WWE TLC 2011: 5 Reasons Gimmick PPV Is Destroying Pro Wrestling

The WWE's annual Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view has given us some special moments. However, it has given us a lot of broken bodies and matches that have a high risk of permanently injuring superstars. 

Not only is this PPV extremely dangerous to performers, but the matches are built around the gimmick more than the story behind the match. 

For example, are people talking about the story behind the Kevin Nash and Triple H match? No, instead we are talking about how good or bad their ladder match will be. 

Tables, ladders and chairs matches are good on their own.

However, a full PPV dedicated to these matches is destroying pro wrestling. These are the reasons why.

The WWE Already Has a PPV Dedicated to a Ladder Match

If you have a desire to see a ladder match on a WWE PPV, then the Money in the Bank show should satisfy your needs. 

The ladder match should have a big payoff at the end of the match. Not only should it be used to push a superstar to the next level, it should have a major reward at the end of it.

At the end of a ladder match at TLC, the winner doesn't have any more or less momentum than he did heading in. 

However, at Money in the Bank, the winner gets a guaranteed shot at the WWE or World Heavyweight title anytime they want it. 

Careers Can Be Cut Short Due to Injury in a Ladder Match

Before you can race to the comment section, yes, I am aware that this is Joey Mercury getting his face busted up at Armageddon. 

However, the point is in a match as dangerous as the ladder match, a superstar can get seriously injured.

Let's say during the WWE title match between CM Punk, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio, there is a spot that calls for Punk or Miz to take a shot to the face like Mercury did.

It may end up with Punk or Miz busting up their noses, or even worse, suffering a serious concussion. 

The Matches Are Built on the Gimmicks, Not the Match Itself

The point here is the ladder match between Triple H and Kevin Nash.

These two have built a story around Nash feeling betrayed by Hunter when he was brought back into the WWE. Nash put Hunter out of WWE TV for the last couple months after a brutal attack.

Now they get to blow off their feud with a match at a PPV.

However, no one cares about that, because it's in a ladder match.

The match now is more about if these two can put on a ladder match without killing each other instead of the story being about two best friends settling their differences.  

The Matches Are Forced Gimmicks When They Do Not Need Them

A match like Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton does not need a silly gimmick like the table match. These two superstars can put on a great story without having to win by throwing their opponent through a table. 

However, because this match is on the TLC card, it must have some form of tables, ladders or chairs. 

Will throwing Orton through a table do anything for the momentum for Barrett? No.

The same can be said for Orton. Will giving Barrett an RKO do anything to help push him back to the world title scene? No.

This match does nothing for either superstar—just like the other gimmick matches on this card.

The WWE Has a Second Gimmick PPV Right After TLC

The WWE does one gimmick PPV correctly, which is the following event—Royal Rumble. Having TLC right before the rumble is overkill. 

Plus, if you consider the Survivor Series a gimmick PPV, then you have three of these shows built on a type of match in a row.

At least with Survivor Series and Royal Rumble, it is just one match that is built from the name of the show. 

TLC is built around every match involving some form of a table, ladder or chair. 

It's killing the brand by forcing the viewer to only care about the gimmick and not the superstar trying to tell a story. 

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