WWE TLC Review

Hey everyone, I will be doing live blogging on Tables, Ladders, and Chairs tonight!

The show opened with a video package with the WWE's version of "Twas The Night Before Christmas." Got to love the WWE's production crew, they always find creative ways to make PPV hype packages different.

United States Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs Zack Ryder
Ziggler started the match with a couple of leg sweep takedowns. Ziggler had control early and locked in a chin lock. Ryder fought out but ate an elbow in the corner. Ziggler hit a backdrop for two. Ryder gained control and hit a missle drop kick from the top for two. Ryder hit some clotheslines then hit the Broski boot in the corner. Ryder went for the pin but Vickie put Dolph's foot on the rope. The ref tossed Vickie from ringside. Ziggler hit Ryder for a kick, went for the ZigZag but missed. Ziggler then hit a leg drop for two. Ryder countered out of a sleeper attempt but ate a drop kick. Ryder knocked Ziggler off the top rope, then hit a hurricarrana for two. Ryder went for the Rough Ryder but Ziggler tossed him onto the turnbuckle, then rolled up Ryder for two. Ryder got up, hit a double knee, then the Rough Ryder for the win.

WINNER: Zack Ryder to win the United States Championship in 10 minutes
**1/2: Match was only 10 minutes so it didn't amount to much. The last few minutes were action packed and quick. Ryder finally wins the U.S. Title. Hopefully Ziggler moves on to a possible feud with C.M. Punk. Solid opener though.

Backstage, Cody Rhodes jumped Booker T.

WWE Tag Team Championship: Air Boom (c) vs Primo & Epico
Bourne and Epico started things off with a couple of roll ups. Bourne tagged in Kofi. Epico tagged in Primo but they both ate a double kick. Kofi tagged in Bourne, but Primo got him with a kick. He tagged in Epico. Bourne went for a lionsault, but Epico and Primo caught him and tossed him through the ropes outside. The challengers took turns working over Bourne. Bourne countered out of a crucifix then tagged in Kofi. He knocked Epico off the top rope then hit a Boom Drop on Primo. Primo ducked a Trouble in Paradise attempt. Kofi hit a flying cross body. Bourne took out Epico, then Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise for the win.

WINNER: Air Boom to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles in 10 minutes.
*1/2: Nothing much to the match. Air Boom is over, but the lack of hype for the WWE Tag Team Titles continues. No one in the crowd seemed to care about Epico and Primo. OK action. Typical spots from Air Boom that gets the crowd into it.

Backstage, Josh Matthews said that the Cody Rhodes/Booker T match may be in jeopardy.

Teddy Long dressed as Santa Claus told Hornswoggle he had a present for him. Hornswoggle asked since when is Santa black. Teddy gave him Rosetta Stone ebonics. Hornswoggle knocked off Teddy's beard and stepped on his foot.

Tables Match: Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett
The two brawled for a bit early. Orton hit his back neckbreaker. Orton went outside for a table but Barrett hit him with it. Barrett threw Orton in the ring. He tried to put the table in the ring but Orton kicked him then put Barrett's head into the steps. The two fought up the entrance way. Barrett kicked Orton. Barrett fought out of a table attempt by Orton. Orton went for a suplex off the steps on the table, but Barrett countered and threw Orton into the ring post. Barrett put a table in the ring. Barrett set one up outside and put Orton on it. Barrett went to the top but Orton rolled off. Barrett threw Orton into the ring apron.

Back into the ring, Barrett hit an elbow drop. Barrett choked Orton in the ropes then kneed him a few times. Barrett tried kicking Orton onto a table on the outside but Orton stayed on the apron. Barrett set up a table in the corner. He went to put Orton threw it but Orton countered out. Clotheslines by Orton. Orton fought out of a Wasteland attempt on the apron, then hit the middle rope DDT. Barrett fought out of an RKO, then hit a Black Hole Slam. Barrett threw the table on Orton. Barrett put Orton on the table and went to the middle rope. He went for an elbow but Orton countered it into an RKO through the table for the win.

WINNER: Randy Orton in 14 minutes.
**1/4: It was an ok brawl. The table near falls weren't the greatest. I don't agree with the finish. I know Randy Orton has lost at a handful of PPVs in the past few months, but Barrett needed the win more than Orton did. The Barrett Barrage is put on hold for a bit I guess. Hopefully the WWE doesn't pull the plug on a potential Barrett push.

I missed why the Bellas slapped Teddy Long. Jack Swagger came in complaining about Mark Henry hitting him with a chair on Smackdown. Sheamus came in. He told Teddy he makes a fine looking Santa. It ended with Teddy making a match between the two.

Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix (c) vs Kelly Kelly
Beth taunted Kelly and dominated the early portion of the match. Kelly fought back with a bulldog then slammed Beth's face into the mat. Beth fought back with a power bomb, then went to the top but missed a leg drop. Kelly rolled through a GlamSlam for two, Beth countered for a two as well. Beth then hit a reverse electric chair for the win.

WINNER: Beth Phoenix to retain the Divas Title in 7 minutes.
*: Nothing much to this. Standard Divas match.

Backstage, Alberto del Rio complained to Ricardo about his car missing. Miz came in, saying their alliance ends in the WWE Title match tonight.

Booker T came to the ring, but Cody Rhodes jumped him from behind. Cody threw him into the barricade. The doctors took him to the back.

Sledgehammer Ladder Match: Kevin Nash vs Triple H
The two started brawling immediately after the bell. Nash gained control with knees in the corner, but HHH regained it on the outside and hit Nash's head on the table. Triple H ran off the table and took out Kevin Nash with an axe handle. HHH clotheslined Nash over the barricade. HHH then charged at Nash, but Nash caught him with an elbow. HHH reversed Nash into the ring post. HHH worked over Nash's leg, putting a ladder into it multiple times. Triple H put Kevin Nash in a figure four with Nash's legs wrapped in the ladder. HHH picked Nash up, but Nash tossed him into a ladder set up in the corner which took HHH to the outside. Nash set up a ladder on the middle rope in the corner.

Nash hit a sidewalk slam onto a ladder. Nash then set up a ladder on the bottom rope and catapulted HHH into it. Nash was going for a power bomb onto the announce table, but HHH countered and tossed Nash over the table. HHH climbed up the ladder, but Nash pulled him off. Nash chokeslammed HHH, then went outside the ring for a table. He set it up in the ring, but HHH countered and ran him into a ladder. Both men climbed the ladder. HHH had to wait for Nash. HHH took the sledgehammer, still hooked, and rammed it into Nah's head, putting him through the table set up in the ring. HHH grabbed the sledgehammer and went to work on Nash. HHH hit the pedigree on Nash. HHH told Nash to "Suck It," then hit Nash with the sledgehammer to the face and pinned him for the win.

WINNER: Triple H
**1/2: Very slow in spots. The match psychology was there, with HHH going after Nash's hurt knees and Nash going after HHH's bad neck. But these two were just slow to getting to the big spots. Hopefully Nash is gone for an extended time. Nash gave his best effort, but it still wasn't top notch. HHH was slow too.

Backstage, C.M. Punk was interviewed. They replayed the attack on Punk from RAW. He complained about Laurinaitis taking his Slammy. Laurinaitis told Punk to worry more about his match then the Slammy. Laurinaitis then sent a text.

Jack Swagger vs Sheamus
Sheamus dominated Swagger early. On the outside Vickie distracted Sheamus long enough to allow Swagger to put him into the ring post. Swagger taunted Sheamus in the ring, which angered Sheamus. Sheamus fought back with axe handles and his trademark chest punches. Swagger knocked Sheamus to the outside, but Sheamus countered and threw Swagger into the barricade. Sheamus hit the battering ram from the top in the ring. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Swagger ducked and went after the leg of Sheamus. He locked in the ankle lock. Sheamus countered. Swagger went for the leg again, but Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick for the win.

WINNER: Sheamus
*3/4: Decent filler action. Swagger got in enough offense to make it seem like he had a chance to win. Sheamus continues to win, and maybe he will be next in line to go after Mark Henry.

Big Show was interviewed. He said he is feeling it tonight, and he thinks he is in Mark Henry's head.

Chairs Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry (c) vs Big Show
Big Show threw multiple chairs into the ring. Henry walked out of the ring and asked for his Title. He started to leave, but Big Show stopped him and hit him multiple times with a chair. Henry kicked Show, then took a chair to Show's back and hit Show's right hand onto the steel steps. Back in the ring, the two slammed chairs. Big Show dropped his. Henry worked over Big Show continuously with chair shots, but Big Show caught Mark Henry with a right hand KO punch for the win.

WINNER: Big Show to win the World Heavyweight Title
*: Decent brawl, but stupid booking. Until....

Mark Henry took out Big Show after the match with a chair shot, then a DDT to the chair. Daniel Bryan's music hit. He came to the ring, cashed in his MITB briefcase, and won the World Title.

NEW World Champion: Daniel Bryan
-I will be interested to see what this leads to. Show sold disappointment in the ring quite well. I don't see Bryan holding the World Title until Wrestlemania. Hell, he may lose it this week on Smackdown. I could see a Triple Threat at the Royal Rumble. But Bryan wins, celebrates in Michael Cole's face and on the barricade. Congrats to Bryan.

