Tables Ladders and Chairs 2014: Breaking Stuff Is Fun

Tables Ladders and Chairs 2014
Date: December 14, 2014
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

We’re wrapping up the PPV schedule this year with Survivor Series Part II here, as most of the matches are just singles versions of matches from last month’s main event. The main event will either be Cena vs. Rollins in a tables match with Cena’s #1 contendership on the line or Wyatt vs. Ambrose in a TLC match with nothing on the line. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: New Day vs. Goldust/Stardust

Woods is on the floor as Goldust shoulders Kofi down to start. Kingston comes back with an armdrag into an armbar as the announcers are talking about Great Gazoo from the Flintstones. The discussion breaks down into a talk about jumping the shark. JBL: “That’s when you put something stupid to get people to stay with your show.” Cole: “Like MizTV.” Off to Big E. and Stardust as JBL lists off E.’s powerlifting records.

E. throws Stardust into the air for a dropkick from Kofi for two off a big crash. The Dusts head outside with Big E. launching Kofi onto both guys as New Day is in full control. Back in and the Dusts take over on Big E. in the corner as Lawler is back to the Great Gazoo thing as they debate which show he was on.

As the wrestling match in the background goes on, Kofi gets the hot tag and cleans house with dropkicks. The New Day Drop has Stardust in trouble but he sends Kofi’s shoulder into the post, followed by Goldust whipping him into the barricade. A double stomp in the corner has Kofi in even more trouble and Stardust busts out Colt Cabana’s Billy Goat’s Curse (reverse Boston crab).

Kingston flips out of a double belly to back suplex and dives over for the hot tag to Big E. Everything breaks down and Stardust nails Big E. for two and we get a plug for the Flinstones/WWE movie. The Midnight Hour (Big Ending/Top rope DDT) ends Stardust as 11:08.

Rating: C-. Nothing you wouldn’t see on Raw or Smackdown here as the announcers got on my nerves and the match was just ok. Big E and Kofi are a good team and that’s a solid finisher, but I’m not entirely sure where they go from here. It’s not too early for them to go after the tag belts is it?

The opening video is all about the violence and talks about how the weapons will be the most important things all night.

Intercontinental Title: Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler comes out in his Kent State jacket and is the huge hometown favorite as well as the challenger. An early superkick attempt sends Harper bailing to the floor but he quickly throws Ziggler into a ladder and then into the timekeeper’s area. Ziggler tries to make a fast save but eats a big boot for his efforts. Luke bridges the big ladder between the announcers’ table and ring but Ziggler escapes, only to charge into a spinning Boss Man Slam on the floor.

Back in and Ziggler is sent face first into the ladder, which falls down onto him in a big crash. Luke puts Ziggler behind a ladder in the corner but Ziggler slams it into his face. He heads up top and looks to drive the ladder down onto Harper but Luke dropkicks the ladder, sending Ziggler down to the floor. The champ throws the ladder at Ziggler and nails him in the face for another painful landing.

Ziggler slowly gets back up and picks up a ladder, so Harper tries a suicide dive and hits said ladder before crashing onto the ladder in a horrible looking crash. He’s still able to stop a climbing Ziggler though and sends him down onto the ropes. Ziggler escapes a powerbomb and dropkicks the champ onto the ladder to get a breather. The Fameasser is countered into a powerbomb onto a ladder bridged in the corner to make me cringe again. The cuts and bruises on Ziggler’s side are disturbing.

Harper puts a ladder onto Ziggler’s body and catapults both of them into the bottom rope. Ziggler is busted open and thankfully Harper starts climbing, only to have Dolph shove the doctor away and charge up to make a save with right hands. Both guys come crashing down but it’s Harper up first. His powerbomb is countered into a wicked faceplant into the ladder and Ziggler shouts DDT. He climbs up, Harper tries for a save, and Ziggler dives down with a DDT.

Luke does the ladder around the neck spot but eats a superkick to knock him down again. Another shot with the ladder sends Harper (bleeding from the arm) onto the bridged ladder outside. Harper somehow gets back in for a save though, sending Ziggler into the ropes. Back up and Dolph rides a ladder into Harper to crush him against the standing ladder but Harper makes another save. A kick to the face knocks Harper off the second ladder and Ziggler FINALLY wins the title at 16:39.

