WWE TLC Kickoff Show

The Kickoff Show for the final WWE pay-per-view of 2014 opens with Renee Young welcoming us to the show. The expert panel consists of Young, Booker T, Alex Riley and Paul Heyman. Young introduces the other three members of the panel.

The foursome talk about what’s in store for tonight, focusing early on about how dangerous TLC matches can be. Booker T goes into detail when describing how physically dangerous these matches can be. From there, we finally get into specific breakdowns, with the panel talking about the individual matches scheduled for tonight.

We go to Tom Phillips in the social media lounge. He talks about how Dolph Ziggler will be live-tweeting tonight. Tweet “#AskZiggler” to possibly have your questions addressed by “The Show Off” during tonight’s show.

Backstage: The Miz, Damien Mizdow & Naomi

Backstage, The Miz and Damien Mizdow are with Naomi. Miz is upset that Naomi isn’t showing appreciation for him setting her up with a big name producer. Naomi says she’s gonna make it with or without Miz’s help. Miz says he understands what’s going on. He knows he’s talking to her husband right now, not her. Miz tells Naomi he’s the type of person who helps people when he’s in a good mood and what will put him in a good mood tonight is becoming a WWE Tag-Team Champion. He says if he wins tonight, Naomi wins tonight, too, because all doors will open for her. He and Mizdow leave. By the way, Mizdow was doing the lip-synching thing the entire time Miz was talking.

Social Media Lounge: Tom Phillips & Dolph Ziggler

We shoot back to the social media lounge where Tom Phillips is with Dolph Ziggler. Phillips fields questions from Twitter via the “#AskZiggler” hash-tag. Ziggler answers them in half-character style. There’s questions about Sting, tonight’s PPV and a bunch of other random questions to kill time in this hour-long “Kickoff Show.”

The New Day vs. Goldust & Stardust

After a quick WWE 2K15 commercial, we shoot to ringside where Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL get ready to call the pre-show match.

With that said, The New Day’s music hits and out comes Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E. After that, Goldust and Stardust’s music hits and out they come. We’re moments away from our first match of the evening.

The bell rings and here we go. Stardust, by the way, is painted in his usual gold and black, but also green. Representing The New Day in this one is Kofi Kingston and Big E.

Goldust and Kingston start things off for their respective teams. Early on, Goldust gets the physical advantage, out-powering Kingston. We see Woods on the outside trying to get fans to chant “New Day.” Kingston finally establishes control over Goldust and then he tags in Big E. The two hit some double-team moves on Goldust and then throw him out to the floor.

Back in the ring, Stardust gets tagged in. Big E. throws Stardust around like a rag-doll early on. Big E. blasts Stardust with a shoulder-block and tries to pin him. Stardust kicks out at two. Big E. tags Kingston back in. Big E. launches Stardust in the air, where Kingston catches him with a dropkick. Stardust rolls out to the floor. Kingston hits the ropes, runs across the ring and Big E. launches him over the top where he splashes onto Stardust on the floor.

The action settles in the ring with Stardust getting Big E. down to the mat. He stomps on him a bit and then tags in his big brother. Goldust picks up where Stardust left off, taking it to Big E. in the middle of the ring.

Out on the floor, Woods gets in Goldust’s face and we can very loudly hear on-camera Goldust shouting at Woods, “get the f*ck outta my face!” Back in the ring, the Dust Brothers utilize quick and consistent tags, keeping a fresh man on a beaten down Kofi Kingston.

Kingston finally makes the hot-tag to Big E. Big E. comes in like a bat out of hell, taking out Goldust and Stardust back-to-back with big clotheslines. Now he hits big belly-to-belly suplex-throws on both guys. He hits a big splash on Stardust in the middle of the ring. Goldust ends up distracting Big E., allowing Stardust to hit his big kick-finisher.

Stardust goes for the pin but Kingston breaks it up. Kingston blind-tags himself in. Big E. hoists Stardust up and he and Kingston hit their double-team finisher. Kingston scores the pin. 1-2-3. The New Day wins.

