This Sunday is the Smackdown Live show Tables, Ladders and Chairs. This is Smackdown’s last big show of the year and the blue brand is looking to end the year with a bang. TLC is the one show every year where the violence gets cranked up as weapons are prominent throughout the show.
Going into this show, Smackdown Live is coming off of a win over Monday Night Raw in its 10-man tag team match at Survivor Series. The brand continues to overshadow Raw as fans still believe that Smackdown is the place to go for sensible storylines and consistent in-ring action. Sunday will hopefully continue Smackdown's run of entertaining shows so we will begin our preview with hopefully the opening and last match between the following two men.
Kalisto vs. Baron Corbin (Chairs Match)
This feud has been the only pimple on Smackdown Live. I’m still having trouble seeing what Corbin brings to the table and how the WWE sees a future in him. He can’t talk, his wrestling skill is average at best and he has a weird belly button. Kalisto should have won the Cruiserweight Title at Survivor Series, but Corbin cost him the title and Smackdown Live the entire Cruiserweight division.
For the most part, this match should be a pre-match show but since it’s a brand specific show, it’s on the main card. This match will be the opening match and it will do nothing for either man.
Your winner, Kalisto
Nikki Bella vs. Carmella (No Disqualification Match)
I don’t know what it is, but Carmella does nothing for me. I think she should have stayed in NXT a little longer without Enzo and Cass to get over and improve her in-ring skill. Her being drafted to Smackdown Live was more of a necessity because of the WWE Draft and that is it. Her feud with Nikki Bella has been going on for a couple of months and it seems like it’s never ending.
This should be the “go-home” match in their feud. They have feuded since the brand split and at this point, it's time for it to come to an end with a decisive winner. With Nikki Bella being seen as a veteran presence on the Smackdown Live roster, I see her coming out on top and moving on to a possible Women’s Title match.
Your winner, Nikki Bella
Heath Slater and Rhyno (champions) vs. Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles
The Randy Orton turn to The Wyatt Family has been very intriguing. I was thinking that this heel turn would last two weeks, similar to when Daniel Bryan turned on Bray Wyatt right after joining him in 2013. The Orton and Wyatt partnership has lasted longer than anyone thought and it adds a different dimension to Orton. Yes, he still dresses like Randy Orton so the next step is for Orton to take on more of a Wyatt-like look going forward. The Orton/Wyatt joining has to continue.
In regards to the tag team title match, it’s time for Slater and Rhyno to lose the titles. It was a good story for Slater to get his run and his “contract” with Smackdown Live and now it’s time for reality to set in. Bray Wyatt has to win this match. I repeat, BRAY WYATT HAS TO WIN THIS MATCH. The WWE needs to give him the ball and let him run with it. It’s way past time and the TLC pay-per-view is the time.
Your winner and new champions, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton
Becky Lynch (champion) vs. Alexa Bliss for the Smackdown Women’s Title
This may be the match I’m looking forward to the most. Alexa Bliss is the Smackdown rookie of the year after making tremendous strides since being called up from NXT. Her mic work has been good and her in-ring is getting better every week as she moves into a Tables match against the champion Becky Lynch.
Lynch needs good showing in this match due to Raw’s Sasha Banks and Charlotte overshadowing the Smackdown Live Women's division. Smackdown Live has depth, but the divas on Monday Night Raw has quality at the top. Lynch has to be the leader of the division and that means putting on great matches with everyone on the roster. This needs to be the first of many successful, exciting title defenses.
Your winner and still champion, Becky Lynch
The Miz (champion) vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title (Ladder Match)
This HAS to be the end of this feud. The Intercontinental Title has changed hands a few times over the last couple of months and to make the belt matter again, it needs to stay on one person and one person only. The Miz is ultimately being considered for a bigger role on Smackdown Live so this could be the match where Ziggler gets his final comeuppance on The Miz.
Ziggler is someone who just may be too good to be successful in the WWE. It makes no sense but the WWE are full of wrestling neophytes who don't know wrestling so it shouldn't surprise anyone. Ziggler will perform in this Ladder Match as he always does and he will the Intercontinental for the 3,565th time in the last three months.
Your winner and new champion, Dolph Ziggler
AJ Styles (champion) vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Title (Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match)
The main event of the TLC PPV will be a TLC match between Styles and Ambrose for the WWE Title. Ambrose is wearing me down as his whole style is old now and a heel turn is necessary. His schtick has run its course and you are starting to hear less and less cheers for him when comes out to the ring. Simply put, Dean Ambrose is old news.
On the other hand, AJ Styles is probably the best wrestler on the roster at the moment. For everyone who said that AJ’s mic work stunk in TNA, his mic work is some of the best in the company at the moment. His title reign has been lackluster, however, and that’s not on him. That’s on the writing and him losing matches to James Ellsworth, which is tarnishing the work he is doing and the title he is carrying. This TLC match will be competitive, but AJ needs to win the match decisively and impressively….to eventually lose the title to John Cena in the near future.
Your winner and still champion, AJ Styles
What are your thoughts about the Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view? Let us know in comment section.