Rating: B. In probably the only time you’ll hear this comparison brought up with Ziggler and/or Harper, this was like Lelani Kai taking the Women’s Title from Wendi Richter in 1985. The idea was to give the heel a quick run so the hero(ine) could get a big win on the major stage. Ziggler wins in a feel good moment here, which just happened to come after a very hard hitting match. Good stuff here and a really solid match.

The announcers treat this like a career making win. I wouldn’t go that far.

We see Miz offering Naomi a deal on the pre-show: if he leaves as champion, she gets to be a star. Naomi says that her only goal is to be Divas Champion but she doesn’t seem sure.

Tag Team Titles: Miz/Damien Mizdow vs. Usos

Usos are challenging with Jimmy and Miz (also from Cleveland) trading near falls a few seconds in. Jimmy chases Miz around the ring as the fans want Mizdow. Back in and Jimmy tackles Miz down and hammers away as Miz was the one that made things personal. The brothers load Miz up for a double suplex so Mizdow does a handstand in the corner. A clothesline puts Miz on the floor and the Usos hit their big dive, only to have Miz take over back inside.

We hit the chinlock on Jey for a bit before he easily escapes and makes the hot tag off to Jimmy. Miz gets knocked down in the corner so Mizdow does exactly the same thing without being touched. Only Miz takes the running Umaga attack as Mizdow is smart enough to roll outside.

The distraction lets Miz get in a cheap shot to take over and everything breaks down. The Finale puts Jey down but Jimmy busts out Konnan’s Tequila Sunrise of all things but Miz makes the rope. That’s fine with Jimmy who loads up the Superfly Slash, sending the champs to the floor in retreat. Jimmy dives on Mizdow but eats a Slammy to the face for the DQ at 7:10.

Rating: C-. So after all those weeks and the only interesting thing in the feud, Naomi meant nothing whatsoever. That’s quite the boring way to end the match, which wasn’t all that great in the first place. At least the Usos didn’t win the belts back, which is an odd thing to say as I like the team. Just not as champions again this fast.

Rollins dedicates his win tonight to the Authority and promises to destroy Cena until John agrees to bring the Authority back.

We get a tale of the tape…..of the stairs. Seriously.

Big Show vs. Erick Rowan

This is a stairs match, which I guess means the stairs can be used. Rowan hammers away to start but they quickly head to the floor where Show easily slams him. So there’s no DQ and you can use the stairs. If there’s no DQ, why can’t you use everything else? Rowan is whipped into the stairs but comes back to ram them into Show’s face. That’s fine with Show as he bounces Rowan off the post and throws him back inside.

Show changes his mind and puts the steps on the announcers’ table. A big whip has Rowan in even more trouble so the fans tell Big Show that he sucks. Back in and Show crushes Rowan in the back with the stairs again before wedging them in the corner. A whip sends Rowan into said steps but he pops up and slams Show down onto another set.

Erick can’t crush him with another set and Rowan falls to the floor off the impact. Show spears Rowan into a pile of stairs as this just keeps going. Back in and Show chokeslams him onto the steps and hits the KO but doesn’t cover. Instead he pins Rowan with the stairs for the three count at 11:15.

Rating: D. Big Show won. Again. Because we can’t have Big Show lose like ever right? This was a waste of Rowan’s push and basically said that he’s in the second tier of giants. Show is 42 years old and winning matches on pay per view over a new and creative character because….I have no idea why. The match sucked too as it was just a bunch of spots that happened to have stairs involved.

We recap Cena vs. Rollins. This started at Night of Champions when Rollins saved Lesnar from Cena, setting up the events of Survivor Series, where Rollins got a pin after Big Show KO’d Cena. Tonight it’s a tables match and if Cena loses, he is no longer #1 contender and Rollins gains nothing.

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

I’m kind of shocked this is happening so early. Heyman is watching at ringside as Lesnar’s next title defense is announced for Royal Rumble. Cena starts fast and takes Rollins’ head off with a clothesline. The Stooges take the table away though, allowing Rollins to get in a cheap shot to take over. He lays the table over the top rope in the corner but the Stooges knock it away when Cena loads up a powerbomb. A quick triple teaming puts Cena down and Seth takes over again.

Cena is in trouble in the corner but Seth stops to pose a bit, soaking in a few LET’S GO ROLLINS chants in the process. The distraction lets Cena get in some of his usual to take over, drawing in the Stooges for another beatdown. They load up a TripleBomb through a table but Cena fights out and bails to the floor. He heads to the entrance and finds a piece of the barricade. Noble chases after him and takes a suplex on the barricade (JBL: “CALL NIDIA AND TELL HER HE’S HURT!”).