Winners: The New Day

The following are the latest odds for tonight’s WWE TLC pay-per-view. These lines are from Sunday evening, although it’s worth noting that the late “smart money” has yet to come in.

Ryback -900
Kane +500

A.J. Lee +200
Nikki Bella -300

Erick Rowan -150
Big Show +138

Miz & Mizdow -350
Usos +225

John Cena -600
Seth Rollins +350

Dolph Ziggler -150
Luke Harper +110

Dean Ambrose -150
Bray Wyatt +110

Rusev -1800
Jack Swagger +700

As previously reported, there’s a strong belief that Randy Orton will make his return at the WWE TLC pay-per-view, which takes place tonight in Cleveland, Ohio.

While it’s by no means confirmed, there’s speculation that Orton returns to interfere in the main event “Tables Match” between John Cena and Seth Rollins, likely completing his babyface turn by making the save for Cena.

Although that is one scenario, there are reports that claim Orton’s first program back will be against Kane as a babyface, so there’s a chance that he won’t be returning in the Cena-Rollins match.

Additionally, there’s talk that Roman Reigns could return in the Cena-Rollins match, under the same circumstances — making the save for Cena and setting up a program with Rollins coming out of the show.

Make sure to visit the website tonight for the best WWE TLC live play-by-play results coverage on the web.

Dolph Ziggler posted the following extended tweet regarding his WWE Intercontinental Championship ladder match with Luke Harper at tonight’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

“Here I am… again! another chance to set the measuring stick in this business. I don’t strive to have great matches, I strive to be the best, EVER! If that angers you, you’re one of those “stand up for yourself, but don’t ruffle any feathers” types…get in line. This ladder match will raise the bar in what’s great & what’s legendary. If it doesn’t, I failed. guess there’s a 1st time for everything. Harper has a chance to be part of history and a rebirth of intercontinental prestige. Has he earned it? Maybe more than I have. this match is special bc of what it could mean for those not in the gold circle & if done right, can not be followed. but let’s be honest, That is how I do it, every damn night. Here I am…again”

Make sure to join us here tonight for live WWE TLC play-by-play results coverage.

The following is the final lineup for tonight’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

Tables Match (#1 Contendership On The Line)
– John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

TLC Match
– Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose

WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
– Luke Harper (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE Tag-Team Championship
– The Miz & Damien Mizdow (c) vs. The Usos

WWE United States Championship
– Rusev (c) vs. Jack Swagger

WWE Divas Championship
– Nikki Bella (c) vs. AJ Lee

Chairs Match
– Ryback vs. Kane

Stairs Match
– Big Show vs. Erick Rowan

WWE TLC Kickoff Show
– A New Day vs. Goldust & Stardust

Make sure to join us here tonight for live WWE TLC play-by-play results coverage.

• BACKSTAGE NEWS: Main WWE Roster Concerned Over Being Out-Done By NXT Roster …

The following are highlights of the latest blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

On Mike Tenay and TNA rumors: “Read online where I allegedly called and talked to Impact Wrestling officials attempting to get my friend Mike Tenay as my broadcast partner for Wrestle Kingdom 9. What was reported on the internet was leaked, and not by me, and largely erroneous. I texted TNA saying that it would be great exposure for the voice of their brand and that we could talk about Impact’s launch to a new network coming up later that week. Obviously, I would have treated Mike with the utmost respect but TNA brass declined the invite. That’s the truth of the matter. It’s a dead issue and no hard feelings but I can’t see the downside of Mike Tenay and I broadcasting the NJPW PPV as it relates to Impact Wrestling specifically as it relates to me. Nonetheless it’s not happening and Global Force Wrestling moves on to the next candidate of which there are some good ones.”

On the WWE TLC pay-per-view main event: “I hope that Ambrose vs. Wyatt closes the show in their TLC Main Event as I feel it sends a positive message to the locker room, the fan base and all involved. I do expect some viable surprises during the show which should build momentum for January’s new subscribers or renewals especially with the Royal Rumble included for, yes, you’ve got it, $9.99.”

