8 WrestleMania-Worthy Angles WWE Rushed At TLC
Has TLC become WWE's second biggest event next to WrestleMania?
Prior to this past year, WWE's TLC pay-per-view was an annual staple in the month of December, and as a result, it typically ended the year on a high note as well as laid the groundwork for what we would see during WrestleMania season in the months that followed.
Unfortunately, WWE isn't always known to book long-term, especially for anyone not named John Cena or Roman Reigns. That has led the company to making TLC a more newsworthy event than it needs to be by rushing certain storylines that were designed to culminate at WrestleMania, instead pulling the trigger ahead of schedule.
It may be awesome in the moment, especially for fans, but timing is everything in WWE. It is important not to wait too long at the risk of not striking while the iron is hot, but giving away WrestleMania-worthy moments on a B-level pay-per-view such as TLC devalues those desired "WrestleMania moments" ever so slightly. It cheapens the idea of WrestleMania being the be-all, end-all, but at least it means TLC has become more of a must-see show over the years thanks to these epic events transpiring earlier than expected.
This year's installment of TLC occurred in October as opposed to December, but there were still plenty of moments that would have been better off taking place on the grand stage of WrestleMania.
8. Bray Wyatt Scores A Major Pay-Per-View Victory (2014)
By the time Bray Wyatt's feud with Dean Ambrose rolled around, he already owned wins on pay-per-view against the likes of John Cena and Chris Jericho, but neither of them gave him the momentum boost he needed after a dismal first year. The program with Ambrose had the potential on paper to be great, but for whatever reason, they never truly clicked as opponents, whether it was on the mic or in the ring.
Coming off his various losses to Seth Rollins, Ambrose needed to beat Bray at TLC more than anything. Ultimately, it was Wyatt who emerged victorious after Ambrose electrocuted himself (which was such a stupid spot, by the way), all but confirming the rumors that he was going to be built up for a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31. The thing is, that big win he picked up at TLC should have been saved for when it meant more at 'Mania.
The idea behind their WrestleMania encounter was that Wyatt was bound to benefit huge from even sharing a ring with the iconic Undertaker, but it didn't exactly pan out that way. Instead, he was merely an afterthought in The Deadman's return to the ring and gained nothing, proving Ambrose would have been a better choice to come out on top at TLC 2014.