Cena swings a table but hits the post so he throws Mercury into the timekeeper’s area to make it one on one. Rollins whips Cena into the barricade and sets up a pair of tables on the floor. He can’t quite suplex Cena through them though and gets suplexed back into the ring. Both guys are down but it’s Rollins up first, only to be backdropped out to the floor. A Money in the Bank shot to the face drops Cena and Rollins loads up another table. He spends too much time mocking Cena though and gets caught in the AA, only to have the ref get bumped.

Rollins escapes anyway and kicks Cena onto the table. He heads up top, only to get AA’d through the table. No referee though so the Stooges come in to clean up the evidence. Cena fights out of another TripleBomb and AA’s both Stooges through a table at the same time. That’s always cool to see. Rollins comes back in but fights out of another AA attempt as both guys wind up on the apron. Both guys fall through the double tables at the same time at 18:30.

Multiple referees come out to say either guy won but no one can figure it out. We restart the match with Rollins sneding him to the floor for a big dive. Cena pops up and hits an AA onto the announcers’ table but it doesn’t break. Instead of just doing it again, Cena puts another table up in the corner as Big Show comes out. He clears some of the broken table out of the ring and beats up Cena with ease. The chokeslam is loaded up but Roman Reigns returns through the crowd and Superman Punches Show down. A spear drives him through a table and Rollins eats one as well, setting up the AA through the table for the win at 23:30 total.

Rating: B-. Well it wasn’t clean. Actually it was closer to filthy but I don’t think anyone expected any other ending. Reigns returning to set up his big showdown with Rollins is a good thing, but I’m not all that jazzed about Cena vs. Lesnar again, especially if it ends with Big Show interfering again. Seriously why can’t he just go away? Match was fun but a bit tiring.

Pre-show recap and expert panel preview.

The Bellas are ready for Nikki’s title defense. Brie shrugs off everything Nikki has done to her by saying blood is thicker than water.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella

Nikki is defending after her sister helped her take the title last month. The champ bails to the floor to start before AJ knocks her back outside. A cheap shot from Brie is enough to let Nikki take over back inside and the slow motion offense begins. She bends AJ’s back around the post in a painful looking move before cranking on both arms at once.

Off to a chinlock as the announcers debate if Brie is lurking or not. AJ reverses into a guillotine choke but Nikki drives her into the corner to break it up. A neckbreaker gets two for AJ and Nikki gets the same off a shot to the face. AJ pops back up with a Shining Wizard but Brie puts her sister’s foot on the ropes, earning her an ejection. The distraction lets Nikki spray something in AJ’s face, setting up the Rack Attack to retain at 7:28.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t horrible but Brie telling her sister to GET STRONG sounded so stupid. Like I’ve said for months, the Bellas just aren’t interesting characters. They’re portrayed as these girls that have worked so hard to get where they are but they come off like these stuck up girls that have no fire in them and who would be squashed like a bug by anyone other high level Diva ever.

Reigns says it feels great to be back and enters himself in the Rumble. Last year (this year actually) was nothing compared to what he’ll do this year (meaning next).

Kane vs. Ryback

Chairs match over who is the real monster. They duel with chairs to start until Kane gets in the first significant shot to take over. Ryback comes back with a hard clothesline and three middle rope splashes to put Kane down. Kane nails him with a few chair shots to the back and loads the chair up in the corner before ramming Ryback face first for two. A running DDT on the chair gets the same and Kane just unloads on Ryback with the chair.

That’s not enough for Kane though so he throws in a bunch of chairs so he can have his pick. He sets two of them next to each other in the middle of the ring but Ryback slams Kane through both of them. Now it’s Ryback destroying Kane with the chair but the Meathook is countered with a pelted chair to the face. The chokeslam gets two but the Tombstone is countered, setting up the Meathook and Shell Shock for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: D+. This was better than the stairs match but it still didn’t do anything for me. At the end of the day it’s nice to see Kane finally take a fall so it’s not infuriating like the Rowan match, but it just kept going and only does a little bit for Ryback. He does seem to be a bigger player now than he was a few weeks ago though so there’s potential there.

