WWE will wrap up a year that began with such potential and is ending with disappointment with its TLC pay-per-view on December 14. The sixth instalment of this PPV will include matches with each of the signature gimmicks the event traditionally boasts: a chairs match, a ladder match, a tables match and a TLC contest that incorporates all three weapons. Those with a decent sense of history know that TLC matches go back several years further than the PPV does. The TLC match between Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt will actually be the 16th (or 17th, depending on your point of view) such match in WWE. The first several tables, ladders & chairs matches defined several wrestlers careers and raised the bar in terms of performance, risk-taking and overall workmanship. The TLC match itself has become one of WWEs signature gimmick matches, right up there with Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber and Money in the Bank. However, unlike many of these other specialty matches, TLC matches are not limited to PPV, even with a specific event named after and dedicated to the gimmick. So as TLC 2014 rapidly approaches, lets look back at the previous events and earlier TLC matches and break them down. Some of the stats might surprise even longtime WWE fans.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.
