WWE TLC 2014 Review

Tables, ladders, chairs... and stairs. WWE looks to close the year of 2014 out with a bang as John Cena's second opportunity to regain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar is in danger as he puts that shot on the line against Seth Rollins in a tables match. Also, Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt face off in a TLC match.

Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Ladder - Luke Harper (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
They needed a match to kick off the night with some energy and this was the perfect choice. Even as the Intercontinental Champion, Luke Harper really hasn't been given the love he has earned at this point. A ladder match is the perfect opportunity to impress some eyes in the back and the front. Really fun match here that saw the two go back and fourth with Harper really showing off his hidden athleticism. Despite Dolph Ziggler getting busted up a little, he was still able to fight through and his a superkick on Harper off a ladder to clear his path to the belt. Ziggler is able to grab the title and win the Intercontinental Championship for the 4th time in another big TLC PPV win with this time, doing it in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: ****

Match 2: WWE Tag Team Championships - The Miz & Damien Mizdow (c) vs. The Usos
While The Usos were voted as the tag team of the year at the Slammy Awards, Damien Mizdow is still the favorite among the audience here. Solid match for what it was here with again, Mizdow getting the majority of the attention from the crowd and they were eating up every moment he was copying The Miz. Frustrated with the way the match was going, Miz drills The Usos with their own Slammy Awards which causes the ref to call for the bell. Almost as if they didn't want The Usos to eat a pin and didn't want Miz and Mizdow lose any momentum so they took the easy way out with that disqualification finish.
Winners: The Usos (via disqualification)
Rating: **

Match 3: Stairs - The Big Show vs. Erick Rowan
For the first time ever, we have a stairs match. Who thought of this? As ridiculous as it sounds, it wasn't actually all that bad despite the crowd being pretty bored throughout the contest. From what I saw, I saw two big guys really go at it and be as innovative with the stairs as they possibly could and making it a point that those stairs were a pain to be hit with. The Big Show was able to hit a Chokeslam on Erick Rowan and follow it up with a Knockout Punch to secure the win before trapping him under the top side of the steep stairs on the pin. Nice to have the young upstart in Big Show pick up a needed win here. All jokes aside and putting aside how wacky this really was, I enjoyed it more than most. Kill me, I enjoyed a wrestling match. 
Winner: The Big Show
Rating: **1/4

Match 4: Tables - Seth Rollins vs. John Cena
If John Cena loses here against Seth Rollins, he will lose his chance at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble. The announcers nicely noted that Cena has a roller coaster of a history at this PPV that included him losing the WWE Championship in a tables match against Sheamus in 2009. Of course, they centered much of this match around Cena having to not only fight off Rollins, but fight off his security team in J&J Security who blatantly took advantage of the no disqualification rules. They intervened nicely on the part of Rollins and even hid the evidence of a broken table when Cena put Rollins through one while the referee was down. Nice touch. However, Cena was able to fight off the team and hand them an Attitude Adjustment through a table together. The match took another turn once Cena and Rollins went through a couple tables on the outside together which caused the referee to restart the match. And then, here we go, The Big Show comes out and looks to aid his friend in Rollins until Roman Reigns appears and Spears Show through a table. A Superman Punch to Rollins was followed by an Attitude Adjustment by Cena through a table to score the win. While there may have been too many shenanigans going on and while the match went on a little longer than it needed, it was still an enjoyable contest and a nice way for Reigns to get back on a PPV as he got a huge pop. Also a nice setup for Lesnar vs. Cena III which would eventually turn into a triple threat match with Rollins getting added to the mix.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***1/2

Match 5: WWE Divas Championship - Nikki Bella (c) vs. AJ Lee
With her sister in Brie Bella by her side, Nikki Bella must defend her championship against AJ Lee here. Bland match here with Nikki dominating the match as the annoying crowd kept chanting for their beloved CM Punk. When Brie caused a distraction with the referee, Nikki sprayed something in AJ's face and hit her with a Rack Attack to secure the win. 
Winner: Nikki Bella
Rating: *

Match 6: Chairs - Kane vs. Ryback
In another filler of a match, we have Kane taking on Ryback in a chairs match. As you could imagine, this was a pretty slow match with Kane staying in control for most of it as the crowd became a bit restless from the action in the ring. Kane almost had the win in the as he threw a steel chair to the face of Ryback and followed it up with a Chokeslam. However, Ryback was able to kick out and nail a Shell Shocked (or is it Shell Shock?) to get the win. You can definitely pass on this one.
Winner: Ryback
Rating: *

Match 7: WWE United States Championship - Rusev (c) vs. Jack Swagger
Rusev is riding his success into this PPV and must defend his United States Championship against Jack Swagger. Another forgettable match here with Swagger doing everything in his power to weaken the ankle of Rusev throughout so he can really get him with a Patriot Lock. However, Rusev again proves to be too much and disposes him with his Accolade finish. A glorified squash match that sees Rusev riding his momentum into a feud with John Cena.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: *1/2

Match 8: TLC - Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
The two craziest superstars in the WWE look to settle the score in the main event of the last PPV of 2014. With no title or contract on the line, you must either pin or submit your opponent to pick up the win as opposed to usually grabbing whatever is hung above the ring. As expected, you get your cool table spots from both guys but there never really was a moment that made this match stand out from any other TLC match. Dean Ambrose diving off a ladder three times and driving his elbow and body through Bray Wyatt and a table were all cool moments but in the end, Ambrose made the silly mistake of trying to crack Wyatt in the head with a TV monitor. Unfortunately for him, the monitor was still connected with a cable and as he tried running it over to Wyatt, the cable shorted and the monitor exploded in his face. Wyatt capitalizes on the situation and hits another Sister Abigail on Ambrose to secure the win. If anything, that finish just made Ambrose look stupid. While in 2018, Wyatt has nearly been completely forgotten about, the company was really big on him here in 2014 as he was getting ready for his date with The Deadman at WrestleMania just a few months later.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rating: ***

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Definitely not the worst PPV the WWE offered up in 2014 but this was certainly nothing to really write home about. You had a couple great matches but you also had a lot of junk and time fillers that really brought this one down and made it a forgettable show.
Rating: 6.75/10