It’s officially December, folks! Which means you now have my permission (not that you needed it), to put up your decorations, start humming your favourite carols and go out and buy a Christmas tree, because apparently it’s the only time of the year that having a fully-grown tree in your living room is socially acceptable. Take advantage of this, it only happens once a year. It looks like I’ll be getting the ball rolling for SLTD Wrestling this month, which I have absolutely no problem doing. It’s the final month of what has been an unbelievable year for our wonderful website. The site appeared to be on its last legs towards the end of 2012 and early this year, so to bounce back with some incredible new writers, interviews with big names in the wrestling industry and of course the return of SLTD Radio (which I got to appear on a few times during the summer) has been phenomenal for us. It’s been a great year so far, and I can guarantee that 2014 is going to be even better.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, shall we? We still have the full month of December (and of course, the Christmas Season) to cover, and with that we will also see the WWE’s final Pay-Per-View of the year, TLC, which takes place in two weeks on the 15th of December, live from the Toyota Centre in Houston, Texas. Now, on Monday Night Raw this week, it was made official that John Cena will face Randy Orton in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match for both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships at WWE TLC this month. Does this mean we’re going to see the Titles get unified? I don’t know, but today I’m going to discuss my thoughts on this upcoming match, and a possible Championship unification at TLC. With that said, let’s kick off December with some ‘Under the Spotlight’!
First things first, am I intrigued by this match? Yes, I suppose. I want to know who’s going to win, I’m willing to sit through two episodes of Raw based around this match and I do love Tables, Ladders and Chairs, so I guess that means I’m interested. Randy Orton and John Cena are Vince McMahon’s ideal company men. They look the part, and they have an incredible list of accomplishments under their belt, so it will be interesting to see which way it goes. Obviously, people are going to predict Cena to win right off the bat, but I’m trying to steer clear of assuming that John Cena wins just because he’s John Cena. There’s no point. Firstly, it makes you mad when you’re proven right and John Cena actually does win. Secondly, it’s just plain stupid if WWE books John Cena to win just for the craic. They’re going to make the same amount of money off of him if he’s not in the main event (or if he’s not the Champion). That’s why, if I think Cena is going to end up coming out on top, I’ll try to provide a reason for it, in terms of the future and stuff. I don’t know, it helps my sanity, I suppose. If you’re content with your “cena wins lol” mentality, that’s fine and perfectly justifiable, given past occurrences. But I prefer to think things through before going with Cena. I mean, the guy lost clean to Daniel Bryan at Summerslam, so you never know.
At this current moment in time, I think TLC is going to end with one winner. I know a lot of you expect the Authority to get involved, or Orton and Cena will each grab the other person’s Championship, ending the show in somewhat of a cliff-hanger, but I’m hoping that won’t happen. Too many Pay-Per-Views are ending like this. Daniel Bryan being screwed by Triple H, Scott Armstrong using a fast count, Big Show knocking everyone out, Shawn Michaels kicking Daniel Bryan’s head off and the Authority distracting Big Show. Every PPV since August has had a screwy finish, and it’s getting old. For once, I’d like to have a definitive ending to a Pay-Per-View. Cliff-hanger endings can be good, but if they’re done in the same way every time, it gets boring. Sometimes it’s nice to have a little bit of closure in a rivalry. Since this is the first match that John Cena and Randy Orton are going to have in this particular feud, it would probably be safe to assume a screwy finish will happen at TLC. But with the Royal Rumble coming up, and the fact that a new year means a new Road to Wrestlemania, I doubt this rivalry will last long. I think there will be a definitive winner in the Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match, and then Cena and Orton will have one rematch, likely on the first episode of Raw in 2014. It’d be their way of hyping up WWE in the New Year. It would have the same winner, but it’ll still be a good draw for the episode.
