John: This Sunday is WWE TLC. With me as always to talk about the show is my buddy crazy David K. It’s a stipulation heavy with every match being either a tables match, a ladders match, a chairs match or the obvious TLC match. Does that make the PPV a success because it’s loaded with stips? No, I don’t think so. It could lead to some interesting spots and moments with all the stipulations involved, though. Could be a good thing? Right?
David: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs…welcome to what some inside the wrestling business call “Killing The Business 101” with a card filled of non-sensical stipulations. I can’t think of a card filled with as many gimmick matches that ended up being successful, with the exception of the Survivior Series cards of the 90’s. Let’s break it down, and see how the chips fall on Sunday.
John: Dave, you are forgetting they do Extreme Rules every year with stipulations in every match, but at least in those matches they can use stips outside of the TLC realm. But with that said, let’s roll on.
David: Being successful, that’s the key to my statement.
Note: If you avoid Smackdown spoilers you should stop after we talk about the Cena/Barrett match. There was a change in a match. You’ve been warned.
John: For the opening match, I think it’s possible that it could be the Intercontinental Title Match. The match will see Dolph Ziggler defending the IC belt against a very familiar rival in Kofi Kingston and also Jack Swagger, who is back on PPV even though he’s been a good performer all year that should be on every PPV in my opinion. It’s a 3 way ladder match. What are you expecting?
David: As I said in the Podcast, which I made a visit to this week, I really see Kofi walking out as champ here. It’s been on Dolph for a good amount of time in the WWE-PG world, and a new face heading into 2011 makes sense. They’ll build Swagger and Ziggler, and Kofi will pull a victory out last minute.
John: Kofi’s already had the belt this year. Ziggler’s had it for a while. I think they put Swagger in the match because they want him to have another belt and he’s not at the World Title level anymore. It’s either Swagger or Ziggler for me. Keep it on a heel. I also think in terms of match quality this is pretty much guaranteed to hit the three star level with potential to be four stars or more if they get 15 minutes. I doubt they get that much time or are allowed to steal the show, though. Don’t want to show up the bigger names. God forbid you make stars out of midcarders with a show stealing match!
David: I can’t see Swagger holding the IC belt under the comedy role they’ve cornered him into. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but as we all know by now, that’s what WWE-PG is all about. Not shocking you with results, shocking you with logic holes.
John: I think they’re pushing him away from the Soaring Eagle, though. They realize it was silly. This is their way of telling the fans he’s serious again. I dunno. I like Swagger a lot and think he’s improved so much in 2010. I just wish he was booked better. Plus I’d love a Swagger-Bryan US-IC title unification match at WrestleMania. That would be excellent.
David: Speaking of which, where is the US Title on this pay-per-view? Bryan has a shirt come out, and he can’t throw it on for the PPV?
John: He should be on every PPV! Best worker in the company. Get him out there. Silly!
John’s Pick: Swagger
David’s Pick: Kingston
David: The next match is the Tag Team Tables Match between Lay-Cool and my girls Beth Phoenix and Natalya. I’ve gotta say, after watching her on the indies for so long, it’s great to see Natalya with the belt here, it’s just hard not to write Nattie. Everybody’s waiting for Beth to turn on her, and many pick this to be the moment it happens. Your thoughts?
John: I think if that happens it could create the best women’s feud that WWE could have. Two really good female workers are strong as hell too. It would be fun. Plus, I’m sure they would both want it considering how much you can see them tweeting eachother on a regular basis. I’m not sure if the heel turn happens here because it would be out of nowhere and WWE likes to foreshadow that stuff.
David: Where are the rest of my Cole-Miners yelling at the screen the signature catchphrase of the man behind the Ding-Ding?? I think it makes perfect sense for them to do it here, but are they ready to spurn Michelle McCool out of the limelight after giving her the piece of plastic that’s worth as much as Hornswoggle’s crap?
John: The story also seems to be that Melina might turn heel, so maybe she shows up out of nowhere to help Laycool win? Personally I’m going with Laycool winning after a Beth/Natalya error of some kind and they are able to push one of them through a table for a fluke win. If the champ is in a tag match they usually lose.
