WWE TLC 2015: Final Picks and Predictions for All Matches on the Card
Sunday night, WWE will present its seventh annual Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event, live from the TD Garden in Boston at 8 p.m. ET.
WWE TLC has always been the calm before the storm with WrestleMania season right around the corner. It's also been the home of several surprises over the years, and this year's PPV could be no exception.
In the main event, Roman Reigns will battle Sheamus for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a TLC match. Will Reigns regain the gold, or will outside interference from Sheamus' League of Nations prove to be factor in the finish?
The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno will take the fight to The Wyatt Family in an elimination tables match. Has the bearded clan finally met their match, or will it decimate the ECW Originals at their own game?
After earning the right to contend for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, Dean Ambrose will get his title shot against Kevin Owens at TLC. Who will walk out of Boston with the prestigious prize in his possession?
Let's preview and make predictions for the event, as well as uncover the potential for every match on the advertised card.
Ryback vs. Rusev
1 of 7
Ryback and Rusev have had history dating back to this time one year ago when Ryback was gunning after Rusev's United States Championship. The feud fizzled out in the first few months of 2015, but it has rekindled in recent weeks.
Rusev is coming off a failed feud with Dolph Ziggler, while Ryback is still reeling from his loss of the intercontinental belt. That said, embroiling the pair in a program together isn't going to do either of them any favors.
Lana's involvement surely won't add any interest as fans are still questioning why she and Rusev are back together despite all the bad blood from before she took time off. Worse yet, the match quality should be subpar as well, since their last two Raw encounters have been duds.
Between Rusev and Ryback, the former has more to gain from winning this match. Ryback's "Feed Me More" will remain over with the audience regardless of the result, whereas Rusev needs all the heat he can get given his current standing in the League of Nations.
One can only hope this was WWE's way of getting the former champs on the card and not a sign that they'll be feuding from here on out.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger (Chairs Match for U.S. Championship)
2 of 7
Similar to Ryback vs. Rusev, Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger is seemingly another feud that fans couldn't care less about at the moment.
Del Rio's WWE return started off strong with a win over John Cena at Hell in a Cell, but since then, he's failed to feel special. Swagger, on the other hand, has been thrust back into the spotlight after spending the last year toiling away on WWE Superstars.
The one piece of the program that made sense of the storyline was Zeb Colter's involvement and how he betrayed Swagger by joining up with Del Rio, but now that Del Rio has severed ties with the patriotic loudmouth, the fans have no incentive to care about the outcome of the matchup.
Del Rio's United States Championship reign has been far from memorable so far, but giving the belt back to Swagger at this point would ruin any good Cena did for the strap during his time as champ. Del Rio will without a doubt retain his title, regardless of whether Colter plays a factor in the finish.
Del Rio and Swagger have never contested a lackluster match, but that streak might come to an end Sunday when they face off in a chairs match. Those types of bouts have traditionally been terrible, and since this feud has flopped, this match will likely be no different.
Charlotte vs. Paige (Divas Championship)
3 of 7
Paige has been in hot pursuit of Charlotte's Divas Championship for many months now. She first voiced her displeasure with Charlotte capturing the title following Night of Champions before officially severing ties with Team PCB one night removed from Hell in a Cell.
At Survivor Series, however, she failed to back up her trash talking in the weeks preceding the event when she fell short of victory. She has vowed to continue to make life miserable for Charlotte until the butterfly belt is back in her possession.
Charlotte and Paige had a halfway-decent match at last month's pay-per-view, but there was no need to hold a rematch at TLC. If anything, making it a Triple Threat with Becky Lynch would have added interest to the match and uncertainty surrounding the outcome.
Instead, we'll be relegated to another outing from the NXT graduates. That's not to say it won't be a quality contest, but there isn't much question that Charlotte will retain the title.
The Flair family scion is obviously WWE's pet project through the next few months, so perhaps Lynch will make her presence felt at ringside somehow to set up a future clash with Charlotte in the foreseeable future.
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New Day vs. Usos vs. Lucha Dragons (Ladder Match for WWE Tag Team Championship)
4 of 7
The New Day have been leading the charge in the tag team division for the better part of the last few months since regaining the WWE Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam. From The Prime Time Players to The Dudley Boyz, they've knocked off all their opposition while maintaining the power of positivity.
