WWE TLC 2015 Matches: Breaking Down Top Matches on the Card

The lack of excitement and anticipation for Sunday's TLC pay-per-view speaks volumes about the current state of the World Wrestling Entertainment product and the stars being featured in high-profile positions on television every Monday and Thursday nights. 

COO Paul "Triple H" Levesque even spoke out about the difficulties facing WWE as it heads back to the drawing board to try and fix the issues with the current product during a conference call for this coming Wednesday's NXT TakeOver: London special. The following was transcribed by WrestleZone.com (h/t Nick Paglino):

"

We’ve had some unfortunate situations with injuries and everything else and it’s on us to be more creative and come up with a better format, a better show. We hear people’s frustrations and we in a lot of ways feel the same way. It’s [a matter of] fixing it and trying to fix it. It is what it is. How we fix it, we’re not 100 percent sure yet, but we’ll get there. Trust me.

"

The marquee matches from Sunday's TLC pay-per-view could prove to be a step in the right direction for a company under intense scrutiny from fans.

With a huge Tables, Ladders & Chairs match pitting Roman Reigns against Sheamus for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, an intensifying feud between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens culminating in an Intercontinental Championship bout and an 8-Man Tag Team Tables match pitting The Dudley Boyz, Rhyno and Tommy Dreamer against the devastating Wyatt Family, there is great potential for growth and improvement.

Whether the company books a show that inspires excitement remains to be seen, but if it does, those three matches will be pivotal to the show's success. 

Now, just hours until the  WWE Superstars take to the ring in Boston for the final extravaganza of 2015, join us for this breakdown of the night's marquee bouts.

Credit: WWE.com

Tables, Ladders & Chairs for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus

When Sheamus cashed in Money in the Bank at Survivor Series and blasted Roman Reigns with a Brogue Kick to leave Atlanta as the WWE world heavyweight champion, fans were guaranteed a rivalry they really had no interest in seeing.

The formation of The League of Nations appeared to be a step in the right direction—a four-Superstar faction that could serve as roadblock for Reigns to overcome on his way back to the title and a showdown with Sheamus.

Except...Reigns beat all four men in a Handicap match on the December 3 episode of SmackDown.

So here is the rematch between Reigns and Sheamus, rushed after just three weeks. Reigns has defeated The Celtic Warrior in tag bouts, pinning him cleanly and leaving some to wonder why they would possibly want to pay to see two guys fight when one has dominated the other on every occasion thus far.

Reigns has had one of the most consistent years of any WWE Superstar to this point, delivering when the lights are brightest. He had a legitimate Match of the Year candidate against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, he slayed Big Show in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules, he partnered with Dean Ambrose in a number of wars with The Wyatt Family and he survived Hell in a Cell against Bray Wyatt.

His performances in those matches should have been enough to convince fans he was ready for the roster's top spot, at least from an in-ring perspective. But he arrives at TLC with a chip on his shoulder, determined to continue proving doubters wrong. He will do so with an opponent who, like himself, is often the subject of harsh criticism from fans but has made a career of wrestling superb matches that earn their respect.

The match between Reigns and Sheamus will be excellent. It is really, ridiculously difficult to screw up a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match, but it can be done. Ask Ambrose and his exploding television. With that said, interference from The League of Nations, Ambrose and The Usos should create chaos and drama, leading to a hot finishing stretch.

Sheamus will retain, if only because they have not finished telling their story, but Reigns' performance and the booking of the entire ordeal will be of the utmost importance as WWE tries to pick up the pieces of a disastrous winter thus far.

Credit: WWE.com

Intercontinental Championship Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens

From the moment Seth Rollins went down, and John Cena and Randy Orton disappeared from television, Kevin Owens should have been slotted near the top of the card as a heel. He is a fantastic in-ring performer and a heel persona who is unique and fresh in comparison to the other villains on the show.

Instead, he has been neutered—left with uninteresting feuds and a decided lack of character development.

On the December 7 episode of Raw, he picked up a solid victory over Dolph Ziggler and then his TLC opponent Dean Ambrose humiliated him in what was essentially their first interaction in weeks. How did he get his revenge? He attempted a sneak attack that failed miserably and then bailed like a coward.

That's right, the intercontinental champion has been booked to lose all of his heat to Ambrose, who has proven to be incredibly over with the audience regardless of his win-loss record.

As they arrive in Boston, what should be a defining feud is, instead, a placeholder for two Superstars with nothing else better to do at this point.

The match will be a fantastic one; history tells us as much. The semifinal-round tournament match they wrestled at Survivor Series was the best of the entire show, and their penchant for creating drama through their use of near-falls and reversals almost ensures an energetic and exciting bout.

What will really determine the success of the bout is the booking.

Does WWE follow up weeks of poor booking in regard to Owens by taking the title off him, or do they opt to put some heat back on him through a decisive win—or even a disqualification win in which he leaves Ambrose lying in a heap?

It is a question that will be answered Sunday night and could determine the course the characters take in the coming weeks and months.

Credit: WWE.com

Tables Match: The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno vs. The Wyatt Family

The rivalry between The Dudley Boyz and The Wyatt Family is one that few could have seen coming. After all, Bubba Ray and D-Von were coming off an unannounced pre-show match at Survivor Series, while the Wyatts were fresh off a feud with Undertaker and Kane.

Just 24 hours after the November 22 event, though, Wyatt and his followers left the hardcore legends lying, kicking off a feud that has seen Superstars put through tables and the return of ECW originals Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno.

The program has brought hardcore back to a watered down WWE and given the adult audience something to sink its teeth into amid tater-tot jokes and smiling villains.

If recent interactions are any indication, fans can expect an intense, hardcore match full of table bumps and shots about the body with various weapons and implements of pain.

The Wyatt Family needs a victory to maintain their heat, especially following another loss at Survivor Series, and they should get it here. Whether or not they suffer from the impression that they are beating up aging veterans or not is worth tracking.