David: I think Melina is next on the list of Future Endeavored and frankly I’m shocked they didn’t give her Diva of the Year before releasing her. I don’t see her making an appearance here, but I do see Lay-Cool winning here after a mixup. It’s unfortunate, but it doesn’t make sense to have the Champ win clean here. Does adding tables make it interesting though? I know they’re trying to follow up Mickie/Tara, which was wasted on Free-TV, but tables is a stipulation that’s really conducive to the feud.
John: Yeah it’s not really on the level of the Mickie/Tara, which was a heated feud in a singles match, but I understand them trying to do something big in a can you top this kind of deal. It just won’t happen. I agree about Melina possibly being future endeavored though. At least we agree on Laycool. It seems like the smart way to book it.
David: Boy would it be fun to see Michelle go through a table though. Taker would never allow that!
John: I think Undertaker is dead. But nobody cares. It’s a shame. So is Vince being in a coma. Not a big deal.
John’s Pick: Laycool
David’s Pick: Laycool
John: Next up is a #1 contender’s match for the WWE Title in ANOTHER ladder match. It’s Sheamus and John Morrison. Could this lead to a push to Morrison at the main event level?
David: A month ago, I would have said yes. But watching him talk his way through this feud has been quite uncomfortable. Sheamus is already hard to work with on that end, as his mic skills are highly lacking in my opinion. It’s really shown the flaws of Morrison’s charisma, but as far as physicality, these two have worked well. Should be a good match, but I don’t see Morrison being on the main event level after this.
John: I think Miz wins the title match, so Morrison will win here to be a guy that Miz can beat either on an episode of Raw or maybe the Royal Rumble. It’s kind of weird, though, because Sheamus just won King of the Ring and is probably feuding with HHH in the next month. I just don’t think Sheamus vs. Miz is a good PPV match as heel vs. heel. So I’m leaning towards Morrison winning in what should be a good match. They have excellent chemistry together.
David: I think doing this for a Number One contender is dumb. Morrison’s been protecting Santino, so it should’ve just been a grudge match. They should’ve added the Number One stip to the Cena/Barrett match, even though that’s been done ad nauseum.
John: They’re saving Cena for the title shot until WrestleMania most likely. At least I would assume that. And they need somebody for Miz to beat before he gets to WM, so Morrison’s a viable candidate due to the fact that he has a lot of history with The Miz. Sheamus doesn’t need the win. He’s got Hunter at the Rumble obviously. You got a pick?
David: I’m actually going with Sheamus here. Why bury him as King this quickly?
John: That’s a good point. It doesn’t have to be the Rumble title match either. It can be the first Raw on the year or something of that nature. We’ll see. I’m going with Morrison officially.
John’s Pick: Morrison
David’s Pick: Sheamus
David: And from the Number One contenders match, we head into the match for the title they’ll vie for the WWE Title match between Miz and Randy Orton. Being a tables match doesn’t take away all the interfering characters on the Miz’s side, so will they play a part in this one?
John: Yes they will. Do you think your boy Arquette will be there? Haha.
David: I hope so. Somehow he needs to walk away with the title can he put somebody through a table? All in all, I hope the Miz walks out as champ, but what does Orton go on to next? We’ve tapped all the other guys for feuds leading into the rumble, but Orton seems to be left out of every discussion.
John: I think Miz absolutely walks out as champ. You know Vince loved all the press he got when he won the belt. It was all over the place and Vince is also very high on him in terms of the way he represents the company. He has become a go to guy. Orton’s been around the belt all year. He had a decent run, but it wasn’t great. Miz retains and holds the belt all the way until WrestleMania.
David: I think he’s great, but he’s gotta lose Alex Riley, and has to start dominating opponents. I want to see Riley and Cole rush to Miz’s side in the match, and after they attack Orton, have Miz put them both through separate tables. Make him strong, and build him alone.
John: It’s WWE, though. The heels are chickenshit and the faces are protected way too much. One of the biggest fundamental problems in their booking these days.