I guess this is why John Cena came back and won the World Heavyweight Championship to begin with, back at Hell in a Cell. We all knew it was a matter of time before they decided to unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles, so it shouldn’t be surprising that they used the two biggest names in the company to do it. Just like everyone else, I would prefer to see CM Punk and Daniel Bryan unify the Championships, or some of the other young wrestlers, but I can understand why they’re going with Cena and Orton. I’m definitely in favour of unifying the Championships. Since the Brand Extension is dead and buried, there’s no point in having two major Champions representing one company. The World Heavyweight Title has taken a backseat in recent years, but I guess you can thank John Cena for making people care about it again. Even if they do get rid of it soon…
I do find it strange that a match of this calibre is only taking place on a small PPV like TLC. I know they’ve had lengthy feuds in the past, but right now, after both Randy Orton and John Cena have spent 11 years in the WWE, it feels like this match should be a bigger deal than people are allowing it to be. These guys have already confirmed their legendary status and future induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. They are both larger-than-life athletes that will go down in wrestling history, yet this clash of the titans is being treated as just another random WWE rivalry.
I think it’s partly WWE’s fault that it’s not as big as it should be. One; it’s only on TLC. And two; I don’t feel like they made their best effort in leading up to the announcement of this match. Cena’s been Champion for only two months (he’s only had one opponent for God’s sake!), and he suddenly decides that he’s the best in the world and deserves the WWE Championship too? I know we all hate Alberto Del Rio, but at least he never made unnecessary demands like that. And the lack of continuity with the Authority is really bugging me too. They love Randy Orton, they hate Randy Orton, they help him win, then put him in near-impossible situations, first with Big Show and now with John Cena. It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. I’m actually beginning to think it will be Randy Orton representing Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania, squaring off with Triple H to determine who really holds all of the power in the WWE. Then again, it could also be John Cena. Which is annoying, because if it’s either of the two, then it’s a Wrestlemania match we’ve already seen before. And if it’s “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, they’ll be wasting his return. Right now, all possible representatives of Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania aren’t too great. Although Austin would be incredible, there are so many better ways for him to return to the ring. Anyway, I just feel like WWE has dropped the ball in leading up to this feud. Obviously we’re only a week into it, but the entire premise behind it isn’t the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen. Like I said at the start, I am intrigued by what we’ve been presented with, but it could be better. However, the fact that the Championships are on the line does change things. It’s likely that whoever wins this match will be heading into Wrestlemania 30 as the Undisputed WWE Champion.
This brings on the question of who I think will win. I want Randy Orton to win anyway, because it would be less predictable. The way things are going, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are likely to turn on Orton soon. And with the 30th Anniversary of Wrestlemania taking place in April, I would not be one bit surprised if John Cena was the “Face of the WWE” and the Undisputed Champion for the event (and I swear to God, I’ll lose it if he defends the title against The Rock…). Plus, that way Orton could start feuding with Triple H. This is all just speculation, by the way. I wouldn’t like to see things go down this way at ‘Mania, but it’s a definite possibility. That’s why I want Randy Orton to win. I don’t want to see John Cena in another Wrestlemania main event, defending or fighting for the WWE title. Also, if he wins at TLC, that makes Cena a 15-time World Champion. One more reign away from tying Ric Flair’s record, which you just know is going to happen. I do feel like John Cena breaking Flair’s record will be a very sad thing for the wrestling industry, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Looking at it now, I do think John Cena will win, but I just hope it doesn’t happen. Again, not just because it’s John Cena, but because it’ll be better storyline-wise and things will be more interesting if Randy Orton wins.
I know the rivalry only started this week, so maybe I am getting far too ahead of myself. But with the Road to Wrestlemania beginning next month, you have to start considering these things. Hopefully the rivalry does pick up soon, because they can do a lot in two weeks. And since a lot of people won’t be watching over the Christmas Season, this is the last big thing that WWE can do in 2013, so they won’t want to mess it up. Let’s hope they don’t.
Okay, I better stop rambling. You’ve got presents and a tree to buy. Right, that’s the first article of December. Stick around for the rest of the month (and 2014), because it does get better. I promise. If you actually happened to enjoy this, go ahead and like it on Facebook, Tweet and Retweet the links and leave your Comments down below. You can also follow me on Twitter @AdamOB_SLTD to speak to me about wrestling, my writing, future ‘Under the Spotlight’ topics or anything at all!
Thanks for reading!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
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