What are the wildest events that could make WWE TLC 2017 a memorable PPV – apart from the return of the Shield?
We are mere days away from WWE TLC 2017. The PPV known for the in-ring debut of the Shield would now also be a venue for the return of the Shield. As we found out this week on Raw, The Shield will take on the Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus, Braun Strowman and the returning Kane. That is surely an uphill task even for the Shield. Even though I still predict the Shield would win this match, there is a part of me that is still guessing.
The Tag team titles and the IC title will not be defended at the show sadly, owing to the champions already competing in the main event. In addition, there is no Universal title match. All this has essentially turned TLC into basically a one-match PPV. However, we will bear witness to the debut of Asuka. What will the Empress of Tomorrow have in store for the WWE Universe? In what will undoubtedly be a squash match, will the WWE throw us a curve ball?
The Cruiserweight title will be on the line as well. Enzo Amore would look to win the title back from Kalisto. If the events from this week’s WWE Raw are any indication, Enzo might have some assistance for him. Additionally, Alexa Bliss would look to defend her title against the veteran Mickie James. There is also a tag match scheduled between Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann, Gentleman Jack and Brian Kendrick. The kick-off show will feature Sasha Banks going up against Alicia Fox. Then there is the abomination of a feud titled “The Demon vs Sister Abigail”.
Like I said before, apart for the Shield’s reunion and Asuka’s debut, there isn’t much substance to this PPV. WWE TLC 2017 would have been an entirely forgetful affair if it wasn’t for these two instances. However, that does not mean this PPV can’t throw us a few surprises. Here are my bold predictions for the night.
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5. Nia Jax makes her presence felt
For the second week in a row, Jax has been absent from Raw. Is this an attempt to make us feel like she will not be a part of TLC? That is rather strange if you ask me. Jax has been a major player in most of the red brand’s PPV matches. She is a power-house and pretty much the female counterpart of Braun Strowman.
However, Jax has been absent from TV over the last couple of weeks. First, while all the women were making their case to be Asuka’s first victim on the main roster, Jax was not involved. She wasn’t present in the Battle Royale to determine Asuka’s opponent either. Perhaps it could be seen as a way of protecting her aura. For Emma to win the whole thing, someone had to pin Jax and that would seriously hurt her momentum.
Then again, this week on Raw, she was nowhere to be seen. That has grabbed my attention. There have been reports of Jax being granted a leave of absence from the WWE. However, that seems a bit suspicious as the source of the story was the same as Neville’s. What if this is a play?What if the WWE is keeping her off TV to make it seem like a surprise when she decides to give Asuka a welcome party?
Jax has had some history with Asuka back in NXT. There is no reason to believe she wouldn’t want to rekindle that rivalry. In addition, an interference from Nia Jax would also help to add some heat to Asuka’s debut. Apart from it simply being a squash match that is. However, it would be an even bigger upset if Jax somehow meddles with the outcome of the match itself.
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4. Neville returns and makes an emphatic statement
While speculations about Neville possibly being done with the WWE are running rampant all over the internet, a part of me wishes he would stay. Not in the Cruiserweight division though. This prediction stems from that wish to say. WWE would be wise to not let Neville go. The King of Cruiserweights do not want to be confined to the Cruiserweight division alone, quite understandably.
Creative should make plans to feature him as part of the main roster either on Raw or SmackDown Live. Hopefully, those plans are already being worked on now. But then, Neville’s stint at the Curiserweight division needs some level of closure. The title match between Kalisto and Enzo might just be the perfect venue for that.
Midway through the match, Neville could make an appearance. Ideally, that would be enough to throw Enzo off his game. However, he shouldn’t stop there. After beating the ever-living hell out of Enzo, Neville should proceed to attack Kalisto. By attacking both the champion and the challenger, he would be making quite the statement. He should then underline it with a promo essentially conveying his decision to move out of the Cruiserweight division, to take on bigger challengers. He would make up for an ideal mid-card title holder and can even be a WWE or Universal champion. If WWE could do that with Jinder Mahal, they can do it ten times better with Neville.
Yes, there were business interests at play in the case of Mahal. However, WWE has been steadily trying to expand in the UK as well. Let’s hope the King of Cruiserweights decides to stick around and not leave abruptly.
Kane shocked the WWE Universe with his appearance. Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
3. Kane and Braun Strowman end up fighting
The Shield will be facing insurmountable odds at TLC, thanks to the Big Red Machine. After a shocking return to WWE Raw, Kane was revealed to be the fifth member of Miz’s team. For a team that already has Braun Strowman with them, this seems like serious overkill. There is no real chance for the Shield to fight back against this.
