WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs (TLC) 2011 Review

The 2011 WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view was a unique show with several stipulation matches including a TLC main event with CM Punk defending the WWE Championship against Alberto Del Rio and The Miz.

It was not a particularly hot period for the WWE product, but they did have a product with some younger stars at the top as well as fresh faces like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan in bigger roles. There were still some older guys in featured matches on this show like Triple H, Kevin Nash and Big Show, but I think for the most part, they were trying to build for the future. That’s a good thing.

This was written on the night of the show.

WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs
December 18, 2011
1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland

They had a “Twas the Night Before Christmas” like beginning with voiceover guy narrating a tale that was relatable to the matches at tonight’s TLC PPV. It was pretty good. Very creative. I love the WWE production team.

The arena looks pretty full. The announcers for the show are Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler. No Booker T. at the table because he’s in a match.

Vickie Guerrero interrupted the announcers saying “Merry Christmas” in her whining voice. She introduced Dolph Ziggler for the US Title match. They introduced us to the Spanish announcers. Will the Spanish table be broken? Likely. Ryder came out next to a good pop.

US Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Zack Ryder
The crowd was chanting for Ryder early. Cole mentioned #TLC was trending too. People asked me for a drinking game. Take a shot every time they say trending. Good luck to your liver. The announcers are actually arguing about who deserved the “Trending Worldwide” Slammy award. That’s one of the stupidest awards in the history of the Slammys, which is saying something. They worked a slow pace in the first five minutes. That suggests a longer match. Ziggler was in full “show off” mode here, actually doing situps after hitting a successful move. The announcers argued more, this time about Ryder’s accomplishments as Cole said he’s done nothing while Lawler pointed out that he’s become popular with the fans. The first good nearfall of the match was when Ryder hit a perfect missile dropkick for two.

A little bit after that, Ryder got another pinfall attempt. Vickie put Dolph’s foot on the bottom rope, the ref saw it and threw her out. She started yelling, which was met by approval by the fans. That was followed by a good pinfall exchange sequence by them. Ziggler ended up hitting a Fameasser for a good nearfall. Ziggler hit a perfect dropkick for a two count of his own at the ten minute mark. Ziggler went to the top, Ryder followed him and hit a hurricanrana off the top rope for an awesome nearfall of his own. Ryder was in the corner, Ziggler charged in, Ryder got the knees up to counter a splash and he followed it up with a Rough Ryder for the victory at 10:20.
Winner by pinfall: Zack Ryder – New US Champion

Post match, they showed Ryder’s dad and his friend “The Big O” celebrating in the crowd. Zack went over to them to celebrate.

Analysis: **3/4 A very solid opener that popped the live crowd since Ryder is a fan favorite. This was the perfect booking and result for this match. Ziggler losing clean won’t hurt him at all. He deserves to move up the card now. Ryder’s perfect for the US Title. This was a nice conclusion to the feud.

Backstage, Booker was talking to Alicia Fox. Cody Rhodes attacked, but Booker wasn’t hurt too bad.

Hey, look there’s Air Boom. A tag title defense against Primo & Epico is on deck.

WWE Tag Team Titles: Air Boom vs. Primo & Epico
Is this the first Air Boom title defense on TV/PPV since Evan’s suspension? I think so. Rosa was out there with Primo & Epico. In case you don’t know, Epico is the cousin of Primo. They are heels although not doing the “America sucks” gimmick. They just speak in Spanish all the time, especially Rosa. The heels were working on Evan in the babyface in peril spot. Nice suplex sequence by Epico, who hit two backdrop suplexes in a row before hitting a German suplex.

After the long attack, Bourne gets the hot tag to Kingston. He comes in there hitting all of his high-flying offensive maneuvers. He set up Primo for the Trouble in Paradise, but he avoided it. Great springboard crossbody by Kofi for two. Bourne took out Epico with a dive to the floor. Primo charged at Kofi, he avoided him, Primo went off the ropes and Kofi hit him with the Trouble in Paradise for the win. Match went 7:32.
Winners: Air Boom

Analysis: ** Basic tag match. I’d expect some rematches down the road since there just aren’t that many teams for Air Boom to feud with.

They went to Josh Mathews in the locker room saying that Booker T. was getting looked at and the match may be canceled, but it’s not official.