US Title: Rusev vs. Jack Swagger

Rusev is defending and broke Swagger’s mentor’s leg to set this up. Jack cuts off Lana’s speech and goes right for Rusev, nailing him with a big clothesline. He takes out Rusev’s ankle and the champion can barely stand. The Vader Bomb misses but Swagger counters the superkick into the Patriot Lock but Rusev rolls through into an Accolade attempt. Jack is too close to the ropes though and the hold doesn’t go on. And never mind as Rusev puts it on a few seconds later but Jack hangs on for almost a minute. He gets to his knees and rolls over into the Patriot Lock but Rusev gets to the ropes. A second superkick puts Swagger on the floor and a third sets up the Accolade to make Swagger tap at 4:52.

Rating: D. Have they killed Swagger enough yet? They’ve certainly killed my interest in the guy for a good while as they’ve done the same match over and over again with nothing really changing. We get the idea already: someone has to stand up for America and it’s not going to be Swagger. Find someone else already.

We recap Ambrose vs. Wyatt. Bray cost Dean his match inside the Cell against Rollins and Ambrose has gone after him ever since. They had a fight last month and then Dean destroyed the rocking chair that used to belong to Bray’s Sister Abigail. This is a TLC match for the big war.

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

Since there’s nothing to put over the ring, you win by pinfall or submission. Dean nails him from the apron and the fight is on in the aisle. A suicide dive takes Bray down again and Ambrose sends him into the barricade for good measure. Ambrose clotheslines Bray into the crowd as they fight near the expert panel area. Bray is down so Dean dives off the panel’s table to take him down again.

Back to ringside now with Dean nailing him with a chair as Bray might be bleeding from the arm. They slug it out again with Dean in full control and setting up a table on the floor. Now it’s kendo sticks time but Bray locks eyes with Ambrose. He tells Dean to hit him but tries to grab a chair, earning him a hard stick shot to the head. A White Russian legsweep drops Bray again as this is one sided in the first five minutes. Dean goes after him with the stick again but Wyatt kicks him off the apron and through the table at ringside.

Bray puts the kendo stick in the corner sticking out and whips Ambrose face first into the end for a unique move. Now the ladder is brought in and set up in the corner but Dean sends Bray into the steel to take over. A bulldog gets two and Dean puts the ladder over the corner. He drapes Bray over the middle rope for a top rope Fameasser onto a chair. The finishers are countered but Bray just ENDS him with a clothesline for two.

Ambrose comes back with a ladder shot and takes Bray into the aisle. There just happens to be a table there so Bray is placed on top, setting up an Ambrose elbow from a ladder. Dean has that crazy look on his face and puts Bray on another table for a second elbow from an even higher ladder. Both guys are down now but stagger back to the ring where Bray hits a quick Sister Abigail for two. He tries another with the kiss but Dean reverses into a rollup for two. Dean sends him face first into the ladder and nails Dirty Deeds for a delayed two.

Ambrose goes under the ring and finds a live monitor (Cole: “That’s for our technicians. JBL: “And they live under the ring?”) which shows him a bunch of ladders near the entrance. He goes and finds the biggest ladder in the building and sets it up next to the ring but Bray is back up.

Dean blocks another attempt to crush his throat on the post with the chair like Bray did to him, only to do it right back to Bray like the crazy man he is. A third elbow off the huge ladder crushes Wyatt through the announcers’ table and both guys are down. They slowly get back in and Dean gets the monitor, only to have it blow up in his face. Dean is blinded, allowing another Sister Abigail to knock him out for the pin at 27:26.

Rating: A-. It was a wild brawl and a good way to end the show, but I’m only lukewarm on the ending. That’s far more logical of an ending than whatever they did in the Cell, but it’s still not the best. Wyatt getting a big win in the main event of a PPV certainly isn’t a bad thing though and Dean isn’t beaten clean so everyone wins, but it’s still not great and needed a bigger spot to end things.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was good enough for the carnage but the bad stuff REALLY dragged it down. I’m really worried about the Big Show’s continued push but that’s something you have to live with in WWE. This is a show where the good was really good but the bad was really boring, which cancels out a lot of the hard work. The main event scene still needs a huge makeover, but it could have been a lot worse. The fact that this came three days after Takeover didn’t do it any favors though.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Luke Harper – Ziggler pulled down the title

Usos b. Miz/Damien Mizdow via DQ when Miz hit Jimmy with a Slammy

Big Show b. Erick Rowan – KO Punch

John Cena b. Seth Rollina – Attitude Adjustment through a table

Nikki Bella b. AJ Lee – Rack Attack

Ryback b. Kane – Shell Shock

Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade

Bray Wyatt b. Dean Ambrose – Sister Abigail

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