WWE TLC 2011 Preview: Predictions You Can Take to the Bank

Put on your party hats; WWE TLC and a new year for the WWE are almost here.

This Sunday will mark the final pay-per-view of 2011, and then it will be (hopefully) smooth sailing to 2012, the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania season.

Before we get to the new year and all the exciting events that come along with it, however, we've got to get through TLC first.

Though some might consider this to be a throwaway pay-per-view, I actually think it could wind up being a pretty good one that's at least somewhat newsworthy.

Of course, that depends on how the WWE books the show, and no one ever really seems to trust the creative team to do that the right away.

I could throw out a thousand wild predictions about what might go down this Sunday, but instead, I've decided stick with things I'm almost certain will happen.

Here are 10 predictions you can take to the bank for WWE TLC.

10. R-Truth Returns and Costs the Miz the WWE Championship

R-Truth isn't technically eligible to return from suspension until after WWE TLC, but I don't care, and I doubt anyone in the WWE does, either.

Truth was written off of TV by being attacked by The Miz on the episode of Monday Night Raw following Survivor Series, which leads me to believe that he will be coming back as a baby face.

Now, if a baby face is put on the shelf by a heel, wouldn't it make sense to have the baby face attack said heel when he returns?

Of course, it would.

I mean, I know the creative team didn't do that with Mark Henry and Kane, but let's see if it will do the logical thing this time around.

9. Kane Will Attack John Cena Again

John Cena actually doesn't have a match on the WWE TLC card, but we all know that he's going to appear on the pay-per-view in some way, shape or form.

I'll assume that way will be with a promo that Cena cuts in the middle of ring, in which he addresses Kane's actions from Monday Night Raw and the fact the fans cheered The Big Red Monster when he attacked Cena.

Then, cue Kane's music.

He will make his way down to the ring—in basically the same exact fashion that he did on Monday—and then put a world-class beatdown on "The Champ."

I will be cheering, the little kids will be booing and the world will be a better place as Cena lays knocked out on the canvas.

8. The Big Show vs. Mark Henry Will End Without a Clean Finish...Again

At Vengeance, the World Heavyweight Championship match between The Big Show and Mark Henry ended in a draw when the ring collapsed after Henry superplexed Big Show.

At Survivor Series, the title bout between these two ended when Henry hit Show with a low blow and got himself intentionally disqualified.

It's pretty clear that the theme in the rivalry between Show and Henry has been non-finishes, with the WWE looking to protect both guys by having neither one of them take a clean pin.

I don't think the WWE has randomly decided to change its philosophy, either.

With the creative team hesitant to book either guy to look weak here, I would fully expect to see Show vs. Henry end without a clean finish for the third straight pay-per-view.

Yippee. 

7. Randy Orton Will Lose Once Again to Wade Barrett

Randy Orton is 1-3 at the last four pay-per-views, with two losses to Mark Henry and one loss to the main you're looking at, Wade Barrett, in a 5-on-5 match at Survivor Series.

It seems like the theme of Orton's year has been to put other stars over, and I'd look for that trend to continue at WWE TLC.

Orton isn't losing just to lose. He's constantly finding himself on the wrong end of matches because the WWE is building up his baby face sympathy as we head into the new year.

The 2012 Royal Rumble takes place in Orton's hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and he may be going into the pay-per-view on a bit of a losing streak. But he's also headed into it as the odds-on favorite to win the 30-Man Royal Rumble match.

Therefore, expect Orton to lose to Barrett on Sunday in order to add to both Barrett's push and Orton's baby face sympathy. 

6. Cody Rhodes Beats Booker T Dirty

Given that Booker T is an announcer first and a wrestler second, I don't think there's any real way that the WWE brass will put the Intercontinental Championship on him.

I know that this is likely Booker's final run, and thus, there's a slight chance he's given one more title reign. But I also think Booker is feuding with Cody Rhodes in order to put Rhodes over, not the other way around.