They showed Teddy Long dressed as Santa. Hornswoggle showed up, said he’s a grown man with a beard and “mature testes.” Yes he said that. He said he’s never seen a black Santa and Teddy said where he grew up they didn’t have a fat white Santa around. Long gave him a book for Christmas, a guide to Ebonics. Racial comedy is fantastic huh? Hornswoggle wanted a hug, but instead he stepped on his foot. This was supposed to be comedy. It wasn’t funny.

The tables match is next.

Tables Match: Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett
There are about a dozen tables all around the ring. Orton comes out first to a big pop. Barrett is next to good heat, but not great. I have Orton winning this one. He’s also my pick to win the Royal Rumble in St. Louis. Orton tried to suplex him through a table. Barrett fought it off and threw him into the ringpost to knock him down. Barrett had Orton lying on the table, then he went to the middle ropes to put him through, but Randy fought off. Barrett continued to dominate, shoving him back first into the ring apron. Barrett hit a nice elbow off the middle rope. Barrett had some blood streaming from a cut on the right side of his head. Barrett worked him over with knees and followed it up with the big boot, but Orton held onto the ropes to prevent him from going through the table. The story through the first eight minutes is the dominance of Wade Barrett.

Orton was able to fight back, hitting his spinning powerslam. They fought on the apron, right above a table that was on the floor. Orton fought out of the Wasteland to hit his DDT off the ropes. Then they showed us a number of trending topics relating to the match including #BarrettBarrage & The Viper, so at least nicknames are getting over. Barrett countered an Orton attack with a Bossman Slam. I love when he uses that move. Barrett slammed a table on him. He folded open the table, Orton was lying on the table on his stomach, but he wasn’t fully on it. Barrett went to the middle rope, jumped off and Orton countered with the RKO through the table for the win at 10:16. Very good finish.
Winner: Randy Orton

Analysis: **1/2 A strong finish similar to some RKO counters we’ve seen Orton do in the past. The story was Barrett was in control for about 80% of the match, but Orton was playing possum at the end to hit the RKO out of nowhere for the win. The replays of the RKO through the table were pretty cool. As I said, it was the right finish. That’s a recurring trend in Orton matches. He knows how to hit that move at the right time.

Backstage, the Bella Twins were sitting on Santa Teddy Long’s lap. He gave them cards with his phone number on it. They slapped him and left.

Jack Swagger walked into Teddy’s office to complain about Mark Henry hitting him with a chair in the back on Smackdown. He wanted Teddy to do something. Sheamus walked in saying Teddy wanted to see him. I smell a new match being made. Sheamus threatened him. Teddy booked them into a match for later in the night.

Beth Phoenix walked out with the Divas Title on her own. They showed a video package from the Slammy Awards when Kelly won the Slammy for Divalicious Moment. I guess they’re having a match. This is the third unannounced match of the PPV. Why not announce them beforehand?

Divas Title: Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly
There’s no Natalya with Beth. Not sure why. Kelly was on fire early on, going for her charge into the corner. Beth countered it by dropping her neck across the top ropes. Oh crap Kelly is YELLING instead of selling. She is morphing into Yelly Yelly because she sells moves by yelling at the top of her lungs. That’s annoying. Apparently Beth Phoenix is trending now too, so that’s good for her. Beth hit a weak version of the Camel Clutch. Kelly countered some power moves by YELLYING UP~!, but Beth fought her off again. She went for a few pinfalls. Didn’t get it. They’re at four minutes now, which is about double the usual Raw divas match. Beth went to the top, tried a legdrop and Kelly moved out of the way. Kelly went for her K2 finisher, Beth pushed her out of it and went for the Glam Slam. Kelly countered with a cradle for two, then Beth got one of her own. Kelly went for a hurricanrana, but Beth caught her and threw her back into a version of the Electric Chair, which put Kelly onto her chest. Beth rolled her over to cover for the win at 5:36.
Winner: Beth Phoenix

Analysis: *1/2 Strong finish to the match. Beth didn’t win with her finisher, but it was a dominant victory as it should have been.

Backstage, Alberto Del Rio told Ricardo Rodriguez to get him some food. The Miz showed up. Del Rio told him there was no alliance. He was using him. Miz told him he main evented WrestleMania while ADR lost at Mania. Del Rio called him weak, saying he was a reality TV star that couldn’t even take Ricardo or his pool boy. Ricardo showed up, Miz shoved the food in his face and then Del Rio shoved down Rodriguez too. I guess the point of this is to put over that the heels are serious.

