TLC has become somewhat of an end-of-year bash for WWE. Sure the stakes and consequences are rarely high, but why not have some fun with the last meaningful action of the calendar? It's a chance for younger wrestlers to make names for themselves, fans to see some consequence-free anarchy and backs to get broken with guys jumping off ladders in matches that'll likely be forgotten by the New Year.
Last night's show kicked off with a prime example of this: Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper came out with points to prove - possibly in the wake of WWE being upstaged by a phenomenal NXT R-Evolution show on Thursday - as they lay waste to their safety in a reckless but immensely fun ladder match where Ziggler would regain the Intercontinental Championship. The momentum kept going as Miz & Mizdow retained their tag straps by disqualification as Miz used a Slammy Award to knock The Usos out at ringside.
However it was from that point things would take a massive dip, as Big Show and Erick Rowan competed in the first (and possibly last) ever 'Stairs Match' that saw Show pick up the win by putting stairs on top of Rowan, despite the latter clearly having his shoulders up for the entire sequence. It was a dreadful ending to a dreadful match. Similarly pitiful was the Ryback/Kane 'Chairs Match' that saw 'The Big Guy' emerge victorious. Nikki Bella and Rusev also retained their titles in matches that perhaps lost their lustre as fans struggled to process both the amount going on and the messiness of ill-prepared Chairs and Stairs matches. Not to mention the convoluted booking of an otherwise-fun John Cena/Seth Rollins Tables Match. In the bout, Cena held onto his number one contendership for Brock Lesnar's WWE World Title after the match had previously been held up as a draw and restarted due to both men falling through tables at the same time. Cena would give Rollins an Attitude Adjustment onto the announce table, which refused to break, only for Big Show to run out and cause an interference. This set the table for the grand return of Roman Reigns, who cleaned house by knocking out Show and Rollins' cornermen J&J Security, allowing Cena to put the Money In The Bank holder through a table for the win. If you didn't see it and are confused by that recap, seeing it didn't make it a lot easier to understand either.
This all set things up for the main event that now had a lot of pressure on its shoulders, as Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt had the unenviable task of rousing a now-fatigued Cleveland crowd with a Tables, Ladders and Chairs (no stairs) match. The match was brutal and as fun and unpredictable as any major gimmick match involving Ambrose. Its finish was as Ambrose as it gets: having earlier commandeered the usage of a ringside monitor to get inspiration about weapons to use - initially grabbing the biggest ladder possible and using it to elbow drop Bray through the announce table - he looked to use said monitor to beat Wyatt with. The only problem was - and I'm not joking here - that the monitor was still plugged in, leading to it exploding in Ambrose's face as he dragged it too far across the ring. This led to Wyatt hitting the Sister Abigail for the win to end a bumpy night for WWE.
Here's the best of the night's action, according to Twitter:
IC Champion or not, Luke Harper doesn't forget his roots...
So to mark the big occasion, Luke Harper has somehow managed to shower even less. That's pretty impressive actually. #WWETLC #LowBlows
— Paul McGrath (@WesterosBatman) December 15, 2014
This is true...
It's bad luck to walk under a ladder, it's also bad luck to get a smack of a ladder across the kisser #LowBlows #TLC #ICTitle — Pauliebhoy (@pauliebhoy67) December 15, 2014
WWE medical were on top of things during the ladder match...
A Z pack is hanging above the ring
— rovert (@SoDuTw) December 15, 2014
It's true, the bell doesn't even ring until this point...
It ain't a ladder match until a guy puts a ladder over his head and spins around. — MaffewOfBotchamania (@Maffewgregg) December 15, 2014
Miz approached Naomi backstage and said that if him and Mizdow retained their belts, she'd be getting a call from his agent...
This Miz/Naomi angle is how 99% of the clips I watch start on @Pornhub. #WWETLC
— Office Xmas Marty (@MartyDeRosa) December 15, 2014
Buy now from WWEShop.com!
Slammy Trophies look great on your mantle AND are surprisingly effective for fending off angry Samoans. #WWETLC #TagTeamTitles @WWE — Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) December 15, 2014
The stairs got a 'Tale of the Tape' before the ill-fated Big Show/Erick Rowan match...
Love them hyping the stairs up like it's the Elimination Chamber or something.
— King Herod, Jr. (@GolazoDan) December 15, 2014
5 minutes into the match, nobody understood what was going on...
Wait…did they explain the rules yet? Or are we just having a regular match with the knowledge that stairs are heavy? #WWETLC #LowBlows — Rick Nash (@AMTRick) December 15, 2014
This is getting ridiculous now...
Tables, Ladders, Chairs, Stairs, Doors, Walls, Fireplaces, Ovens, Buttresses, Ceilings, and Window-unit Air Conditioners #TLC2022
— Top Rope Tuesday (@TopRopeTuesday) December 15, 2014
You'll be competing with the fleas pal...
I feel like I could crawl into Rowan's beard and hibernate.... #StairsMatch @WWE — Solomon Crowe (@WWECrowe) December 15, 2014
You're clearly paying more attention to this than the ref, announcers or anyone employed by WWE...