Rhodes is quickly becoming one of the WWE's top heels, and it's going to do much more for him to beat Booker T than vice versa.

That being said, Rhodes is a heel, and we all know that the WWE creative team has a hard time booking its heels like anything but cowards.

Thus, I expect Rhodes to beat Booker T at WWE TLC, but I expect his victory to come with some controversyholding the tights, hitting Booker with a foreign object, just something that makes Rhodes a cheater.

5. Daniel Bryan Gets Involved in the World Heavyweight Championship Match

Daniel Bryan has played a huge role in Smackdown's World Heayvweight Championship scene as of late, and I don't think that's just going to stop happening because he lost a title match against Mark Henry a couple of weeks ago.

Bryan's main goal is to become World champion, and he's going to be involved in the title scene until he cashes in that briefcase, whenever that may be.

I won't go as far as saying that Bryan will cash in at WWE TLC (even though I think he certainly could), but I will say that Bryan will undoubtedly make his presence known in the match between Henry and The Big Show this Sunday.

There are a ton of ways Bryan could get involved here, and that just depends on how the WWE wants to book him as we move closer to Wrestlemania.

4. Zack Ryder Wins the United States Championship

Let's just get this out on in the open: Dolph Ziggler is more than ready to move on to the main went scene.

OK, that's better.

Now that we know Ziggler should be moving up to Raw's main event and the WWE Championship picture, we first need to get that United States Championship onto someone else.

Hello, Zack Ryder.

The feud between Ryder and Ziggler has been going on since early Septemember, and it's about damn time that he finally gets a run with the US title.

The solution is easy: Have Ryder defeat Ziggler at WWE TLC and have Ziggler never look back to the mid-card.

3. Dolph Ziggler Pulls Double Duty Again

According to a report by F4Wonline.com (via WrestleNewz.com), there is talk that Dolph Ziggler may pull double duty for the third straight pay-per-view by being added to the WWE Championship match at WWE TLC.

And there's a very easy way to make that happen and have it make sense.

You book Ziggler to lose the United States Championship in some controversial way at the start of the show—perhaps Vickie or Jack Swagger interferes and inadvertently costs Ziggler the match—and then Ziggler will complain to John Laurinaitis about the outcome of his match during a backstage segment.

Being the understanding and fair Raw GM that he is, Laurinaitis will agree that Ziggler deserves another championship match and that he will get it later that night. Only this time, it'll be for the WWE Championship.

It keeps Laurinaitis acting like a bit of a heel, it puts the US Championship on Ryder and it elevates Ziggler into the top match of the night.

Call it a win-win situation for everyone involved.

2. Triple H vs. Kevin Nash Will Be Absolutely Terrible

A Sledgehammer ladder match? Really?

That might be even worse than the ridiculous concept of a Chairs match.

As if the "sledgehammer hanging over the ring" stipulation wasn't bad enough, it's being used in a match between a 42-year-old who has torn both of his quads and a 52-year-old who can hardly even walk anymore.

I'm pretty sure that both Triple H and Kevin Nash will have a really hard time trying to make me interested in this match, and I'm even more sure that this is a disaster waiting to happen.

Triple H might have participated in one of the best matches of the year against The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 28, but he's probably going to have the rare distinction of having one of the worst ones of the year as well at WWE TLC.

Man, I can't wait until this match is over with.

1. CM Punk Retains the WWE Championship

Is there any bigger lock on the card than this one?

CM Punk just beat Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship last month at Survivor Series, and then he beat ADR in a rematch on an episode of Raw. There's no chance whatsoever that Del Rio is getting a third run with the WWE title because his first two sucked, and he's probably headed for the mid-card.

Punk does have another challenger in this match, however, and his name is The Miz.

The Miz appears to be in line for a solid push as we head into 2012, but my money is on The Miz moving into a singles feud with Punk for the WWE title at the Royal Rumble...as the challenger.

When Punk said he would hold onto the WWE Championship, I believed him. And there's nothing The Miz or Del Rio will do about it.