They had a commercial for the Royal Rumble on January 29th with Santino dressed as a genie that can predict the future. Then the crystal ball broke.

They aired a special message from the National Guard in Maryland wishing us a happy holiday.

Booker T. was up next. He was walking down the aisle for his match. Cody attacked him before he got the ring, hitting him the back and throwing him into the barrier by the ring. Booker took a while to get to his feet thanks to the help of officials. The doctor said he had to take him to the back to examine him. I guess that match is not happening yet. The announcers put it over by saying that this was Cody’s way of not wanting to face Booker for the IC Title.

They aired a video package for the Triple H/Kevin Nash feud. Don’t tear a quad while you watch it.

Nash came out to the NWO porno music. The long-running joke that the song is like porn music. He does look to be in good shape for somebody that’s 52. Hunter was out next to a big pop. The aisle was full of ladders. My prediction is that Nash wins here with Hunter winning the rematch at the Royal Rumble. If Hunter wins here then both guys would likely be in the Rumble, I assume. I just don’t think either has to be in the Rumble. We’ll see though. Lawler said he’s never seen Triple H look better or look more serious about anything. I have Jerry. He was better in 2000. He was amazing that year. It was before he tore two quads and was having great matches with everybody on the roster. I remember too much.

Sledgehammer Ladder Match: Kevin Nash vs. Triple H
If this was done in the TV14 era I’d expect Hunter to start bleeding within five minutes. Not in the PG era, of course. Nash was the first to use the ladder, running into HHH with it and hitting him in the head. Hunter came back at him, climbing the announce table and taking him down with a Thesz Press. Hunter has his wrists taped with black tape on top of white tape. Hunter gave him a clothesline over the barricade, sending Nash into the crowd. Nash ended up dropping him with a sharp elbow as well as Snake Eyes on the barricade. The countering continued with Hunter throwing him into the ring post. They went back into the ring with Hunter using the ladder as a weapon to attack Nash’s right knee. He continued to go after the knee by attacking it with the top of the ladder. Nobody’s going for pinfalls, so I guess you can’t win until somebody gets their hands on the sledgehammer. Great spot by Hunter as he put Nash’s right leg through a ladder, bent it and dropped down onto his back, which effectively put Nash in the Figure Four. Some in the crowd were chanting “Woo” while Ric Flair is sitting at home somewhere wishing he didn’t get married four times because divorces are expensive. At the eight minute mark, Nash whipped Hunter into the corner where Hunter crashed into a propped up ladder and did his signature bump over the top rope to the floor. Now Nash was in control of the match.

Nash did a good job of using power moves to beat down Hunter. The match was moving at a slow pace as he crashed Hunter’s face into the ladder after a slingshot type maneuver. Nash took the covers off the announce table and gently took the TV monitors out. The English speaking announce table by the way. Nash went for a powerbomb, but Hunter countered with a backdrop and Nash went crashing into the barricade by the announcers. In the ring, Hunter set up a ladder for the first climb of the match at the 13 minute mark. Nash took the ladder away, propping it up in the corner. He whipped Hunter into the ladder in the corner and followed it up with a chokeslam. I don’t remember Kevin Nash using a chokeslam. If he did it was very rare. Nash went under the ring for a table. Why not find a sledgehammer there? Cole wondered what Shawn Michaels was thinking about the match because you know he’s watching. Actually I saw @ShawnMichaels_ tweet earlier saying that he was watching football, not TLC.

Hunter recovered from Nash’s attacks. He went for the climb at the 15-minute mark. Nash followed him. Hunter fought him off, hit him in the head and Nash went crashing through the table. Hunter grabbed the sledgehammer as the crowd went wild. Hunter attacked him with the sledgehammer, attacking every part of Nash’s body. He threw the ladder outside the ring. Hunter threw the sledgehammer away, Hunter went for the Pedigree. Nash didn’t sell it right, so he just crumbled to the mat. Then Hunter hit the Pedigree. The announcers tried to sell it by saying Nash’s knee gave way. The crowd chanted “one more time.” Instead, Hunter grabbed the sledgehammer. Nash got to his knees, gave the Kliq sign out of desperation and Hunter gave him a DX crotch chop. Then Hunter hit him with the sledgehammer in the head. He covered for the win at 18:18.
Winner by pinfall: Triple H

Analysis: ** I guess that’s the end of the feud. Like I said I thought Nash would win to prolong the feud, but I’m fine with the feud ending here. They worked hard, did a lot of little tricks and built up to the big spots for the finish very well. It was a very slow match that went just under 20 minutes. Cole spoke as if Hunter was back on a regular basis because he said he was back in action, so I’m not sure if that means he’ll be wrestling regularly again.

