WWE TLC 2014 Matches: Bouts Under Most Pressure to Deliver

Anytime a fan tunes into a World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view, they have certain expectations. One of them is that they see something they otherwise would not on Raw, SmackDown, Main Event or any of the company's other weekly television broadcasts.

After all, paying hard-earned money, be it $9.99 for the WWE Network or the full $60 for a pay-per-view event, certainly entitles them to have those expectations.

When tables, ladders, chairs and stairs are added to the equation, those expectations skyrocket, especially considering WWE's long history of outstanding matches involving those items.

Sunday night's TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs...and Stairs show may not have the greatest of builds, but it certainly has a number of matches with the potential to be quite good. More importantly, it features a handful of matches that will be counted on to ensure the overall quality of the event.

In short, they will make or break the show.

Which matches feel the most pressure heading into Sunday night's year-ending extravaganza?

Let's take a look.

Credit: WWE.com

Tables Match: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Of all the matches on Sunday's card, Cena vs. Rollins is undeniably the one facing the most pressure to deliver, mainly because it has been positioned as the marquee match of the night.

Rollins has been nothing short of stellar in his big-match opportunities this year. With that said, working with the franchise player, the biggest star in professional wrestling, is another animal entirely.

To have a great match with Cena elevates a Superstar to another level instantly. One must look no further than Daniel Bryan and CM Punk's meteoric rises to fully understand what an outstanding match against Cena can do for one's career.

But that does not mean the pressure is squarely on Rollins' shoulders.

For his entire career, Cena has had to prove himself as a worker in the face of "you can't wrestle" chants and rabid Internet backlash. No matter how many times he delivers, or how many Match of the Year candidates he competes in, there is still this portion of the audience ready to unleash their venomous insults in his direction.

If Cena fails to have a great match with someone as hot between the ropes as Rollins has been here in 2014, it will only exacerbate those criticisms.

More importantly, it will end the show on a sour note, something WWE simply cannot afford entering January and the beginning of the road to WrestleMania XXXI.

Credit: WWE.com

Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper

The matches between Ziggler and Harper, to this point, have been very good, which should be no surprise given the quality of workers both men are. Sunday night, they add their names to the long legacy of Ladder matches for the Intercontinental Championship when they write the latest chapter in their story.

For Ziggler, the match type is nothing new. In 2010, he defended the United States Championship against Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston at the TLC event. Two years later, he defeated John Cena in the main event of the same show. Add to that his victory in the 2012 SmackDown Money in the Bank match, and you have a true veteran of the ladder wars.

Harper is a rookie to the match, at least on the grand stage that WWE provides. How he uses his power and high-impact offense to blend with Ziggler's flashier style should be the story of the match.

There will be high expectations for the bout because of the performers, because of the gimmick, so for them to deliver anything less than a very good match would be a major disappointment and an even bigger blow to the show itself.

Credit: WWE.com

Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

Arguably the match with the most heat on Sunday's card is the Tables, Ladders and Chairs match between Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. While both men are incredibly over and their story has finally caught up to the performances of the individuals, they have yet to deliver that one match that fans know they are capable of.

With both men promising pain, punishment and chaos come Sunday night, there is tremendous pressure to deliver the wild, brutal, violent match befitting their intense hatred for each other.

If their past work is any indication, that should not be a problem. A TLC match plays to both of their strengths and should allow them the creative freedom to tell their story and put together the spots guaranteed to ensure the bout delivers in all facets.

Should that not be the case, the feud will undoubtedly be recognized as a disappointment, if not a flat-out failure.