WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2020, is this Sunday and just like Hell in a Cell, it isn’t special anymore. The same problem as every themed pay-per-view is evident here. The match type it’s named after becomes over saturated and no longer special. Regardless of that, this isn’t a rant article. I’m gonna discuss the top 5 matches (in my opinion) in the history of the TLC pay-per-view. Now you’re probably wondering why not do the top 5 TLC style matches, I thought about that and I figured that might be a little predictable, so lets get the list started.
5. The New Day vs. The Usos vs. Lucha Dragons – TLC Match – WWE Tag Team Championship – TLC 2015
This is at the height of the New Day’s record breaking Tag Team Championship reign. The Lucha Dragons and The Usos had competed in a number one contenders match and the New Day interfered and attacked both teams, causing a double disqualification, so both teams were put into this match.
This is one hell of a TLC match with a lot of great spots, if you watch it back, the Usos took one hell of a beating in this one. In watching this match back it made me realize how much I miss New Day as heels, they were so good in that role and it showed here for sure. Early Big E was just tossing ladders out of the ring and they then had Jey Uso in a seated position in the corner and Kofi not only dropkicks the ladder but kicks through the ladder and kicks Jey in the face. Immediately following this, Jimmy Uso goes to make the save and Big E, belly to belly suplexes Jimmy into the ladder. The Usos would later return the favor when they both dropkicked a ladder into Big E, and had Kofi upside down in a tree of woe position and hit a running hip attack into a ladder.
There was also a great spot by Sin Cara who with his partner Kalisto was fighting with Big E with an upside down ladder between them and after Kalisto jumped through the ladder and hit a seated senton, Sin Cara would then climb the upside down ladder and come crashing down with the ladder on top of Big E. Later another great spot by the Lucha Dragons saw Jimmy Uso laying with a ladder on top of him and Sin Cara monkey flips Kalisto on top of the ladder squashing Jimmy.
The spots of the match though, saw Kalisto fighting with Jey on the ladder and he hits his finisher, Salida Del Sol, onto another ladder bridged below to the ropes, in a highlight of a spot. The other huge spot saw Jimmy first dropkick another ladder into Big E outside then he hit an Uso splash from the top rope onto Big E who had the ladder over him. The finish saw Kalisto climbing the ladder, and Xavier Woods who is at ring side throws his trombone at Kalisto, giving Kofi Kingston the opportunity knock him off the ladder, climb it and grab the championships to retain. It’s a hell of a match as mentioned earlier and why it is number five on the list, definitely a must watch if you haven’t seen it.
4. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose – TLC Match – WWE Championship – TLC 2016
This was the third time these two had competed for the WWE Championship, the first time being at Backlash earlier in the year where AJ won his first every WWE Championship, the second being at No Mercy where AJ defended against Ambrose, and John Cena in a triple threat.
Dean Ambrose was desperate at this point because this was really his last chance, after only holding the championship from June to September. This time AJ was playing Ambrose’s game. For the most part Ambrose was in control. They battled up and down the arena and some spots that stick out is Ambrose having AJ in an Alabama slam position and spinning around hitting AJ’s head into a standing ladder. Also AJ setting up four chairs in a seated position like a table only for Ambrose to reverse it into a crash landing suplex. AJ suplexing Ambrose into a table leaning in the corner. Ambrose would hit a huge elbow drop off of a ladder to AJ through the announce table, and AJ hit a crazy springboard 450 splash to Ambrose through a table on the outside.
Just when it seemed like Ambrose had this one in the bag, James Ellsworth who was at ringside and recently been in a semi-feud with AJ on Smackdown would make his presence felt and cost Ambrose the match, pushing down the ladder while Ambrose was on it going for the win. Ambrose would fall to ringside through two tables, as Ambrose laid there in shock, AJ climbed the ladder and grabbed the championship to retain. Ellsworth claimed later in the week he helped AJ win because he knew he could beat him for the title, after beating him three other times prior, even though he seemed to forget he won all of those matches thanks to Ambrose.
This was a hell of a match and lived up to the hype despite the not so great finish. It’s still one of the best matches in TLC pay-per-view history.
3. “The Demon” Finn Balor vs. AJ Styles – TLC 2017
To put it simply, this match wasn’t supposed to happen. At the time Finn Balor was a Raw superstar, and AJ was a Smackdown superstar. Fin was scheduled to face a new version of Bray Wyatt that was supposed to culminate their long running feud at the time. Bray was unable to compete due to illness. Enter AJ Styles, a last minute substitution and the match that we all were looking forward to seeing at one point and it didn’t bother anyone that we were getting this match with no build because we all knew it would be as good as it was.
In watching this match back in preparation to write this I realized the beauty of the match. These two had never worked before, ever. This match starts out the gate and never slows down. A lot like Sami Zayn versus Shinsuke Nakamura, the chemistry was there immediately. This match never slows down, it never gets tired, it never drags on. It’s the perfect amount of back and forth action, the perfect amount of the hits being played, and the perfect amount of not knowing where it’s going next.
There’s small little things that make it beautiful. Perfect example, the Phenomenal Forearm, normally AJ does that move springboarding and jumping, but he did a vaulting version and you think “that can’t be it” and that’s how you’re supposed to think because technically he didn’t get all of it, it’s a variation. Also at one point AJ goes for the 1916, which he famously started doing as a member of the Bullet Club after Finn (Prince Devitt) had left the group to come to WWE. They pulled you in by making this match feel important because it wasn’t supposed to happen.
