WWE TLC 2014 Matches: Best Finishes for Each Match on the Card
WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs is a pay-per-view with a lot of gimmicks, even for a gimmick pay-per-view. Such a wide variety of stipulations should make for some interesting, if not entertaining, finishes.
The majority of singles feuds on this pay-per-view are derivatives of the Team Cena vs. Team Authority feud from Survivor Series. The finish of that match involved the long-awaited WWE debut of Sting, so this pay-per-view will need tables, ladders, chairs, stairs and the kitchen sink to even compete.
A slate of nine matches has been announced for WWE TLC. And if fans aren't burnt out by the amount of weapons being advertised, this WWE Network offering could produce a highlight reel of big finales.
Preshow: The New Day vs. Gold and Stardust
1 of 9Why they’re feuding: The New Day debuted cold last week on SmackDown only to lose the following Monday on the show that counts. Before being eliminated by the one-off tag team of Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, New Day members Kofi Kingston and Big E eliminated Gold and Stardust, who hung around just long enough to ruin their Raw debut.
Why you care: There isn’t much of an intriguing storyline to this feud. The New Day consists of three happy-go-lucky good guys who will have trouble connecting with fans because nobody is that happy. Gold and Stardust oftentimes have trouble connecting with fans through their weird, quirky vignettes because nobody is that weird and quirky. The hook here is the wrestling. Expect a competitive match to draw oohs and aahs to kick this show off.
Best finish: Kofi Kingston secures a pinfall over Goldust after a double-team move, and Big E waves his towel in celebration.
Ladder Match for the IC Championship: Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper
2 of 9Why they’re feuding: Luke Harper won his first singles title when he beat Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship at the behest of The Authority. A previous championship rematch was sidetracked by ladder usage, and now it's legal.
Why you care: Two pound-for-pound freak athletes and a ladder. What’s not to care about?
Best finish: Ziggler pushes Rowan off the ladder, and he falls through two tables. Ziggler regains the Intercontinental Championship.
WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos vs. The Miz and Damien Mizdow
3 of 9Why they’re feuding: Former champions Gold and Stardust had to fight for another rematch in elimination Fatal 4-Way and lost to the Usos. The Miz is currently setting up Naomi, Jimmy Uso’s wife, with an unnamed Hollywood producer in order to add a personal touch to this championship feud.
Why you care: The Miz and Damien Mizdow represent everything a midcard talent should be. Once damaged goods who had lost their collective ways, like the majority of WWE’s undercard wrestlers these days, Miz and Mizdow have cultivated an entertaining act with defined roles.
Both are important to the gimmick’s success because heat for Miz is shrewdly contrasted with cheers for Mizdow. The act has been legitimized as more than just midcard comedy with Miz and Mizdow reigning atop the tag team division.
Best finish: Miz goes through a table, and then Damien Mizdow goes through a table. The Usos lose by disqualification.
Chairs Match: Ryback vs. Kane
4 of 9Why they’re feuding: Ryback subjected Kane to on-the-job harassment during Kane's brief stint as "Director of Food and Beverage." The following week, chairs were involved.
Why you care: WWE has resurrected the Ryback project that, at one point in 2012, legitimately threatened to supplant John Cena. Ryback’s early elimination from last month’s Survivor Series main event was perplexing, but he hasn’t missed a beat on television.
I get the feeling Ryback’s in-ring work will be watched very closely by the office over the next month to see if he makes any strides. Enough lapses will result in the return of Rybaxel. A Chairs match with another monster that features brawling, swinging and grunting will mask his limitations.
Best finish: Both Ryback and Kane blow up while hitting each other with chairs. Kane goes to sit down and falls through a table. Ryback wins via pinfall.
Stairs Match: The Big Show vs. Erick Rowan
5 of 9Why they’re feuding: This is another match that was spawned from the Team Cena vs. Team Authority feud. The night after Survivor Series, while Big Show was commemorating his 75th heel turn, Rowan interrupted him. Chairs look too small in their hands, neither can jump high enough to go through a table and both are too big for a regular-sized ladder. Cue the stairs!
Why you care: Once slated for an apparent comedic stalker gimmick, Big Red has come out of nowhere and found himself a niche as a big-man babyface. While Show’s heel turn seemed passe, Rowan could prove to be the biggest beneficiary since he is now the only monster babyface in the WWE.
Best finish: Rowan and Big Show have just as much chemistry with the stairs as they do with one another since all are equally mobile. Rowan throws the stairs, connects and wins.
Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
6 of 9Why they’re feuding: Bray Wyatt attacked Dean Ambrose at Hell in a Cell and proceeded to troll his daddy for being in jail. Since then, this feud has been a celebration in mental instability and violence.
Why you care: As flat as this feud may have fallen with some, due to the similarity in characteristics between the two foes, this could be your WrestleMania main event in a few years provided each star has found the brass ring.
Wyatt and Ambrose put on a very good match last month at Survivor Series that was as physical as any singles match in 2014. With tables, ladders and chairs involved fans will be in for a treat.
Best finish: Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose fall through a table. Wyatt barely gets the pin.
WWE Divas Championship: AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
7 of 9Why they’re feuding: Nikki Bella beat AJ Lee for the Divas Championship at Survivor Series after previously sympathetic figure Brie Bella turned heel. Nikki and Lee have been cutting worked-shoot promos on one another since. Their previous match was very short due to the aforementioned swerve, but Nikki and Lee are capable of putting on a good match once the CM Punk chants drown out.
Why you care: If you read anything into Lee’s acceptance speech for winning the Slammy for Diva of the Year—which was better suited for a Lifetime Achievement Award—and factor in CM Punk’s disintegrating relationship with WWE, this could be one of Lee’s last matches.
Best finish: The Bellas use twin magic, and Brie retains her sister’s championship via pinfall.
WWE United States Championship: Jack Swagger vs. Rusev
8 of 9Why they're feuding: WWE only has so many patriots to defend the honor of America who can also be perceived as legitimate threats. Mark Henry turned heel and was punched into oblivion, John Cena is occupied and Kurt Angle re-signed with TNA.
Why you care: If you don’t care about this feud, you don’t care about America. Despite Rusev’s dominance in this feud, WWE can rinse, wash and repeat the USA vs. Anti-USA storyline ad nauseam and still get a reaction as long as it has the right pieces in place.
Rusev and Lana have been better than WWE could have ever hoped for in their roles. I’d be compelled to write a column about Rusev being robbed out of the Slammy for Breakout Superstar of the Year if it actually meant anything.
Best finish: Jack Swagger passes out to The Accolade.
Tables Match: Seth Rollins vs. John Cena
9 of 9Why they’re feuding: This feud is because John Cena needs something to do for just one more month before he (almost) inevitably gets Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. The same could be said about Seth Rollins, who figures to promoted as a favorite to win January’s Big Four pay-per-view.
Why you care: WWE has added a stipulation to this match that should Cena lose he will no longer be the No. 1 contender for Lesnar’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This is highly unlikely. But stranger things have happened, and Cena has spent an entire career losing to up-and-coming talent.
Best finish: The match is interrupted by a huge brawl involving various WWE Superstars as a tease for the Royal Rumble. At end, the entire roster falls through a table.