Should've been a DQ- Big Show used the Guard Rail! This is a STAIRS MATCH, not a Stairs and Guard Rail Match!! #WWETLC
— Sam Roberts (@notsam) December 15, 2014
Ah, it's all making sense now...
Don't worry, everybody, that should set up their Ring Skirting Match at Royal Rumble nicely... #WWETLC — Michael Sempervive (@Sempervive) December 15, 2014
One more match! One more match!
Hope the 1st ever "stairs match" is the last ever "stairs match" #PunjabiPrison #kennelfromHell
— Rob Naylor (@NINaylor) December 15, 2014
Why were they never this fun when they wrestled??!
Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury being pushed harder now than when they were active competitors. #WWETLC — Kevin Sullivan (@SullivanBooks) December 15, 2014
Okay this is getting ridiculous now...
That briefcase is made of solid steel and weighs over 200 pounds. #WWETLC — WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) December 15, 2014
Jamie Noble is the one in 21-1...
jamie noble beat cm punk, who beat john cena, who beat brock lesnar, who ended the streak. jamie noble ended the streak and cena is shook. — jawnny (@johnblud) December 15, 2014
LOLCENAWINS!
Did Renee Young just say "Expect the unexpected!" when John Cena just won? #WWETLC
— WrestlingNewsSource (@WNSource) December 15, 2014
Next up was the Chairs Match between Kane and Ryback...
Plenty of chairs for Kane to choose from since a lot of people got up to go to the bathroom. #WWETLC — WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) December 15, 2014
Ryback has really grown so much as a performer over the past couple of years...
Of all the things Ryback could have learned from @CMPunk, the only thing he chose was pointing at an invisible watch. #WWETLC
— WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) December 15, 2014
We all did once we felt the sudden urge to empty our bladders...
So, it turns out that Chairs matches are just as bad as Stairs matches. Who knew. #WWETLC #LowBlows — Paul McGrath (@WesterosBatman) December 15, 2014
Roman Reigns' interview skills haven't improved much since he got hurt...
Roman Reigns: Wait until you see what I do THIS YEAR (in the Rumble) Err Roman, it's still 2014 my man. #WWETLC
— WrestlingNewsSource (@WNSource) December 15, 2014
Nikki and Brie Bella tried to explain their reunion backstage...
"i wish you died in the womb".. *two months later* "its okay i love you" — WrestlinGifs (@WrestlinGifs) December 15, 2014
There was a lot of this as Rusev came out to defend his US Title against Jack Swagger...
COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THIS MATCH
— Bohsjohnny (@BohsJohnny) December 15, 2014
Watching on TV, fans appeared to be distracted during this match for reasons that soon became evident...
Crowd completely distracted. Drunk fan flipping off security was asked to leave then tried punching one. Drug away pic.twitter.com/EH5X9hkCO5 — Benjamin Tucker (@BTuckerTorch) December 15, 2014
It's even more difficult following a Chairs and Stairs match that sucked the will to live out of them...
It's very tough closing a TLC event in a TLC match that has to follow EVERYTHING. Easy for live audience to become desensitized.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 15, 2014
Ambrose vs Wyatt was partially ruined by a loud female fan at ringside...
The screaming woman sounds like when you accidentally run over a deer in GTA V #WWETLC — TableofJapan (@TableofJapan) December 15, 2014
Dean Ambrose did a lot of Dean Ambrose stuff during the match...
Dean you crazyyyyyyyyy!!!! #WWETLC pic.twitter.com/EBqdIKXwnc
— Brock Lesnar Guy (@BrockLesnarGuy) December 15, 2014
I'm no electrician, I don't think that's what happens when you pull a TV away from a plug socket...
The sparks flew in the #TLCMatch ... mostly from the live TV monitor cable! #WWETLC @TheDeanAmbrose pic.twitter.com/lA0VZ34DEC — WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 15, 2014
More or less scary than Ebola?
News Report: There's a household item that could kill you or at the very least cause you to lose the main event of #WWETLC. Story at 10.
— Office Xmas Marty (@MartyDeRosa) December 15, 2014
The finish set up an obvious feud going forward...
@AMTRick Ambrose to be hotshotted into a feud with the electrician who failed to earth the TV. — Paul Hosford (@PTHosford) December 15, 2014
WWE TLC - Quick Results
Ladder Match: DOLPH ZIGGLER defeated Intercontinental Champion, LUKE HARPER
THE USOS defeated WWE Tag-Team Champions, MIZ & MIZDOW by disqualification. Miz & Mizdow retained.
Stairs Match: BIG SHOW defeated ERICK ROWAN
Tables Match: JOHN CENA defeated SETH ROLLINS. Cena remains No 1 Contender.
Divas Champion, NIKKI BELLA defeated AJ LEE
Chairs Match: RYBACK defeated KANE
US Champion, RUSEV defeated JACK SWAGGER
TLC Match: BRAY WYATT defeated DEAN AMBROSE
Rick Nash is a former professional wrestler, the co-host of Balls.ie's official WWE podcast, Low Blows, and the founder of WWE Parties Ireland. He is also a DJ and terrible sports gambler, so feel free to share some tips with him on Twitter.