The turning point of the match, and my favorite moment of the match, is when Finn hits the shotgun dropkick and he’s ready to put it away, he’s tired he’s out of it, he goes to hit the Coupe De Grace, and AJ turns it around hits a Pele Kick out of nowhere, and turns it into a springboard frankensteiner, and people might say “oh that spot was actually pretty sloppy”, but not when you look at it from the perspective you are supposed to, this move came near the finish and looked sloppy because it’s supposed to. That lead to a near fall and AJ doesn’t know what to do next, he goes for the springboard 450 splash, and misses giving Finn the opening to hit a clothesline, a second shotgun dropkick, and then hitting the Coupe De Grace for the victory. It’s such a good match, well put together, and tells the story from start to finish.
2. The Shield vs. Team Hell No & Ryback – TLC Match – TLC 2012
This is the first match ever in the history of The Shield, and its a great match. Action all over the place from start to finish. Everyone in this match goes all out and the one thing I don’t like about it is it’s a TLC match with no prize. I always hated these kinds of matches because it’s just a demolition derby and that’s it. The point of this match was to get The Shield over, it was to establish The Shield as the force that it became.
There is so many big spots in this match, and it became a joke at the time that The Shield would powerbomb Ryback through the announce table from that years Survivor Series and on whenever they appeared when Ryback was around. Early in the match we Ryback man handling Ambrose and Rollins with a ladder slamming it on the two of them multiple times and after Roman saves them Kane and Daniel Bryan start working on him slamming him into a ladder in the corner and then dropkicking him into the ladder.
Later Kane sandwiches Rollins in between a ladder and hits him with chair shots while in between the ladder. A lot of this match saw Ryback overpowering one or two members of The Shield on his own. Ryback slams Rollins and Ambrose face first into the mat, then avalanches them into the corner while leaning on a ladder then suplexes them both on top of a ladder, that’s when Roman interjects and they do the Shield powerbomb to Ryback once again, through the announce table.
Later, a table is brought in the ring and set up over the top rope as a platform, Ambrose and Rollins use it as a platform to stand on and give Daniel Bryan a double superplex off of it to the ring. Kane would then use said table to deliver a flying clothesline to Ambrose. After a pin attempt broken up by Roman, Kane chokeslams Ambrose into a seated chair, and then Roman interjects again this time taking Kane out, by spearing him into the barricade and burying him under the rubble. Later Daniel Bryan has the Yes lock on Roman, and it’s broken up by Ambrose, and Rollins comes in and stomps Bryan’s face into a seated chair, its a gruesome looking spot.
Then Ryback returns and fights all three guys up the ramp, and Roman and Ambrose hold Ryback on a table but he fights it off, and chases Rollins up a really big ladder and knocks him off of it into two tables. Then Roman and Ambrose return to the ring and powerbomb a lifeless Daniel Bryan into another table and get the pin for the victory. It’s hectic, it’s non-stop action from the word “go” and everyone should watch this match if they haven’t not only to see the craziness of some of the spots but to see the very beginning of The Shield and how they got started as a group.
1. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles – WWE Championship – TLC 2018
Hands down the best wrestling match in the history of this pay-per-view. This was at the very beginning of the Daniel Bryan’s heel turn following his long awaited return to the ring. He wont the title from AJ on the last Smackdown show before Survivor Series by hitting a low blow when the referee wasn’t looking, he would then go to Survivor Series to face Brock Lesnar in a champion versus champion match. He would name himself “The New Daniel Bryan” and this was the first title defense of this Daniel Bryan.
I’ve loved going back and watching these matches I’ve put on this list, especially this one. If you watch this match back it is so different from the Finn Balor/AJ match where the pace is so different, and it’s just as if not more entertaining. The methodical, slow, and calculating nature of this version of Daniel Bryan is more vicious, I love it, and legitimately miss it. People will say that the underdog, “Yes” chanting Daniel Bryan is the better one but I disagree.
As the action picks up midway through the match, we see AJ Styles having to match the viciousness of Bryan, being more physical, raining down more punches and hitting more strikes then usual. This entire match for the most part is AJ playing Bryans game. One of my favorite points of the match is when AJ goes for the middle rope moonsault that he turns into a reversed DDT, and Bryan turns it around before the DDT, and turns it into a cravate style hold with numerous knee strikes and then capping it off with a beautiful cravate suplex.
From there it becomes a ground game style match, and AJ targets Bryan’s knee. The ability of these two together to change it up throughout the match is what makes it as good as it is. After AJ locks in the calf crusher, Bryan already hurting from his leg being worked on throughout the match, is in the hold for a very long time and gets to the ropes and takes a breather outside. Bryan outsmarts AJ on the outside and has AJ giving chase, but AJ gets a forearm shot in over the barricade and sends Bryan back in. He sets up for the phenomenal forearm and Bryan ducks out of the way, goes for his running knee finish, only for AJ to side step it into a small package, and Bryan then reversing that to get the pinfall victory. If you are a fan of wrestling in general, you will love this match, it’s two pros going in there and putting on a show, which is what they are supposed to do and making you believe how good they truly are.
Is there a match from the history of the TLC pay-per-view that didn’t make the cut, that you believe should be on the list? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @SLTDWrestling.
Follow Mouthing Off: @MikeJC821
Recent Comments