On the flip side, may be Kane has been inserted to the mix to do something else. Like I said before, there simply isn’t enough room for two monsters in the same team. Braun is not the greatest team player in the world. Having another monster alongside him is probably not a good idea.
What if, midway through the match, Kane and Strowman have a fallout? They could get into an argument and tear each other apart. This will achieve two things. First and foremost, it will make Strowman look good. Especially if he takes out Kane. By the time he is done with Kane, the ever-so-crafty Rollins would have figured out a way to eliminate Strowman from the competition as well. Creative can even have Kane and Strowman fight all over the arena, ignoring the match at hand entirely.
Secondly, it would set up an excellent mini-feud for Strowman. He has already decimated the Big Show. Kane is another veteran who has put over many young talents. Perhaps he has been brought back to do the same once more with Strowman. Seeing as how good Strowman’s matches with Big Show were, I am all in for a series of matches between him and Kane.
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2. Sister Abigail nails it and defeats Finn Balor
One of the matches that has been heavily criticized until now has been the latest encounter between Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt. Wyatt has lost to Balor in both his human and demon forms. Ideally, that should have been the end of all this. However, creative would decide to torment us more and continue to punish Wyatt by having one more go at this.
To make it worse, they would turn up the knob on the ‘bizarre’ and turn this into a freaky affair altogether. The kind that makes you wonder, what were they thinking? However, the way I see it, there is some amount of potential to it. Wyatt transforming into Sister Abigail and the poorly edited lady voice made me cringe. Yet there is still some untapped potential to this. There is no doubt in anybody’s mind that both these men can absolutely nail it in the ring. It is the over-the-top antics and theatrics that could turn some fans away from all this.
Wyatt transforming into Sister Abigail will always be a painful sight. Having him dress like a dead woman and wrestle would be too much. Instead, why not let Abigail take a physical form of her own, instead of possessing Wyatt’s body? How about Bo Dallas for example? In addition to helping Dallas do something meaningful, he would also be able to work with his real-life brother.
Imagine the scene if Wyatt wrestled as himself in front of a confused crowd. Then, just as the Demon is closing-in on the win, the lights could go off and we could witness Sister Abigail in all her glory and horror standing right in front of Balor. (S)he could then simply feed the Demon to Wyatt to pick up a win for himself. Not only would this help to establish Sister Abigail as a believable entity, but it will also add some logic to this story. To be precise, it still isn’t too late to pull the trigger on someone actually playing the Sister Abigail character rather than Wyatt. They can still give an explanation that previously Abigail’s spirit had taken over Wyatt but now she has created a physical form for herself.
The Shield make their entrance. Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
1. The Shield realizes the Miz isn’t done with them
The Shield has the odds stacked mighty high against them now. As if already being outnumbered by Braun Strowman opposite them wasn’t enough, Kane has been added to the mix now. That essentially makes this a three on five handicap match. If you would count Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas as well, we would have a three on seven agenda. But even so, the Shield would eventually come out on top. It is their reunion match after all. They can’t lose it at the moment.
However, the trio would soon learn that they are far from being done with the Miz. He is no ordinary heel. As you saw last day, the Miz played everybody to get what he wanted. There is no reason to think he would do the same on Sunday as well. He might lose the match but there is no reason to believe the Miz and company would go down without a measure of revenge. There are pros and cons to this feud. The biggest pro has been the Shield’s reunion.
However, on the contrary, by having so many title holders feature in one match, the TLC pay per view as whole has lost any kind of depth. Even so, since creative went through all this trouble to being back the Shield, they need to stick around at least until Survivor Series. Many have been speculating about how the group would split up after that. However, I for one wish that they disband on their own free will, promising to reunite whenever the circumstances call for it.
When the Shield were originally a bunch of heels, it was easier to come up with feuds for them. All they had to do was attack one or two random babyfaces and voila, you had a match at your hands. But now that they are the babyfaces, attacking heels does not necessarily get the job done. Moreover, random heels teaming up doesn’t make as much sense as when random babyfaces do. So what can be done to extend the Shield’s shelf life? It’s simple – have them fall prey to a new threat. The Miz has to remain in this program. He is part of the reason why the Shield had to reunite. Moreover, after all this talking, he needs to do something to get himself over before this feud is over.
A returning Samoa Joe would make up for an excellent choice. Not only does he have issues with Reigns, but he would also make up for a physical challenger. He could potentially lead a post-match assault on the beloved trio. A team of Miz, Joe and Strowman, with Kane lurking in the background and threat of Cesaro and Sheamus looming in, Shield could last until Survivor Series comfortably.
Next: WWE TLC 2017 Match Predictions
What are your thoughts? Do you think any of these are possible come Sunday night? Will you be surprised if the Sister Abigail angle works at TLC? What other twists and turns do you expect to see? Do let us know in the comments section.