But now they face new challenges in The Usos and The Lucha Dragons, who have had their number as of late. The Usos and Lucha Dragons teamed up to beat them in a traditional elimination tag team match at Survivor Series, while the Dragons defeated them on three separate occasions in the past month.
The New Day have never looked more vulnerable, especially given that the odds won't be in their favor at TLC. Even with Xavier Woods in their corner, they'll still be outnumbered by the two other tandems.
Of course, Booking 101 would indicate that New Day will win, given that the momentum hasn't been on their side, but it's not an easy outcome to predict. The Lucha Dragons have been catching fire, while The Usos have been gunning for the gold since their return.
Either duo emerging victorious would instantly kick off a feud for the twin titles going into the Royal Rumble, but New Day have never been hotter, and the babyfaces should be in chase mode a while longer.
The Wyatt Family vs. ECW Originals (Elimination Tables Match)
5 of 7
After coming up short in their war against The Brothers of Destruction, The Wyatt Family quickly shifted their sights to The Dudley Boyz. They made short work of the duo on the Nov. 23 edition of Raw, sending the message the Boyz needed backup if they wanted to rival WWE's most feared faction.
Tommy Dreamer came to the aid of the 23-time tag team champions the following week before being joined by Rhyno. Together, they have stood united in their quest to rid the roster of the Wyatts.
At a time where there is little to be excited about in WWE, the ongoing feud between The Wyatt Family and the ECW Originals has been fun to watch. Considering each of the ECW alumni is still in great shape physically, the elimination tables match is also sure to deliver.
Regarding the outcome, The Wyatt Family is due a big victory. WWE made the mistake of having them look weak versus The Undertaker and Kane as well as Roman Reigns, and a loss here could do further damage to their staggering momentum.
Beating the team of The Dudley Boyz, Dreamer and Rhyno won't immediately catapult them back into the main event scene, but it would surely be a step in the right direction.
Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose (Intercontinental Championship)
6 of 7
Dean Ambrose cemented his spot in the WWE Intercontinental Championship match at TLC by becoming the No. 1 contender to the title on the Thanksgiving SmackDown. He already holds a win over Owens from a semifinal match in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament that was held at Survivor Series.
On paper, it's a match that's bound to steal the show, but the feud has no juice behind it. Owens' sickness took away an entire week from the build, while nothing of note was done this past week to put heat on the match.
As a result, fans have no reason to believe that Ambrose has a chance of capturing the prestigious prize. He hasn't won a singles match on pay-per-view since Elimination Chamber and is a background player in Roman Reigns' feud with the League of Nations.
And why should he come out on top? Owens has done right by the belt over the last three months, and there are plenty of opponents for him to go up against in the future, so Ambrose winning the strap would be premature.
Unless WWE's plan is to have all of Reigns' "family" members to walk out of TLC with championships, Owens leaving with the title intact is WWE's best bet.
Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns (TLC Match for WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
7 of 7
Much of WWE programming has centered on Sheamus and Roman Reigns since Survivor Series, which is why the quality of Raw has drastically decreased. They simply aren't compelling rivals.
If Monday night was any indication, Reigns' mic skills still need work, and WWE needs to get the belt off Sheamus as soon as possible. It's unknown whether Reigns is the solution to the problem, but he's the sole Superstar who makes sense to put the belt on at least until Brock Lesnar returns at Royal Rumble.
Furthermore, it's not a foregone conclusion Sheamus will be the champ through the next few months despite his League of Nations stable. They have been around for less than two weeks, and they've already been made to look inferior to Reigns.
While the chances of Sheamus walking into WrestleMania as champion are slim to none, WWE will likely want to keep the belt on him going into 2016. It's too soon to have Reigns' championship chase culminate, and a rematch would have to take place at the Rumble, which is the last thing fans want right now.
On the bright side, their TLC match has the potential to exceed expectations. Their most recent in-ring encounters haven't been anything special, but throwing tables, ladders and chairs into the mix might make the matchup infinitely more interesting.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
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