At the WWE SmackDown television taping in Indianapolis on Tuesday night, a new title match was made official for the WWE TLC pay-per-view in Boston.
Recent WWE World Title Tournament finalist Dean Ambrose managed to defeated Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler in a triple-threat match to become the new number one contender to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, earning himself a shot at Kevin Owens at the upcoming TLC event.
With that now known, below is a look at the updated WWE TLC lineup, including some rumored matches that are expected for the show.
TLC Match For WWE World Heavyweight Title
– Sheamus (c) vs. Roman Reigns
WWE Intercontinental Title
– Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Other matches that appear likely include Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger in a chairs match, The New Day vs. The Usos vs. The Lucha Dragons and The Wyatt Family vs. The Dudley Boyz in a tables match.
On Monday’s post-Survivor Series edition of WWE RAW in Nashville, Tennessee, the main event for the WWE TLC pay-per-view in December was officially announced.
During the opening segment, Roman Reigns confronted Sheamus and said he wanted his rematch at RAW. Triple H would deny him that opportunity, instead watching on as Rusev attacked Reigns from behind and Sheamus hit him with another Brogue Kick to add insult to injury for the second night in a row.
After Reigns was attacked, Triple H told him that he would get his WWE World Heavyweight Championship rematch against Sheamus in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at the WWE TLC pay-per-view.
WWE TLC is scheduled to air live on Sunday, December 13, 2015 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
– In the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, WWE had discussed Sasha Banks taking on Natalya at the pay-per-view. With less than 48 hours to go, it looks that match has been scrapped. WWE has yet to announce a match for the pre-show (or the participants for the 5-on-5 match), so there’s still hope for Sasha vs. Natalya could always be a last-minute addition.
– WWE is planning to hold Money in the Bank 2016 from Las Vegas at the new Las Vegas Arena, according to Prowrestling.net. The show typically takes place in June.
– Thursday’s SmackDown drew a 1.64 cable rating with 2.229 million viewers, up slightly from the previous week. The main event saw Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens.
– Roman Reigns is featured prominently on the artwork for December’s Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view. The show takes place on December 13th at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Roman Reigns was booked to defeat Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series prior to Rollins’ injury this week, according to a source on WWE’s creative team.
While we are still more than 10 days away from the event and plans still could have changed, Rollins was going to drop the title to Reigns this month. A rematch was already planned for December’s TLC pay-per-view and Rollins was going to be in the WWE Championship picture through WrestleMania 32. Obviously, all those plans are out the window now that Rollins will require extensive knee surgery that will keep him out of action until mid-2016.
Rollins is currently scheduled to fly home today from the UK and will be undergoing surgery in the next few days.
Stay tuned to SEScoops.com this weekend, as we will keep you posted as additional information related to this story becomes available.
As noted, John Cena is currently on hiatus from WWE. He is advertised to return at the December 26th WWE live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and will be working the annual post-Christmas tour.
According to F4WOnline.com, plans as of this week call for Cena to return at the December 13th WWE TLC pay-per-view from his hometown of Boston. The idea is to have Cena return and face Alberto Del Rio for the WWE United States Championship in a rematch from Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
While plans could always change, that is what WWE has in store for Cena’s return as of this week. We will keep you posted if any additional information becomes available.
As noted, WWE filed a lawsuit in the state of California to prevent the selling of undisclosed merchandise in the area during WrestleMania 31 week. In the paperwork that was filed, WWE’s entire pay-per-view schedule through March of 2016 — including the total amount of seats available for those events — were released.
Below is a list of pay-per-view dates, locations and seating capacity:
The listed capacities for the PPV shows for the next year are as follows:
– Extreme Rules in Chicago (12,921)
– Payback on 5/15 in Baltimore (11,389)
– Money in the Bank 6/14 in Columbus, OH (13,275)
– Battleground 7/19 in St. Louis 14,569)
– SummerSlam on 8/23 in Brooklyn (13,438)
– Night of Champions on 9/20 in Houston (11,580)
– Hell in a Cell on 10/25 in Los Angles (14,240)
– Survivor Series on 11/22 in Atlanta (14,349)
– TLC on 12/13 in Boston (13,837)
– Royal Rumble on 1/24 in Orlando (13,000)
– Fastlane on 2/21 in St. Louis (14,569)
Additionally, the go-home Raw for WrestleMania next year will be on 3/28 in Washington, DC. The schedule also lists NXT specials on 5/20, 8/12 and 11/7.
WWE pay-per-view events generated $3.9 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2014, down from $15.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, $13.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2012 and $14.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in October drew 83,000 buys, which was down from the 228,000 buys for the show in 2013, 199,000 buys in 2012, 182,000 buys in 2011, 210,000 buys in 2010 and 283,000 buys in 2009.
The WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view in November drew 100,000 buys, which was down from the 177,000 buys in 2013, 208,000 buys in 2012, 281,000 buys in 2011, 244,000 buys in 2010 and 235,000 buys in 2009.
The WWE TLC pay-per-view in December drew 39,000 buys, which was down from the 181,000 buys in 2013, 175,000 buys in 2012, 179,000 buys in 2011, 195,000 buys in 2010 and 228,000 buys in 2009.
– For those who enjoy interesting trivia facts, it’s been pointed out recently that country music band Florida Georgia Line has made more WWE television appearances than Brock Lesnar since the Night Of Champions pay-per-view. Florida Georgia Line appeared at Night Of Champions, TLC and Tribute to the Troops while Lesnar has only appeared at Night Of Champions and last week’s RAW.
– Unless the January 1st edition of NXT on the WWE Network turns out to be a 2014 “Year-In-Review” type of show, Shoot Nation leader Chad Gable is scheduled to make his NXT in-ring debut, working against Tyler Breeze on the show.
– WWE writer Ryan Ward was said to be the key person behind the creative for the recent NXT Takeover: R Evolution event. The process saw Ward write the show and then Triple H reviewed it and had the final say in terms of approving it.
– This past Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view in Cleveland, Ohio drew approximately 14,000 fans, a near sellout for the Quicken Loans Arena.
The Monday, December 15th, post-TLC edition of WWE RAW on the USA Network scored a final cable rating of 2.66, according to Nielsen Media Research. By comparison, the show drew the same rating as the TLC “go-home” and Slammy Awards themed show the previous week, as that show as well delivered a 2.66 final number.
As noted on Tuesday, this week’s RAW averaged 3.521 million viewers, which was down from the average of 3.70 million viewers that the show drew the previous week.
Dolph Ziggler was the featured guest on this week’s sit-down interview with Michael Cole.
Ziggler spoke about his momentum building since Survivor Series, winning the Intercontinental Championship in his hometown of Cleveland at TLC and finally beating Seth Rollins on this week’s live edition of SmackDown.
Additionally, Ziggler talked about fighting for years to become “the man.” He says he’s got a big chip on his shoulder and he’s on the right track to becoming “the man.” He promised it will eventually happen.
– On the post-TLC edition of WWE RAW from Detroit, Michigan, it was announced that WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan will be at next week’s RAW.
– As noted earlier today, Luke Harper received several staples in his head after his brutal ladder match with Dolph Ziggler at Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view. Below is a video from the official WWE YouTube channel that shows Harper receiving medical attention.
During the post-TLC edition of WWE RAW, a “MizTV” segment was announced for this week’s WWE Main Event.
A backstage segment took place on RAW where The Miz (and Damien Mizdow) approached Naomi. After talking about her career for a while, Miz finally invited her to a special “MizTV” segment on Main Event.
WWE Main Event takes place on Tuesday night on the WWE Network at 8pm EST. Make sure to check back here on the website for complete results of the show.
On Monday’s post-TLC edition of WWE RAW a match was announced for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event. In singles action it will be “Big Red” Erick Rowan against “The Big Red Machine” Kane.
WWE Main Event takes place on Tuesday night on the WWE Network at 8pm EST. Make sure to check back here on the website for complete results of the show.
During the post-TLC edition of WWE RAW, a couple of announcements were made regarding this coming Tuesday night’s live edition of WWE SmackDown.
First, a graphic was shown of Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. The announcers hyped up the fact that both men will be under the same roof following their “TLC Match” at Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view.
Later on during RAW another graphic was shown, this time of Roman Reigns. It was announced that Roman Reigns “returns to action” on this week’s SmackDown.
Make sure to visit us here on Tuesday night for live results coverage of the live edition of WWE SmackDown.
– WWE has announced a Chris Jericho “Highlight Reel” segment with Rusev and Lana for tonight’s post-TLC edition of WWE RAW.