On who his broadcast partner will be for Wrestle Kingdom 9: “Still no word on who will work with me broadcasting the Wrestle Kingdom 9 PPV from Tokyo on January 4 but I’m told that we are getting closer. This is an epic assignment as the event is four hours long, is a helluva flight from Oklahoma to Tokyo, and it features many talents that I’ve never seen wrestle in person but have spends hours watching their matches and reading about them. This assignment will be one of the more challenging that I’ve ever had in my career but I couldn’t be more excited. I love the challenge of delivering the goods and overcoming language issues, long travel and working with an all new TV crew who mostly does not understand English from what I’m told.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

There is said to be a lot of motivation backstage within WWE’s main roster after this past Thursday night’s NXT Takeover: R Evolution event.

Various WWE Superstars are determined to not be “blown away” by the younger NXT stars, with everybody competing for limited spots on the main roster.

As a result, there’s a general feeling that Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view will likely be better than it originally would have due to the success of the NXT special.

• Nate Diaz On UFC Signing CM Punk: “He’s A Joke, F*ck Him — Makes Us All Look Like Amateurs”

(Credit: F4WOnline.com)

– The latest edition of WWE Top 10, which you can watch below, features the ten “most insane TLC match moments.”

– Below is the official synopsis for next week’s edition of the “Monday Night War” documentary series, which airs on the WWE Network after the post-TLC edition of RAW on Monday night.

“A controversial group of superstars set out to better sports entertainment and would rely on one another to do so.”

This Sunday, WWE presents the final pay-per-view event of 2014, Tables, Ladders & Chairs. After the stellar show that the NXT crew put on this past Thursday at TakeOver: R Evolution, the WWE crew certainly has their work cut out for them.

Here’s the final card for WWE TLC 2014:

Tables Match
If Cena loses, he is no longer the #1 contender
– John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

TLC Match
– Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose

WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
– Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper (c)

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
– The Usos vs. Damien Sandow & The Miz (c)

WWE United States Championship Match
– Jack Swagger vs. Rusev (c)

WWE Divas Title Championship
– AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella (c)

Chairs Match
– Kane vs. Ryback

Steel Stairs Match
– Erick Rowan vs. Big Show

WWE TLC PPV Kickoff Show Match
– Goldust & Stardust vs. A New Day

Join us here this Sunday night for Live Coverage of WWE TLC!

The following matches were taped this past Tuesday night for tonight’s TLC “go-home” edition of WWE SmackDown:

– Cesaro and Tyson Kidd vs. The Usos

– Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox

– Jack Swagger vs. Titus O’Neil

– Big E. vs. Goldust

– John Cena promo segment with Seth Rollins

For complete WWE SmackDown spoilers, click here.

– WWE has started shipping out re-printed copies of their new Sting DVD and Blu-ray to stores. It was reported a while back that the back-cover of the DVD mistakenly included a photo of the “fake Sting” (the “nWo Sting”), however the new copies that were sent out corrected the mistake and now features a photo of Sting and Bret Hart.

– It looks like Kofi Kingston and Big E. will be the two members of “A New Day” that will be facing Goldust and Stardust this Sunday at the WWE TLC event.

– As noted earlier, Randy Orton is expected — but not guaranteed — to return at this Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view. While some are under the impression that he will be working a program with Seth Rollins, others are of the belief that he will be working as a face, and that his first program will be with Kane.

– The commercial for next year’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which features the wrestlers on the couch in a psychiatrist’s office, was shot in Oklahoma City on December 2nd.

There’s a lot of speculation regarding Randy Orton interfering in the John Cena vs. Seth Rollins “Tables Match” at this Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

It’s considered pretty likely that Orton, who is scheduled to return in the very near future, would make the save for Cena during the finish of the match, setting up an Orton-Rollins program. There’s a chance, however, that he pulls a swerve and costs Cena the match instead, although that would keep him as a heel and the latest word going around is that he is scheduled for a babyface turn.