Backstage, Booker T said he has to compete tonight.

Cody Rhodes vs Booker T
Booker took it to Cody early. Cody walked into a Booker T side kick for two. Cody regained control and worked over Booker on the outside. Booker fought out of a chin lock, but Cody caught him with a kick. Booker then broke a full nelson. Both men ended up down after a double clothesline. They exchanged chops in the ring before Booker took out Cody. Booker did the spinarooni. Booker went for the scissors kick but missed. Cody caught him with a kick to the head for two. Cody hit another one for the win.

WINNER: Cody Rhodes
*1/2: Kind of just seemed like filler. Nothing special other then to put Cody over.

WWE Championship: C.M. Punk vs Alberto del Rio vs The Miz: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match
The heels worked over Punk to start the match, but Punk caught them with a couple of drop kicks. The heels regained control, dropping Punk on the rope then double suplexing him. Del Rio then took it to Miz, hitting him with a chair. Punk's turn to take control. He took out Del Rio. Punk went back into the ring, but Miz kicked him. Punk countered with a high knee. He went for a bulldog but Miz countered. ADR introduced a ladder into the match, and he put Miz into it. Punk went for a baseball slide into the ladder on ADR. ADR moved it, but Punk kicked it into ADR. Punk hit a neckbreaker on ADR on the floor. Miz tried to take out Punk, but Punk took him out with a handful of chair shots. Punk high kneed Miz over the barricade.

Punk started to climb the ladder, but Ricardo stopped him. He handcuffed Punk to the ladder. ADR super-kicked him. ADR climbed the ladder, but Punk kicked the ladder down, breaking off from the ladder in the process. Miz came back in the ring with a ladder taking out Punk with it. Miz climbed the ladder but Punk took him off. Miz and Punk were on the top rope, but Del Rio came in and kicked Punk in the head, knocking Punk off and putting him through a table. Del Rio focused on Miz, putting him in the cross armbreaker with the ladder in between. Del Rio then took a chair and beat Punk with it. He applied the cross armbreaker on Punk. Del Rio climbed the ladder, but Punk and Miz came back in the ring. They pushed over the ladder and crotched ADR on the ropes. Miz and Punk fought. Ricardo tried climbing the ladder, but Miz and Punk dumped him off onto the tables outside.

Punk charged at Miz in the corner and missed. Miz then hand cuffed Punk to the ropes. Miz taunted Punk. He taunted too much, because Punk caught him with a kick to the head. Del Rio and Miz set up ladders. Punk unscrewed the turnbuckle and climbed up the ladder. He shoved Miz off, then kicked off Alberto del Rio. Miz pulled off Punk and climbed up the ladder. Punk pulled Miz off, then hit a GTS on Miz. Punk climbed the ladder and grabbed the WWE Title for the win.

WINNER: C.M. Punk to retain the WWE Championship
***1/2: Best match on the show and a satisfying main event. Some impressive bumps from all men involed in the match. Punk retaining was no surprise. Del Rio looked like an impressive threat at times. Miz seemed like the after thought of the match. Punk won as he should have.

OVERALL
I thought this was a slightly above average PPV. The big story from this PPV is Daniel Bryan winning the World Title. I think, like I have read some other places, that it was more of a way to get Daniel Bryan out of the main event at Wrestlemania more than the WWE having faith in Bryan to be Smackdown's World Champion. Nothing else was really much of a surprise for me on the show. I would have put Wade Barrett over, but that is about it. It also proved that the WWE can put on a respectable PPV without John Cena being involved. I wish they would have at least addressed the Kane/Cena ending from RAW. But this was a slightly above average PPV with some decent action and a strong main event. The show gets a 6 from me.

2011 WWE PPV Rankings

1. Money in the Bank
2. SummerSlam
3. Elimination Chamber
4. Survivor Series
5. Extreme Rules
6. Wrestlemania 27
7. Hell in A Cell
8. TLC
9. Night of Champions
10. Royal Rumble
11. Capitol Punishment
12. Over the Limit
13. Vengeance

Where We Go From Here
With the Royal Rumble still over a month away, I don't think we get into full swing for that for a couple of weeks. The Rumble match is back to 30 people, which is a good thing. Here's my card:

Royal Rumble Match
WWE Championship: C.M. Punk vs Dolph Ziggler
World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan vs Big Show vs Mark Henry
Intercontinental Title: Cody Rhodes vs Booker T
Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix vs Alicia Fox

That's all for me tonight. It's been a long day for me. RAW Review tomorrow.

Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka