WWE TLC 2015: Top Talking Points Following Major PPV

There was no reason whatsoever to expect WWE to blow away wrestling fans at Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2015, considering the buildup in the weeks preceding it.

Despite pathetic excuses for booking, uninteresting rivalries and Superstars in whom fans were not invested dominating Raw and SmackDown, the event exceeded scant expectations and gave the audience plenty to talk about.

From Roman Reigns' snapping after his loss in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, laying waste to The League of Nations before brutally assaulting COO Triple H, to Kevin Owens' losing the intercontinental title after truly questionable booking and The Lucha Dragons' breaking out in breathtaking fashion, the show was chock full of talking points.

Which ones affected the future of the promotion, its brightest young stars and the storylines fans are expected to invest in as the Road to WrestleMania nears?

These are the top talking points from the final pay-per-view spectacular of the calendar year.

Credit: WWE.com

The Evolution of Roman Reigns

The subject of fans' scrutiny heading into Sunday's broadcast was the way Roman Reigns had been booked as the top babyface in WWE. He was presented as some indestructible superhuman whose promos bordered on the absurd, thanks in large part to laughable phrases like "suffering succotash" and "tater tot" that killed his credibility as a dominant force.

Sunday night, WWE Creative finally booked him in the manner that a ferocious babyface like Reigns should be. He showed tremendous intensity and rage during the ladder match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and took some nasty bumps, such as the White Noise through the tables at ringside.

He was attacked by The League of Nations, but rather than overcome the odds like a certain neon-wearing future Hall of Famer would, he succumbed to the beatdown and lost. And this time, he did not cry in the center of the ring like a kid who had his ball stolen from hit at recess. No, he snapped and unleashed a wave of fury on everyone around him, bashing The League with a chair and necessitating the arrival of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Then he beat the ever-loving hell out of his boss.

All of the boos and groans that had greeted him earlier in the show changed over to chants of, "Thank you, Roman." The juggernaut of the WWE lived up to his persona and was finally handled the way he should have been from the start.

There were no goofy facial expressions or promos straight out of the third grade. Reigns was a pissed-off man who had his fill of being screwed over and let the world know it in grand fashion. And it worked.

Had WWE presented him in that manner for the entire duration of his push, just as it had at the height of The Shield days, the company could have skipped all of the hardships it has faced over the last few months. Luckily for WWE, it appears to have found the formula that will make the second-generation star the main event attraction it hoped he would be.

The follow-up on Monday's Raw will be of the utmost importance, though, as one wrong move could doom Reigns once more.

Credit: WWE.com

The Downfall of Kevin Owens

As the intercontinental champion heading into the TLC pay-per-view, Kevin Owens was about as ice cold as any other performer on the card. Illness had kept him off a week's worth of television, preventing his feud with Dean Ambrose from heating up.

When WWE Creative finally had the opportunity to build toward the bout, it opted to humiliate Owens courtesy of soda and popcorn, then made him run away like a coward from The Lunatic Fringe just days later on SmackDown.

Sunday night, he was pinned cleanly by Ambrose, bringing an end to a lackluster title reign and leaving the Canadian Superstar in limbo heading into the new year.

Owens used to be the most refreshing heel in the company, a bad man who did bad things but for good reasons. For every time that he left Sami Zayn lying or necessitated a stretcher job for Neville, he hid behind the excuse that he was doing so for the betterment of his family.

That motivation was lost in translation as he made the jump to the main roster. The edginess was eliminated from the character, and Owens fell into the same pit of mediocrity so many others call home.

That is extremely unfortunate for someone of his talents.

It remains completely plausible that taking the title off Owens was a way to help move him on to bigger and better things. But the booking has not helped. That will need to improve if fans are to take the heavyweight seriously moving forward.

Credit: WWE.com

The Rise of The Lucha Dragons

Anyone familiar with their work in NXT recognized that Sin Cara and Kalisto were a dynamic, energetic and exciting team well before they entered Boston for Sunday's TLC pay-per-view. They had a great look, a solid chemistry and could wow fans with their flashy offense.

Booking, though, had been a bit inconsistent, and the development of characters was nonexistent. 

While the booking still needs to be strengthened and the characters better evolved, the performers themselves enjoyed a breakthrough performance in the ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championships, throwing caution to the wind to ensure that fans would not forget their contribution to the contest and the event as a whole.

Sin Cara's Tope con Hilo over the top rope and onto the ladder-covered Usos at ringside was one of the most jaw-dropping displays of sacrifice in the entire bout, while Kalisto's Salida del Sol elicited chants of "Holy s--t" both in the arena and across social media.

They were undeniably the breakout stars of the opening contest, and their performance could, and should, earn them more screen time, as well as attention from WWE Creative as it alters the way characters are presented.