Either way, there’s a strong possibility that “The Viper” makes his return during this Sunday’s show.

The Monday, December 8th edition of WWE RAW scored a final cable rating of 2.66, which was actually down from the previous week’s show, which drew a 2.79.

Monday’s RAW, which was the Slammy Awards and TLC “go-home” edition of the show, averaged 3.70 million viewers, also down from the previous week, which averaged 3.883 million viewers.

The hourly breakdown for Monday’s RAW is as follows:

Hour One: 3.76 million viewers
Hour Two: 3.81 million viewers
Hour Three: 3.53 million viewers

– Word is that the voting for Monday’s WWE “Slammy Awards” was 100 percent legitimate. The WWE App apparently received a ton of traffic, but held up well throughout the voting.

– Below is the “All Access Pass” video for this Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t “Shockmaster” or “Gobbledy Gooker” level bad, but it was pretty damn bad.

Maybe the headline should read, “Worst Diva Debut In WWE Television History,” as now that I think about it, there’s been some stinkers throughout time to be calling this the worst in “history,” but good lord was it bad.

After a lot of anticipation, or as much as a “Diva’s debut” can actually garner, current NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte finally made her main roster television debut this week on the Slammy Awards, TLC “go-home” edition of RAW.

It was a colossal flop — and not the entertaining “Flair-flop” either. Just a plain, old flop.

When you take into consideration the many factors playing into this one, it really looks awful in hindsight. And while hindsight is 20/20, this — even on paper — would had to of looked just as bad.

WWE RAW emanated from Greensboro, North Carolina, otherwise known as “Flair Country.”

Charlotte is the NXT Women’s Champion. She wore her belt to the ring. She’s defending it this week on a live NXT special on the WWE Network — and she loses her debut match in just over two minutes.

After going out of her way not to be a Ric Flair clone, or to use the Flair name or style, WWE agents booked Charlotte to do two things offensively in her WWE television debut — a chop and a figure-four leg lock (attempt).

Sound familiar?

It was outright atrocious watching that match play out on television last night. They aired the big video package to introduce her, she’s hyped up as a super-athlete, she marches down to the ring wearing a championship belt, and then does basically nothing before being pinned — clean — 1-2-3, right in the middle of the ring.

What in god’s name was the point of that?

There’s an old saying in pro wrestling when something sucks. It goes something like this — “Who books this crap?”

Whoever booked that crap deserves to be unemployed today. If not that person, then whoever gave it the “okay” certainly does.

How in the world do you expect someone to get over in modern WWE when this is how people are introduced? Look at Adam Rose and Bo Dallas. Those were the latest two NXT call-ups that come to mind, that were given the “vignette” treatment, only to be used as second-rate, mid-card, filler-comedy characters from that point on.

Why bother in the first place if that’s all they’re going to be?

Every once in a while they’ll get it right. Usually when it’s an obvious one. The Wyatt Family — obvious. The Shield — obvious. Unfortunately, Charlotte seemed like an obvious one in terms of a Diva that could actually matter. Another Trish Stratus type, or something along those lines.

But nope. The writing is already on the wall.

Anyone who is introduced the way she was last night should not expect much in her future. It’s pretty clear that WWE is not going to capitalize on a superb athlete with a legendary bloodline.

She’ll join the rest of the nothing-happening Divas and if she’s extremely lucky — could get a small gig as one of the characters on “Total Divas.”

Yippee!!

NXT: Takeover R Evolution is this Thursday, December 11th, live on the WWE Network. If you want to see what Charlotte is really all about — check it out.

Until then, have fun discussing the horrible main roster debut of Charlotte in the “Comments” section below. You can also follow me on social media for more news and views at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR, and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.

Sports betting site 5Dimes.com has released the first betting odds for Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

– John Cena is a -900 favorite to beat Seth Rollins.

– Tag Team Champions The Miz & Damien Sandow are -600 favorites to beat The Usos.

– Dean Ambrose is a -145 favorite over Bray Wyatt.