– Bad News Barrett was at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida today working out. He wrote the following about it on his official Instagram account: “Lacing ’em up for the first time in six months at the @WWE Performance Center. #BNB #Owwww”
There was talk at one point of adding Brie Bella to the WWE Divas Championship match between Nikki Bella and AJ Lee at the WWE TLC pay-per-view. Obviously that never happened, however it is one of many signs that WWE officials have been going back and forth on what to do with the Bella Twins.
Additionally, it’s said that WWE considered having AJ defeat Nikki for the title at TLC, although that obviously didn’t happen either.
The following are highlights from the latest blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On the Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper match: “Thought the first match featuring Ziggler vs. Harper for the IC Title in a Ladder match was a great start and arguably the best match on the show. They were lucky to get the live audience fresh and they did not have to follow several other specialty matches. These two needed medical attention after their match which should come as no surprise. Harper got five staples in his head while Ziggler got a cut glued shut. I actually had a cut glued shut after being schooled by HHH in Madison Square Garden many years ago. It beats the heck out of stitches ”
On the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins match: “Liked the position on the card for Cena vs. Rollins and the Reigns involvement was timely. It’s smart to have a long window to promote Cena vs. Lesnar for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble in January which should stimulate January subscribers for the Network. Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury certainly earned their keep in this match in their role of J&J Security. I’ll say this, John Cena is beastly strong.”
On Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt: “Happy that young talents Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt closed the show for multiple reasons that all essentially come down to perception. These two beat the Hell out of each other, without question, and both took another step forward to becoming main event talents. I applaud their work ethic and willingness to put their bodies at such risk. Going on last after everything that was done in the ring earlier makes it tremendously challenging and I don’t know how Ambrose and Wyatt could have done any more.”
On TLC compared to NXT Takeover: R Evolution: “As much as I enjoyed many aspects of the TLC show, it wasn’t quite as good, merely in my opinion, as the overall @WWENXT show, from start to finish, that I watched Thursday night from Orlando.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– Finn Balor’s new NXT theme song is doing big business on iTunes, as it recently landed on the Top 10 Rock chart.
– After winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view, Dolph Ziggler posted the following tweet, pointing out his intentions on making the title mean more.
– It’s been reported in the past that when The Rock returns to WWE, his main writer is Brian Gewirtz. The Rock noted on Instagram this weekend that Gewirtz is also the head writer for his $7 Bucks Production team.
– WWE has added the complete TLC “Kickoff Show” to their official YouTube channel. You can watch the full show below.
– Below is the official promo for the next season of WWE Total Divas, which returns in January of 2015. As noted, Naomi and Summer Rae will not be included in the next season of the show.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin posted the following tweet after last night’s WWE TLC pay-per-view, praising the Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper ladder match.
The WWE Network aired a brief TLC “Fallout” post-show after last night’s pay-per-view. The show opened with the panel, which featured Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley and Paul Heyman. Heyman spoke about John Cena winning his “Tables Match” tonight, which earned him the right to face WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Heyman praised Cena, saying he’s the best — besides Lesnar.
Dean Ambrose was shown in the ring recovering from the television monitor exploding on him. Ambrose destroyed what was left of the monitor.
On commentary, Michael Cole promoted the Cena vs. Lesnar match and pointed out that it will be the final meeting between the two.
Here is an injury report from Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view, courtesy of the WWE website:
– Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper were treated for wounds following their Intercontinental Title Ladder Match. Harper received five staples to the side of his head and Ziggler had a laceration on his head as well, which was treated with skin glue and bandages.
– AJ Lee was tended to by trainers after TLC due to a “scary incident” in which Nikki Bella blinded her with the hairspray in their match.
WWE’s Dr. Stephen Daquino told WWE.com that AJ suffered “chemical conjunctivitis” but they were able to flush her eyes with saline. Dr. Daquino said that the quick treatment helped prevent any long-term damage to AJ’s vision.
Roman Reigns made his return at the WWE TLC pay-per-view in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday night. Reigns came out when Big Show tried to interfere during the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins “Tables Match.” Reigns hit a Superman punch on Big Show before spearing him through a table. He then hit a Superman punch on Rollins, setting him up for an Attitude Adjustment from Cena through a table for the win.
With the win, Cena is confirmed as the number one contender and will be the next challenger to WWE World Heavyweight Champion — Brock Lesnar.
As noted earlier tonight, it was confirmed during the WWE TLC “Kickoff Show” that Lesnar will be in action at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, January 25, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Later in the show, Roman Reigns announced that he is the first official participant in the 2015 Royal Rumble.