WWE TLC 2020: 3 wrestlers who must win

Tropicana Field will host the 12th Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view in WWE history this Sunday. The following three wrestlers have to leave WWE TLC 2020 with a victory.

Rivalries will be settled; five championships are on the line – the stakes are high for the 16 superstars who will be on show during the last WWE pay-per-view of the year, WWE TLC 2020.

Randy Orton will be determined to prove “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt’s mind games have not affected him.

Sasha Banks puts her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line against Carmella. This will be the first time “The Boss” has defended the blue brand title on pay-per-view – she will not want to fall at the first hurdle against a woman who has left her laying on more than one occasion.

Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin have lost twice to Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, in previous encounters, they hope to make it third time lucky against The New Day and become Raw Tag Team Champions.

Sunday is the perfect opportunity to build momentum as the company heads towards the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 37.

These three performers must leave WWE TLC 2020 with their hands raised.

Sasha Banks must retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Carmella

2020 has been a fantastic year for Sasha Banks.

“The Blueprint” won the WWE women’s tag team titles with Bayley, she defeated Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship and, she captured the blue brand version of that title by making her former partner tap out in a match of the year contender at WWE Hell in a Cell.

Now Bayley is in Banks’ rare view mirror – the SmackDown women’s champion has encountered a new challenger in shape of “The Untouchable” Carmella.

The first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank winner made her return to Friday night’s, after several months away, on the 6th November episode of SmackDown – ambushing Banks with a superkick on the entrance ramp. She has attacked Banks on several occasions since then.

The women have gone back and forth verbally – Banks finally got her hands on her challenger during a backstage segment three weeks ago.

WWE TLC came early on the Dec. 12 when Banks defended her title against Carmella. The match ended with the champion being disqualified – however, the drama occurred after the bell when Carmella hit Banks on the back with a champagne bottle. A few days later –  a rematch was confirmed for WWE TLC.

After holding the SmackDown Women’s Championship for 52 days – “The Boss” is currently in the midst of her longest run with any singles title, the run needs to continue after Sunday.

Banks is one of the WWE superstars who has carried the company during the “Pandemic Era”, she has never been better and should be rewarded with a long run with the title. Banks was called up to the main roster four years ago – the feeling is she has never been trusted to have a lengthy title reign due to previous injuries she has sustained. After the year the Grandslam Champion is having, she has more than earned that trust.

A loss, just two months after winning the title, would destroy the hard work Banks has put in his year.

Beating Carmella would be a great way to end 2020 for Banks – it is her time to be the face of SmackDown women’s division for the foreseeable future.

“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt has to make Randy Orton pay for his past transgressions in their Firefly Inferno Match

The issues between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt date back to 2017 when Orton befriended Wyatt, turned on him, burnt his family compound down to the ground, and took his WWE Championship.

Three years later – the former SmackDown tag team champions have reignited their rivalry on Raw. This time things are different as Wyatt is not the same entity he was – HE is a different animal at the moment.

The mind games between the two men began on the November 23th edition of Raw when The Fiend cost Orton his number one contenders match with AJ Styles. The following week Orton was a guest on A Moment of Bliss. On the show, he claimed that he knew Wyatt well, and found his weakness in the past, and will do the same to take The Fiend out. Orton ended up with Alexa Bliss in his arms as The Fiend showed a rare sign of uncertainty – seemingly lost without Bliss by his side.

On the go-home Raw before WWE TLC – “The Legend Killer” attempted to make sure The Fiend did not make it to the pay-per-view as a game of Hide and Seek with Wyatt turned nasty. Orton set a trap for his foe, beat him down, locked him inside a box, and set it on fire. Orton thought that would be enough to destroy Wyatt but he was wrong. Wyatt emerged from the box as The Fiend. The former Universal Champion applied the Mandible Claw to Orton – the former 14-time world champion passed out, his plan backfired.

The Fiend is one of the hottest acts in WWE right now – he captivates the WWE Universe, he is unique, he needs to be protected at all costs.

Other than his incomprehensible loss to Goldberg at WWE Super ShowDown, in February, WWE has done a great job in booking The Fiend – he has to overcome Orton for his mystique to remain intact.

Orton does not need to win this match – he was WWE Champion a few weeks ago, his legendary status cannot be damaged. On the other hand, The Fiend is still creating his legacy – a win against one of the all-time greats would help solidify his status as the new phenom of WWE.

Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander need to ensure business is booming at WWE TLC 2020

The Hurt Business is one of the few highlights on Raw these days. They are charismatic, funny, and entertaining – they carry themselves as stars. They live their gimmick.

Bobby Lashley is the United States Champion, but the group needs more gold to add credibility to Montel Vontavious Porter’s claim that they are the best thing going in WWE.

After The Hurt Business beat RETRIBUTION – MVP told authority figure Adam Pearce that he “owed them one”. MVP wanted the tag team titles – the faction switched their attention to The New Day.

The feud between the stables began when MVP called Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods “jokes”, who did not take the tag team titles seriously.

The teams met, in a non-title match, on the November 2nd edition of Raw. Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander picked up the win when the former Cruiserweight Champion pinned Woods.

That victory gave Benjamin and Alexander the title shot they wanted, but they lost when it mattered the most – when the titles were on the line. A week later – the champions repeated the trick and beat the challengers again.

Alexander restored some pride for his team when he beat Kingston and Woods in singles matches on two successive weeks on Raw – those wins were enough to goad the 10-time tag team champions into one more title shot.

This is a pivotal match for Benjamin and Alexander – they are drinking in the last chance saloon.

The Hurt Business do a lot of talking. They need to back up those words this Sunday – they will lose credibility if they are defeated by Kingston and Woods again.

While The New Day are good champions, they have grown stale as an act. Benjamin and Alexander would be a breath of fresh air if they capture the titles. Alexander, in particular, would benefit from winning. It would be a major achievement for a man who was stuck in mid-card purgatory earlier this year.

The Hurt Business would bring something different to the tag team titles – it is the right time to make the switch.