– Erick Rowan is a -230 favorite over Big Show.

– IC Champion Luke Harper and Dolph Ziggler are currently even.

Betting odds for the new matches announced last night on RAW have not yet been released. We’ll post an update when it becomes available.

On Monday’s, WWE TLC “go-home,” Slammy Awards-themed edition of RAW, a special guest host was announced for next week.

In what will be the post-TLC pay-per-view edition of the show, WWE Superstar Chris Jericho will make his television return as the special guest host for the evening.

Also set for next week’s RAW, as reported previously, is the return of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

– It was announced during Monday’s WWE TLC “go-home,” Slammy Awards-themed edition of RAW that at this Sunday’s pay-per-view in tag-team action, A New Day will square off against Goldust and Stardust.

– Also on Monday’s RAW, the NXT Women’s Champion and Ric Flair’s daughter — Charlotte — made her WWE main roster television debut. Charlotte lost in a close effort against former WWE Divas Champion and Total Divas star, Natalya.

– WWE reportedly has big plans in mind for next week’s post-TLC edition of RAW. As noted, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is scheduled to return and the hype for WWE’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view is expected to officially begin.

– WWE added the following video to their official YouTube channel for the 2014 Slammy Award for “Hashtag of the Year.”

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger for the WWE United States Championship and Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee for the WWE Divas Championship are expected to be announced on tonight’s RAW for this coming Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

As noted, tonight’s RAW is the “Slammy Awards” themed edition of the show hosted by actor Seth Green, but is also the “go-home” edition of the show for Sunday’s pay-per-view.

– WWE will be airing a TLC special called “Demolition Derby: The Best of TLC” immediately after Monday night’s “Slammy Awards” edition of WWE RAW, which is also the TLC pay-per-view “go-home” show. The TLC special will air live on the WWE Network and will be hosted by WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley.

– Speaking of the WWE Network, the documentary series “WWE Rivalries” is set to return on Tuesday, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper rivalry. The official description for the show reads as follows:

“In the rivalry that launched WrestleMania, animosity between Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper would fuel the fire of their historic battles.”

As noted earlier this week, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was pulled from this coming Monday’s “Slammy Awards” themed edition of RAW and now instead have him booked for the post-TLC edition of RAW on December 15th.

WWE originally had Lesnar scheduled for the Slammy edition of RAW because they felt he was needed on the show due to the fact that he’ll be up for a bunch of awards. However, because Monday’s show is also the “go-home” show for the WWE TLC pay-per-view and Lesnar ended up not being booked on the show, WWE esentially didn’t feel the need to “waste” one of the few television dates they have with him, per his unique agreement with the company.

It appears the decision to make the changes regarding Lesnar’s scheduling was a last-minute decision.

Regarding Lesnar’s future, it appears as though the final television date on his current deal with WWE is the post-WrestleMania 31 edition of RAW in San Jose, California.

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(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

At Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings, it was announced that Intercontinental Champion Luke Harper will defend against Dolph Ziggler at TLC in a Ladder match. The match was announced by Santino Marella, who served as the guest General Manager for the show.

With that match set, here’s the updated card for WWE TLC 2014 on Sunday, December 14th:

TLC Match:
– Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

Tables Match:
– John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Chairs Match:
– Ryback vs. Kane

Ladder Match:
– IC Champion Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE Tag Team Titles Match:
– The Miz & Damien Mizdow (c) vs. The Usos

Steel Stairs Match:
– Erick Rowan vs. Big Show

During Monday’s “Cyber Monday” edition of WWE RAW, The Usos won the “Tag Team Turmoil” match, earning themselves the right at the next shot at the WWE Tag-Team Championships, which are currently owned by The Miz and Damien Mizdow.

With that now known, below is the updated lineup for WWE’s upcoming TLC pay-per-view.

Tables Match
#1 Contendership On The Line
– John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match
– Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose

WWE Tag Team Championship
– The Usos vs. Damien Sandow and The Miz

Chairs Match
– Kane vs. Ryback