Post match, Nash was taken out on a stretcher. Does he have a pulse? Sorry. Flashbacks.

Backstage, Matt Striker interviewed WWE Champion CM Punk. He said the attack on Raw was painful, then mocked Miz’ angry face and Cole’s painful commentary, which is always welcome to me. Punk complained that he never got his “Superstar of the Year” Slammy because of that. He said Laurinaitis had it even though he’s never been a superstar for thirty seconds. Laurinaitis showed up, said he’d mail the Slammy to Punk. Punk promised him that he’d still be the WWE Champion at the end of the night. Laurinaitis didn’t want to argue, saying he was the bigger man…because after all, he was taller than Punk. I admit that was a funny line by JL. Punk left looking confident.

Sheamus vs. Jack Swagger
I’d expect a Sheamus win here in convincing fashion. Swagger took advantage early, dominating Sheamus on the floor. He threw him into the ring post and then stomped on him a number of times. Back in the ring, he hit his splash off the ropes for two. Sheamus made his comeback. I really like his shoulderblock that he does here he comes slingshots himself over the top rope while he’s on the apron. Swagger attacked again, working him over until he had him in the ankle lock at the five minute mark. Sheamus countered with a roll through. Swagger charged with a dive at the ankle, Sheamus moved out of the way and hit the Brogue Kick at 5:05.
Winner: Sheamus

Analysis: *1/4 Too short to be anything more than that. Swagger got a decent amount of offense, but nobody believed he could win. They are grooming Sheamus to be the number one contender for the World Title I think.

Backstage, Josh Mathews interviewed Big Show. He said that ever since he’s been back Mark Henry has been unable to beat him. Show says tonight he gets the luxury of using Chairs as a weapon. He said that his nine-year drought as World Champion is over tonight. Nice promo from Show. Good intensity. I don’t think he even slobbered, so that’s something for him.

The Chairs Match is next. They don’t even get a video package for it.

Big Show comes out first. He’s got a multi-colored singlet in the colors of the army. Mark Henry was out next. “Look at the width. The girth!” – Lawler talking about Henry. I swear that’s what he was talking about. Keep in mind that Mark Henry has been on TV for the last 15 years. We’re supposed to think he is a fresh talent I guess. The Smackdown announcer Lillian Garcia did the intros while both guys were in the ring. There were chairs all around the ring. You had to win via pinfall or submission.

Chairs Match for the World Heavyweight Title: Mark Henry vs. Big Show
Immediately after the bell rang, Big Show went to the floor and tossed in about a dozen steel chairs in the ring. When Show went back in the ring, Mark Henry left saying the match isn’t happening. Show attacked him with chair shots to the back. They better be sure to make those chair shots in the back rather than the head, because those are banned. Henry rammed Show’s hand into the steel steps. They went into the ring for a dueling chair spot. Henry ended up overpowering him with a chair as he welcomed Show to the Hall of Pain. That’s so nice of him. Show was selling the hand heavy after Henry stomped on it while he had a chair on top of it. The crowd is pretty quiet because it’s a slow, plodding match with chair spots. Henry went for a chair shot, Show avoided it and punched Henry in the face with the KNOCK THE FUCK OUT~! punch. He covers and he wins the match. What? That’s it? Match went 5:30.
Winner: Big Show – New World Champion

Analysis: 1/2* I didn’t expect the match to end so quickly or for Big Show to win. I also thought Henry would have a longer title reign.

After the match, Mark Henry attacked Big Show. He gave him a DDT on a number of steel chairs that he had stacked up.

World Heavyweight Title: Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan

Cue Daniel Bryan’s music! He walks out, cashes in the briefcase, ref Scott Armstrong rings the bell and Bryan covers Big Show to win the World Title! Big Show never got up. I always thought that the champion had to get to his feet, or at least close to it for a challenge to happen, but so far it looks like it counts. Official time was 0:07.
Winner and NEW World Champion – Daniel Bryan

Bryan went on to celebrate on the announce table and then with the fans in the first few rows in the crowd. Big Show looked angry as Cole said you had to feel sorry for Big Show for losing the title so quickly after waiting nine years to hold the World Title.

