WWE TLC 2015: Superstars Who Deserve Biggest Push Leading Up to PPV
The next WWE pay-per-view, TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2015, is a short two weeks away. With very little time between events, it's likely WWE fans will see a host of rematches from Survivor Series.
It's a typical move by WWE Creative. This summer, for example, WWE hosted its Elimination Chamber special at the end of May only to follow up with a similar card at Money in the Bank two weeks later. So similar, in fact, one could accuse WWE Creative of plagiarizing its own work.
| Elimination Chamber | Money in the Bank | Notes |
| Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins | Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins | WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match |
| Kevin Owens vs. John Cena | Kevin Owens vs. John Cena | |
| Nikki Bella vs. Paige vs. Naomi | Nikki Bella vs. Paige | WWE Divas Championship Match |
| Elimination Chamber match: The New Day vs. The Prime Times Players | The New Day vs. The Prime Time Players | During Elimination Chamber, The New Day and PTP were final two teams |
The Superstars deserving the biggest push heading into WWE TLC 2015 are likely to be involved in these Survivor Series rematches. While the card could wind up repeating feuds and possibly exact matches, shaking things up before the new year could be just what WWE needs headed into the all-important kickoff on The Road to WrestleMania: the Royal Rumble in January.
Legendary WWE announcer Jim Ross said it best on his blog: "WWE has tons of work to do and they, nor anyone else, can get it done overnight or via 50/50 booking. A small nucleolus of talents has to get 'hot' and that only comes with being on the winning side of the equation more often than not."
WWE Creative needs to just tweak the ending from its Survivor Series script. That's all that's needed for the right Superstars to walk out of the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, with momentum heading into WrestleMania season.
Dean Ambrose
If there's one thing we can thank WWE for coming out of Survivor Series, it's that a Kevin Owens-Dean Ambrose feud is coming.
Heading into Survivor Series, the popular opinion was that either Ambrose or Roman Reigns would undergo a heel turn, leading to a fruitless feud and leaving Owens to swat away scraps from the WWE midcard for a few months.
Luckily, Owens vs. Ambrose is happening. And it's going down at WWE TLC 2015 to start.
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship was always Reigns' to have. Having Ambrose as part of that procession only served to advance Rollins and Reigns in their respective defenses and pursuits.
The Intercontinental Championship, on the other hand, is beginning to get some much-needed attention. Since Owens claimed of the title in September, he's needed a worthy adversary. Ryback was a placeholder champion, and no one else in the midcard made their presence felt.
Ambrose is a perfect foil for Owens, and the two of them should be allowed to feud throughout The Road to WrestleMania. It's entirely possible Owens and Ambrose could carry such a feud for months, and the duo could even get a reprieve at January's Royal Rumble, where they will surely be two of the competitors vying for the right to headline WrestleMania 32.
Paige
The Raw Five-Point Preview on WWE.com asked whether "Charlotte will attain retribution this week" following Paige's attacks. With little time to develop a new feud, it sure seems the Paige-Charlotte angle is continuing.
That's not a bad thing. Their match at Survivor Series, while lacking intensity, was entertaining, and they followed that up with a much more lively bout on Raw the next night. In both instances, Paige has been the dominant Superstar who more clearly deserved the push.
After months of playing third or fourth fiddle to the rest of the WWE Divas, Paige is finally getting her shot in the spotlight. She's hitting her stride on the microphone, and she's terrorizing opponents in the ring. Say what you will about her pre-Survivor Series Reid Flair promo, but it delivered some rage (even if only for one night) that was missing in the so-called Divas Revolution.
So far, only the former Team PCB members have fallen victim to Paige's animosity. If WWE wanted to capitalize on Paige's surge, it would put the butterfly belt on her and let the rest of the Divas roster get some truths delivered to them. Let Paige disrupt Team B.A.D. and chant "we want Sasha" at Naomi. Have Paige continue to call out The Bella Twins, who are MIA on WWE programming.
A long Paige championship reign would do more to help break up the staleness of the Divas division than a single night in July that introduced the overused term "Divas Revolution."
Stardust
The criminally underutilized Stardust finds himself once again in the spotlight thanks to the return of his brother, Goldust.
While Bleacher Report's own Aaron Bower suggested this could lead to a reawakening of Cody Rhodes, it shouldn't be an immediate payoff. If properly booked, Stardust could be as valuable to WWE Creative in the midcard as The New Day is in the tag team division.
With or without the titles, The New Day is the engine that keeps the tag team division moving along. The trio picks apart its opponents both in the ring and in promos and continually entertains the fans.
Stardust can be the same thing for a struggling midcard that lacks identity. Even without a title, Stardust could utilize his unique personality in a number of great feuds. He's already challenged Neville and Cesaro. However, WWE Creative never allowed the feud to go anywhere, either for Stardust or his opponent.
A revived rivalry with Goldust could resurrect his direction.
Moving forward with a program between the Rhodes brothers through the WrestleMania season could give Stardust momentum to challenge other Superstars. It would put a spotlight back on The Prince of Dark Matter while giving him an opponent who would definitely bring out the best in him.
