With its roster thinner than ever, the WWE will look to overcome the odds and close out 2015 with a bang when TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs emanates live from the TD Garden in Boston.
Booking Decisions The WWE Needs For TLC
The event is one of the most brutal nights of the year, but hopefully the brutality in the ring won't be matched by the creative team's booking decisions. Seven matches have been announced for the card, four of which involve some variation of weaponry.
Here are our match-by-match predictions for the event. To view this article in slideshow form, CLICK START at the top right of this page.
Craziest TLC Matches In WWE History
8-Man Tables Match: The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) vs. Team ECW (The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer & Rhyno)
If nothing else, this bout would provide a fun opener. With Bubba Ray (age 44), Devon (43), Dreamer (44) and Rhyno (40) all in the twilight of their careers, there's no reason for them to go over. The Wyatt Family needs to get some credibility back with a big win over veterans. If only the WWE had these factions last month for Survivor Series.
The Pick: The Wyatt Family (Survivors: Bray & Braun).
The Dudleyz put TLC on the map with their battles with Edge & Christian and The Hardy Boyz:
United States Championship Chairs Match: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger
The whole genesis of this feud revolved around Zeb Colter, but it seems that was all for not since he and Del Rio appeared to split up their MexAmerican allegiance on Monday. That's not a complaint as seeing the U.S. champ, in the shape of his life, have a man in a motorized scooter behind him just never worked and they had no chemistry. With most people forgetting Swagger was even in the company, the ending seems obvious unless a Colter swerve is in the works.
The Pick: Alberto Del Rio.
WWE Divas Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Paige
The WWE has done a terrible job of trying to get Charlotte over as her own person. Ric Flair constantly being in her corner doesn't do her any favors if she's looking to carve out her own name in the WWE. After Paige locked the PTO onto Charlotte on the announce table on RAW, there was some hope for a Divas Tables Match, but the WWE opted not to go in that direction.
The WWE also curiously didn't add Becky Lynch to the fray to give the match an interesting dynamic with a babyface (Lynch), tweener (Charlotte) and heel (Paige). Bottom line, the Divas Revolution has been a bit disappointing, so these ladies need to go out there and steal the show.
The Pick: Charlotte.
3-Way WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: The New Day (c) vs. Los Matadores vs. The Lucha Dragons
This has potential to steal the show as these six men are sure to pull out all the stops with ridiculous spots. The New Day may be the most entertaining facet of WWE television and there really is no reason to take the belts off the entertaining trio at this point until the WWE grooms the next big competitors to take the belts.
The Pick: The New Day.
DX fought Jeri-Show in a TLC bout for the tag gold in 2009:
Singles Match: Rusev w/ Lana vs. Ryback
This match was thrown in at the last minute and definitely won't be the most exciting bout on the card this Sunday. The contest will most likely be more focused on Lana, and the League of Nations stable could use some momentum.
The Pick: Rusev.
Ryback teamed with Team Hell No to take on The Shield in a TLC match in 2012:
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Much like the Tag Team Championship bout, there are high hopes for this match as these are two of the best Superstars the WWE has right now. The feud took a cartoonish turn with the "Lunatic Fringe" throwing soda in Owens' face on RAW, but it should still be a solid encounter. Every single male title is held by a heel right now, so unless there is a title change on any other part of the show, the WWE may pull a change here. Owens is solid as a champion, but either way this is far from over.
The Pick: Ambrose.
Ambrose battled Bray Wyatt in a TLC Match in last year's main event:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship TLC Match: Sheamus (c) vs. Roman Reigns
Oh, this polarizing feud pitting Triple H's golden boy (Sheamus) against Vince McMahon's (Reigns). While the back-and-forth on the microphone to close this week's RAW was awful, hopefully these two will click in the ring come Sunday. Sheamus is a solid in-ring worker, though him being worthy of holding the richest prize in the game is questionable, while Reigns has taken big strides, yet doesn't seem ready for the honor either.
The WWE creative team finally did one good thing by making a solid heel stable in the League of Nations, even if it was thrown together and poorly planned. With ratings steadily declining, the WWE may go ahead and finally pull the trigger on a legitimate run for Reigns.
Reigns still isn't ready for it and should work his way up slowly from the bottom of the rankings, especially since him chasing the title isn't drawing, much less him actually winning it. The babyface did get the upper hand on RAW this week, which usually means he'll lose the match.
"The Celtic Warrior" should hang onto the belt until at least the Royal Rumble, where the WWE's WrestleMania plans should start to take shape, likely with Reigns winning the Rumble Match again as his last chance.
This match should be good given the stipulation, but the WWE is closing 2015 out with a lot of issues, and changing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship again isn't the way to go about fixing its myriad problems. Seth Rollins, we need you.
The Pick: Sheamus.
The WWE and World Heavyweight Championships were unified at this event in 2013:
The overall card looks to have some potential, but the WWE needs to start booking things better, especially in the main event scene.
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