10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About The TLC PPV

9. John Cena Was Left Off The Card For No Reason (TLC 2011)

John Cena was in something of a state of limbo toward the end of 2011. He had teamed with The Rock at Survivor Series and would face The Great One at WrestleMania in spring, but the Brahma Bull was gone for the time being so Big Match John needed a placeholder feud. The company turned to Kane, turning him heel and giving him his mask back. In December of 2011, Kane attacked Cena, then soon began demanding that The Champ "embrace the hate" (essentially asking him to turn heel). The Kane program only began about a week before TLC, though - Cena had spent the previous weeks earning a WWE Title shot, then giving it up for Zack Ryder (long story). The company decided not to rush the program with Kane, so Cena was completely left off the show - no match, no promo, no appearance. It was the first Pay-Per-View event since 2003's SummerSlam where Cena was healthy, but not featured in any way. With a triple threat WWE Title TLC match main event of CM Punk versus Alberto Del Rio versus The Miz, the show dropped 16,000 buys from 2010.