WWE TLC 2017 Match Card Predictions
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Raw Tag Team Championships Elimination Tables Match: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (Champions) vs Sheamus and Cesaro
Unintentionally, the Raw Tag Team Championships’ feud has kicked the brutality up a notch.
Cesaro lost his two front teeth to a Dean Ambrose turnbuckle slingshot. It made for a gruesome visual, but the consummate professional Cesaro took it in his stride. The two teams have had back-to-back show-stealers at SummerSlam and No Mercy, and they have now tapped into the extreme element which should carry their rivalry over to TLC.
The tables match has taken a lot of slack recently. Recent singles bouts of Cena vs Rollins, and Alexa vs Becky, have seen the competitors move around contrived spots that never flow particularly well. However, two years ago WWE pitted The Wyatt Family against a group of ECW Originals, adding ‘elimination’ to the billing. WWE should go this route with Ambrose, Rollins, Sheamus and Cesaro. With the run these four are on, I’m sure they could steal the show once more.
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Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax vs Sasha Banks and Bayley
The Raw Women’s Title scene needs to settle down. In theory, Champion Alexa Bliss just dropped the entire division in one match, leading many to believe she will be fed to Asuka upon her debut.
I would hope WWE will be more patient. There are no guarantees with how the main roster fanbase will react to an NXT call-up, so Asuka would be better off working her way up and gaining traction with her new audience. Plus, that would leave the top contenders of Nia Jax, Sasha Banks and Bayley adrift. While a conventional tag might seem like a Monday Night Raw throwaway, I believe WWE need to pump the breaks with the Raw Women’s Championship. Recreating the No Mercy match minus Emma would be silly, but none of Alexa’s three challengers have made a clear case for a singles shot at the belt come TLC.
Not every Championship needs to be defended at every show, especially when the division consists of only five or six wrestlers.
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Tables, Ladders and Chairs No. 1 Contendership Match: Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman vs Finn Balor vs Bray Wyatt
Like I stated earlier, TLC will likely sell out based on its novelty value, meaning Brock Lesnar can take one of the many vacation days written into his contract. Fortunately, WWE have already proven that the No. 1 Contendership for the Universal Title is a rich prize that can make a main event feel huge.
Most recently we saw Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have a dime of an Extreme Rules match for a crack at Lesnar. Expect three of those five men to go again at TLC, with the inclusion of Bray’s former follower and Reigns’ bitter rival, Braun Strowman.
This match handily slams together two ongoing feuds in Reigns/Strowman and Wyatt/Balor. Cena’s gestures after his No Mercy match indicate we won’t see him again for a while, and unless Samoa Joe makes a rapid recovery, these four men will do battle for a Universal Championship match at Survivor Series.
Next: WWE Raw Grades And Analysis
The non-title TLC is still a bizarre concept. Those who remember The Shield’s debut know how fun it can be, but maybe WWE could affix some sort of match contract that the competitors could climb the ladder for? More likely it will be a more-specific Extreme Rules match, with a pinfall or submission granting you the honour of challenging ‘The Beast.’