose the only slight possibility is The Ascension debuts during this match, as they did air a promo for them during Smackdown, though my guess is that they'll air the promo at least a few times during RAW before debuting them.
Winner: The New Day
Ryback vs. Kane in a Chairs match
Here's a good stat for you: Kane has a grand total of four wins in televised or PPV singles matches this year. Ryback has more wins than that since returning in late October. This might be the easiest match to pick on the entire show.
Winner: Ryback
Erick Rowan vs. The Big Show in a Stairs match
I'm somewhat curious to see what a Stairs match entails. Will it be like the other matches in the PPV, where there are numerous stairs spread around the ring? Or is it simply that they'll use the stairs that are normally there?
If that's the case, this match isn't very different. Granted, it should be fun to see these two use the stairs liberally. Hopefully they'll use it more as a weapon and less to just throw each other into. There's only so many times you can do that before it gets old.
I think this match could determine how Rowan is used in the future. I'm surprised by how good a pop he's been getting. If he puts on a good match here, and he certainly could, then they could push him as a legitimate face, potentially even put him out there as a Rumble winner contender (not that I'd expect him to win, just that he'd get a push going into the Rumble).
Winner: Erick Rowan
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger for the US Title
This just basically shows where they are with Rusev. They want him to be this monster, but they've run out of people that they'd like him to run over. So, they go back to Jack Swagger.
Hopefully after Rusev dispatches Swagger, again, he moves on to a bigger opponent. I get that they're trying to push some of these faces, whether it's Ryback or Rowan or even Dean Ambrose, but Rusev really needs to take the next step here, especially now that he has the title.
Winner: Rusev
Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee for the Divas title
The question about this isn't so much who wins, because I think Nikki Bella is the clear winner, but what happens with AJ after. There are a lot of rumors going around that this could be her last appearance, and her speech when she won Diva of the Year was her goodbye speech as much as anything.
So, if this is her last match, which of course isn't a sure thing, how will they treat the match? Will they give her time and let her go out with a truly good match, or will they squash her? They've done both things in recent memory. Whichever way they go, I do hope they give her more than the 15 seconds these two had at Survivor Series.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose in a TLC match
This might be the most interesting match on the card. Both of these guys seemingly need a big win, especially as we start hitting The Road to Wrestlemania. It feels like neither has had a big win in months. If this is the blowoff between these two, which it might not be, then you'd think it would come down to who needs a big win more. And while both very clearly need it, I feel like Bray needs it slightly more.
I also feel like it's slightly easier to push Ambrose to a big match than it is for Bray. So if this is truly the blowoff, then I'd lean toward Bray. Now, if it's not the blowoff, and they have another match at the Royal Rumble, then I probably go the other way, and let Ambrose win.
Either way, this should be a really fun match. We've seen what Ambrose can do with weapons in the Hell in a Cell match, and Bray should provide some truly entertaining moments, in taking abuse and still coming.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins in a Table match. If Cena loses, he's no longer #1 contender.
There's a big aspect of this feud that I really haven't liked. Cena, in his promos, has basically talked about how he's on top, and he's not going to let anybody else get up there, saying the future is not today. Granted, in context, he's specifically talking about Seth Rollins. However, just the statement is also one he should be avoiding.
So many people already criticize Cena because he feels that his presence doesn't allow the future to get ahead, guys like Reigns or Ambrose or Cesaro or Rollins. Granted, how he's booked isn't up to him, but he should avoid talking about holding down the future of the company.
There were so many other ways to go about this feud, and unless he's going to put Rollins over here, which is unlikely considering the stipulation, this was a bad way to go.
As for the match itself, the fact that it's a tables match is somewhat interesting. If there's a match that Cena tends to do poorly in, it's a tables match. It's their way of allowing someone to go over Cena, without making Cena look bad.
People remember Sheamus winning the WWE title for the first time by beating Cena in a Tables match, but Cena has also lost to Randy Orton and R-Truth in recent years. If this was just a standard Tables match, I'd think Rollins would have a chance. But with the stipulation that Cena would lose his title shot in place, I just can't see it happening.
While a switch would make the next month interesting, Cena facing Lesnar just makes sense. They still haven't resolved what happened in the last match between Cena and Lesnar, when it looked like Cena might win, so they need to wrap that up. So, Cena needs to win this match.
Winner: John Cena
Questions? Thoughts? Predictions? Leave them in comment section, email me, or find me on Twitter: @TheAOster.