WWE TLC 2014 Review

Tables, Ladders, and Chairs......and Stairs? Wait, what?

WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (and Stairs) 2014

Cleveland, Ohio 12/14/14

Pre-Show

1.) The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston with Xavier Woods) vs. Goldust & Stardust: **1/4

It’s so weird reviewing this show with the benefit of hindsight. The Goldust/Stardust brother tag team was still a thing, and The New Day had just made their debut as a unit, as babyfaces. The match was ok. Nothing special. The New Day gets the win here.

PPV

1.) WWE Intercontinental Title – Ladder Match – Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler: ****

Ziggler lost the Intercontinental Title to Luke Harper on RAW as part of the build-up to the Team Cena vs. Team Authority match at Survival Series the month prior. This Ladder Match is Ziggler’s chance to get the title back, and he does have the home field advantage (being from Cleveland). I thought this was a great Ladder Match! These two took some insane bumps left & right, and some might say that things got a little too dangerous in this one. Still, these guys game an amazing effort here. Ziggler eventually retrieves the Intercontinental Title to a huge reaction from the fans in Cleveland! A great, brutal opener.

2.) WWE Tag Team Titles – The Miz & Damien Mizdow vs. The Usos: **

The Miz and his “stunt-double” Damien Mizdow won the WWE Tag Team Titles in a Four-Way Match back at Survivor Series. Here, they’re defending their titles against The Usos. This was an ok match, but it had a stupid finish, as The Miz hit one of The Usos with a Slammy Award (which I believe Mizdow won, if memory serves me correctly). This gets his team disqualified, meaning that they retain their titles. At least Damien Mizdow was entertaining. Why have a match with a DQ finish on a PPV?

3.) Stairs Match – The Big Show vs. Erick Rowan: ½*

So this came about after The Big Show turned on Team Cena at Survivor Series. Having a match with Erick Rowan (who is now a babyface) is one thing, but a Stairs Match…..A STAIRS MATCH?!?! Absolutely ridiculous. I’m not going to delve into this too match. Simply put, this match sucked. It was easily one of the worst matches on 2014. The Big Show wins, and nobody cares….NEXT!

4.) Tables Match – John Cena vs. Seth Rollins: **3/4

Another match on this card that involves two guys who were on opposite sides of the Team Cena vs. Team Authority match from Survivor Series, and it involves the two team captains from that match. If Cena loses, then he forfeits his future WWE World Title shot. Paul Heyman is also at ringside. This was fine, but it was plagued with a lot of issues. J & J Security constantly interfered. There was a ref bump and Rollins went through a table when he was out. Both Cena & Rollins then went through a table simultaneously, and the match ended up being restarted. Big Show tried to interfere, but he was thwarted by the returning Roman Reigns. This leads to Cena putting Rollins through a table for the win. It would have fine on RAW, but on a PPV, it was disappointing.

5.) Diva’s Title Match – Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) vs. AJ Lee: **

Nikki Bella won the Diva’s Title back at Survivor Series after basically a repeat of the Daniel Bryan/Sheamus match from WrestleMania 28 (expect Brie kissed AJ). After months of having a “supposedly” intense, heated rivalry, the Bella Twins are back together with no real explanation given other than “we’re sisters”. Here they have a proper match, and it was fine. Again, it would have been fine on RAW, but a PPV? Eh…I don’t know. Nikki Bella retains the Diva’s Title.

6.) Chairs Match – Kane vs. Ryback: **

Here we have the fourth match of the night that involves participants from the Main Event of Survivor Series. This time it’s Kane vs. Ryback in a Chairs Match. Once again….an ok match. The Chairs Match is a weird stipulation, but not as insulting as a Stairs Match. Ryback won here, as he should have.

7.) WWE United States Title – Rusev (with Lana) vs. Jack Swagger: **

So Rusev and Jack Swagger are seemingly reigniting their feud from the Summer on this show. I believe Zeb Colter had been taken out in the buildup to this match (presumably by Rusev), so he’s absent from ringside. A decent match here. Nothing much else to say, other than Rusev retained his title.

8.) TLC Match – Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose: ***

For the record, this is a TLC Match that will end by either pinfall or submission. Nothing is at stake here. As far as match quality is concerned, this was the 2^nd best match on the show, but a DISTANT 2^nd. The action was solid. Ambrose excels in these kinds of matches, and Wyatt looked fine. It was actually on it’s way to being a pretty good match, but then Ambrose went to hit Wyatt with a TV (that was still plugged in), and it exploded in his face. Wyatt wins via “magic”. That finish SUCKED. It ends the night on a sour note.

Overall: 4.0/10

My gosh…..this show was TERRIBLE!!! It was easily one of the worst WWE PPV’s in recent memory. The Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title is the ONLY redeemable quality this show has. Otherwise, everything else just sucked so much. This shows looks even worse when your consider the fact that NXT TakeOver: [R] Evolution, which was a great show, took place only a few days prior. Watch that amazing opening match, but stay as far away from the rest of this show as humanly possible.