WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs Primer: Is Del Rio a Future Campeón Del Mundo?

TLC comes to you live from Houston, Texas this Sunday.  No, not the group TLC, but the WWE's live pay-per-view event that will mark the final pay-per-view of the year for the company.  

But, now that we're on the subject (and as promised on my twitter account earlier), let's talk a little bit about the other TLC.

TLC (named after its members T-Boz, Left Eye, and Chilli with two L's) was a legendary hip hop/R&B group that spawned world wide fame in the early nineties with their edgy, street flavor mixed with a healthy amount of sex appeal.  

Their debut album, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip (with seven O's) went platinum four times, but they were just getting warmed up.  

TLC's second album, CrazySexyCool, became the first album released by a female group to sell over 11 million copies thus reaching Diamond certification by the RIAA.  

The only thing more impressive than TLC's record breaking success, is the fact that they still went bankrupt down the road. But they're doing fine these days as two of the three original members (Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes tragically died in a car accident in 2002) are enjoying the sweet embrace of retirement.  

Here's a list of what I feel are their top five songs ever:

5. No Scrubs
4. Aint 2 Proud 2 Beg
3. Baby-Baby-Baby
2. Creep
1. Waterfalls

Now then, on to the primer.  Like a feature film, WWE pay-per-views always seem to have a theme that persists through the night either intentionally or unintentionally.  
Possible themes at WWE TLC could include:

Youth.  Despite a heavier veteran presence on WWE TV than what we've been accustomed to in the youth movement, there are still a handful of young wrestlers in high profile spots of this pay-per-view. 

Dolph Ziggler, who gets better every week and is slowly making me into a believer, will defend his Intercontinental title in a triple threat match against Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston.

Wade Barrett is back at it again with John Cena after Cena was fired last month.  Don't ask.

And, of course, Alberto Del Rio will now be competing in the main event with veterans Edge, Kane and Rey Mysterio Jr. per the last minute change on Smackdown!  More on that later in the primer.  

The WWE Cut Team.  With so many matches on the card involving weapons, something is bound to go array causing somebody to bleed the hard way. 

When that happens, the WWE's ever-so-popular cut team will be on the scene, fully equipped with a towel, and accompanied by audible chants of "we want blood!"  

Backstage segment(s) involving Alberto Del Rio.  A little bird tells me that it is possible we could see Alberto Del Rio walk out of TLC with the World Championship title. 

Should this be the plan, look for the WWE to infuse Del Rio in at least one backstage segment or promo beforehand.

The logic behind emphasizing Del Rio, in a backstage prior to the World Title Match, would be WWE looking to give Del Rio that one big non-wrestling moment before what could be the biggest win of his career to this point.

WWE TLC Predictions:

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler over Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger. 

Dolph Ziggler has done a great job as the fightingest (it's a word in pro wrestling) Intercontinental Champion in quite some time. 

These three athletes will put on a great contest, but the WWE hasn't done enough with Swagger and Kingston for me to actually give them a chance here.  

Divas Tag Team Tables Match:  Natalya and Beth Phoenix over Laycool. 

I'd love to say that Laycool goes over, sparking a long awaited feud between Beth Phoenix and Natalya, but this will be Beth Phoenix's first pay-per-view match since returning from injury. 

All signs point to the WWE keeping Phoenix strong upon her return, as well as keeping the Diva's champion equally as strong.  Who knows, maybe they do have something planned down the road.  

No. 1 Contenders Match for the WWE Championship: John Morrison over Sheamus. 

This match will likely depend on the outcome of the Randy Orton vs. Miz match for the WWE Championship.  Should Miz hold on to the title, as I feel he will, Miz v. Morrison would create a more intriguing match up with a built-in storyline between two former tag team partners.

Besides, heel vs. heel match ups do not sell, although the WWE did feature Randy Orton against Sheamus for the WWE Championship at last year's Royal Rumble around this time. 

With Triple H possibly returning to in ring action at the Royal Rumble,  chances are Sheamus will not be involved in a WWE title feud with either Miz or Randy Orton.  

Chair Match: John Cena over Wade Barrett. 

The WWE has ran the CeNexus storyline into the ground, and with Cena just having got his job back on Monday night after weeks of controlled rebellion on TV, he would look awfully foolish losing to Wade Barrett in his, um, first match back (since the last pay-per-view).  

WWE Championship:  The Miz over Randy Orton. 

Miz's slight tease in a recent promo, of intending to be the longest reigning champion of all time, could mean either he will hold on to the WWE Championship for a while or he'll drop it on his first meaningful defense.  

I'm taking the former in this case, as the WWE could cultivate Miz into a highly marketable champion if he continues to appear vulnerable yet somehow finds ways to win.  


WWE World Championship Match:  Alberto Del Rio over Edge, Kane, and Rey Mysterio. 

WWE changing this match to a fatal four way could mean one of two things- or both.  A.  Rey Mysterio is injured and would have a lighter workload in a four way match, and B. The WWE wants to get the title off of one heel and put it on another heel without taking the extra step in between of having a babyface win it.        

Smackdown's ratings have been disappointing since the move to Syfy.  So much so, the talk backstage is that head writer Michael P.S. Hayes may be on thin ice in the midst of a miserable World Title run by Kane, low-lighted by an absurd feud with Edge centered around the kidnapping of Paul Bearer.

With Smackdown's ratings consistently down, the brand is in obvious need of a new direction.  One of the glaring setbacks for the show, a show that was critically acclaimed not too long ago, is that it has gotten away from featuring and developing younger talent at the top of the card. 

Hayes could do the Smackdown Brand, and possibly his job security, a favor by deciding to pull the trigger on Alberto Del Rio just as the WWE did with Sheamus one year ago at this very pay-per-view.   

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