Analysis: I loved this! I sure as hell didn’t expect it on this show and at that moment, but I’m glad it happened. As for the Daniel Bryan thing, Cole did a good job of calling Bryan a hypocrite because he said he’d cash in at WrestleMania. He also put over how Big Show was always supportive of Daniel Bryan in the past. I actually thought they would wait until WrestleMania. Guess not. I’m legitimately happy for the guy. That was pretty awesome.

Backstage, Booker T. talked to Josh Mathews saying he didn’t ask for the fight with Cody, but he was damn sure going to finish it.

Cody Rhodes made his entrance first. Booker came out next in his gear, just like earlier in the night. This time the match is a go.

Intercontinental Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Booker T
They came out working aggressively from the start. Booker was selling injuries from the earlier attacks. I’m expecting Cody to win here. Now Lawler says Booker is in the best shape of his life. I understand WHY they say that because they’re putting over the current match/product, but it’s ridiculous to say that because in real sports an announcer would never say that. The guy is in his mid 40s. He does look to be in great shape, but it’s not like he’s in the prime of his career. Back to the match, four minutes in they did a double clothesline for a double KO spot at the four minute mark. Booker ended up winning the fight when they got back to their feet. It’s Spinarooni time. I’m having flashbacks of the JR-a-roonie from Monday. By flashbacks I mean nightmares. Booker was fatigued after the Spinaroonie because he was selling injuries. He missed the Axe Kick. Cody jumped off the ropes, hit the Beautiful Disaster kick for a nice two count. Booker’s doing a great job of selling injuries. Cody hit another Beautiful Disaster kick to the head for the win at 9:16.
Winner: Cody Rhodes

Analysis: *1/2 Exactly what I expected. As I said Booker did a good job of selling the injuries from the attack earlier. Cody capitalized on the mistakes to win in a clean manner. I’d expect the feud to be over now with Booker wrestling only on a part time basis going forward. I miss him on commentary anyway. He’s become a guilty pleasure for me. Oh my goodness!

A commercial aired for the new Stone Cold DVD. I have it. I love it. Go get it.

On another note, I just received word that Kim Jong Il died. I remember Osama Bin Laden died on the night that Christian won the World Title at Extreme Rules. Now Kim Jong Il as DBry won the World Title. Who is booking the deaths of these evil men?

They showed an earlier tonight feature with Zack Ryder’s US Title win. Then they replayed Big Show’s World Title win followed by Daniel Bryan’s World Title win. It’s 10:21pmET as they go into the replays so I guess there’s time before the main event.

It’s main event time. It’s TLC rules, so whoever grabs the WWE Title hanging above the ring is the new WWE Champion. Rodriguez introduces Del Rio. Rodriguez still has a stained shirt. Way to sell it. Del Rio doesn’t come out in a car. Maybe he’s getting depushed after this, so they don’t want to rent expensive cars every time he wrestles? I’m just guessing. The Miz is out next to decent heat. It’s Clobbering Time as CM Punk is out last. Justin Roberts did the intros while they were coming down the aisle so it wasn’t done in ring like I prefer for major title matches.

Let me take a moment to ask how cool is it that CM Punk & Daniel Bryan are WWE & World Champions at this moment? Very cool. I’ve followed both of those guys careers prior to WWE and especially in ROH. It’s great knowing that they are holding the big gold right now.

TLC Match for the WWE Title: CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio
The heels double-teamed Punk to start, but he fought them both off. There was a “we want ice cream” chant. That was fun. Del Rio went to attack Punk with a ladder, but he countered it and Del Rio went crashing with the ladder in his face. Miz worked on Punk in the ring, using the chair as a weapon. Punk hit the high knee, but Miz countered the bulldog with a back suplex through the seated chair. I missed two minutes because my buddy called to chat about Kim Jong Il’s passing. When I came back, Punk was attacking Miz on the floor. Miz was seated on the barricade, Punk charged in and hit a running knee to the face to send Miz into the crowd. Punk grabbed the ladder. He tried to climb the ladder, but Ricardo grabbed him. He ended up using handcuffs to cuff Punk to the side of the ladder. Del Rio came back to attack Punk. He went to climb, but Punk fought it off, broke the ladder and freed himself from the handcuffs. Smart guy. Miz attacked Punk to put him down. Punk recovered to prevent Miz from grabbing the briefcase as we hit the nine minute mark.

There was a big spot with Miz & Punk fighting on the turnbuckle. Del Rio attacked both of them. Miz fell to the floor. Punk fell through a table that was outside the ring. Out on the floor, Del Rio put Miz in the Cross Armbreaker while using a ladder to add pain to the hold just like he did to Punk on Raw. Meanwhile, Punk was still out while on the table. Del Rio used a chair to apply the Cross Armbreaker on Punk’s arm. So now Del Rio has taken out both guys. A ladder was all set up for him. He took his sweet time to set it up in a spot that wasn’t directly under the ladder. I guess he’s setting up for a spot…yep. Miz & Punk each grabbed the bottom of the ladder as Del Rio went crashing on the top turnbuckle groin first. Ouch. You know you’ve seen too many ladder matches when you can predict crash & burn spots during the match. Miz & Punk did a double clothesline spot so all three guys were out at the 14 minute mark.

With all three guys knocked out, Ricardo Rodriguez climbed the ladder. Miz & Punk recovered again to push the ladder backwards and Ricardo went crashing through two tables on the other side of the ring. That was a huge bump. In case you don’t know, Ricardo wrestlers in WWE’s developmental territory called Florida Championship Wrestling. It was back to Miz & Punk. Punk went for a shoulder tackle, Miz had a pair of handcuffs and he cuffed Punk to the middle turnbuckle cable. Miz was standing up, taunting Punk. He pointed to the briefcase. Punk hit him in the back of the head with one of his straight kicks. Punk tried to free himself from the handcuffs. As he did that, Miz & Del Rio each had a ladder that they climbed up. Punk ended up unscrewing the metal bar that conned from the ring post to the turnbuckle. Punk kicked Del Rio off the ladder. Then he gave Miz the GTS The crowd was going wild. Punk climbed quickly back up and won the match at the 18:22 mark.
Winner: CM Punk

Analysis: ***3/4 A very good, well-built match featuring three guys that know what they are doing. It was given a good amount of time, but it lacked enough legit ladder climbs to make it a truly special match. Don’t get me wrong though, it was still a very good match. I liked the spots they set up, even using Ricardo to take the biggest bump of the night. They told a good story of CM Punk overcoming the odds to win the match in an impressive fashion. He came back from going through a table and being handcuffed twice to show the perseverance you want to see in a babyface champion. I expected Punk to win. It was the right move for Punk to win.

They replayed the finish to the match as Cole said Ryder is the US Champion, Bryan is the World Champion and Punk is still the WWE Champion. I’m pretty sure the internet is having a collective joygasm right now. It was a night of the babyfaces.

This event had a runtime of 2:45:13 on WWE Network.

Final Thoughts

I give the PPV a 6 out of 10.

The show featured a couple of good, fast paced matches in the first three and then things really slowed down until the main event, which was excellent. That’s what made it a slightly above average PPV.

I’m most shocked by Daniel Bryan winning the World Title. Mark Henry suffering a groin injury is likely why they made the call to put the title onto Big Show and then onto Bryan, to set up a potential feud between those two. While I’m a little upset because it takes away the WrestleMania cash-in for Bryan, I’m still happy for the guy.

Did anybody miss John Cena? I didn’t. It’s not like I hate the guy, but the show was fine without him. It reminds me of the days of the exclusive brand PPVs, which I was a fan of. You need to give others the chance to shine once in a while. That’s what this show was about too.

I’ll remember TLC as the night of the babyfaces. Aside from heel champions like Cody Rhodes & Beth Phoenix retaining their titles, it was all about the good guys going over strong on this night. I got a tweet from tonight saying that the average age of the four major champions (WWE, World, IC, US) is 28 years old. That’s pretty young for WWE. It’s also a great sign of things to come in 2012.

After this PPV, a photo of the champions in WWE was posted to show that it was a young group of likable talent holding the titles at this point.

Five Stars of the Night
1. Daniel Bryan – Marked out for that. Congrats.
2. CM Punk – Another awesome main event performance.
3. Zack Ryder – I’m genuinely happy for him.
4. Dolph Ziggler – Made Ryder look great. Ready for his push.
5. Cody Rhodes – Continues to impress me. He’s such an awesome IC champ right now.

That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com