David: Either way, we pick Orton to fall prey to a table. Any chance we see Cole go through one?
John: That could happen actually. Maybe Orton’s about to win, Cole interferes, Orton puts him through a table and then Miz gets back and puts Orton in one for the win. It’s not going to be a clean win. I think we can agree on that. And you know you’d cry if Cole got hurt. You love him.
David: He’s a company guy who’s been there through thick and thin! He’s started out on the PPV Pre-Show, and worked through the ranks to became a top Play-by-Play announcer!
John: Just like The Miz!
David: Exactly. I think.
John’s Pick: The Miz
David’s Pick: The Miz
John: Next up we’ll go with the Chairs Match featuring John Cena vs. Wade Barrett. Yes Dave, your boy Cena is not fired. You can sleep easy now. He’s back wielding a chair, smiling for the kids and ready to put this feud to bed…I hope.
David: Thank god. I mean, I did love him being a part of the WWE Universe and doing stuff with all the fans and God, I can’t even pretend to like this feud. Bury it please. It’s like having sex with a really hot chick, but she’s horrible in bed. You were so excited to see her naked, but you can’t wait til it’s over.
John: So now that he’s not hanging out with fans he can get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, sit in first class seats away from the fans and never have to touch them in the crowd. That’s the dream. I don’t know what I’m talking about. I guess that’s because it’s pretty obvious Cena is winning here and any other result would be silly even for WWE.
David: Any chance he’ll get stoned and accidentally hit Barrett in the head instead of the back, knocking a concussed Barrett onto the IR for a few weeks?
John: You’re anti-Barrett?
David: No, I’m anti-TNA’s lack of a drug policy.
John: Oh a Jeff Hardy reference. I was too busy being dehydrated to get it. I need a nap. (That’s a Hardy reference too.) Hey did you pick Cena somewhere in there?
David: Not really, but I’m picking him, LOL!
John: Okay so we both got Cena. End of a 5 month angle that had so much potential, but ended as a letdown. Vintage 2010 WWE, I’d say.
David: Just weak, and I think even kids hate this feud.
John: But they like merchandise. And that’s what counts. No heel turn for Cena. Sorry adults. Not yet.
John’s Pick: Cena
David’s Pick: Cena
David: Next we take the namesake of the PPV and throw in Mysterio, Del Rio, Edge, and Kane. I like the possible spots that could come of this, with Del Rio brining a new set of moves to these WWE Vets. Any chance he walks out with the belt?
John: I don’t think Del Rio gets the title yet. Next year. I think they made it a 4 way because there’s already a chairs match on the card and they didn’t want two of those because they might overshadow Cena. And I think Edge was the favorite to leave this PPV with the belt. And he will still leave this PPV with the belt. Kane’s 5 month reign has had its ups and downs. It ends here, though.
David: I’d agree, Edge is my favorate to head into the Rumble with the title. I think it was smart to take away the Chairs match between Del Rio and Mysterio, because two just was too much. Plus, it would have overshadowed Barrett/Cena as far as cool spots. Now they can incorporate all those spots into a huge match, that should go 18-20 in my book, and see Edge coming out champ.
John: There are some Rey haters on my FB wall saying they did it because Rey doesn’t want to put over Del Rio. You never know, because last year he apparently didn’t want to put over Ziggler for the IC title.
David: Well, Rey is cut from a different cloth than Jericho was, but I don’t see how Rey is putting over Del Rio in a single loss. Rey’s gotten beat up by him time after time, and if it were true that Rey didn’t want to put him over, why allow all that? In the end, it’s a Cena-move, and I actually like how this turned out.
John: The match will be better than Edge vs. Kane in a TLC, so for me that’s enough. The Edge/Kane singles match on Smackdown was terrible. They probably realized that and that’s why they changed it to up the quality. Give them 15 minutes and watch them go. I just hope Edge doesn’t get any more injuries. These matches have taken their toll on his career.
David: I think Kane takes a ton of bumps, with Rey shying away from damage. Edge walks away relatively unscathed with the belt. Do we see a Paul Bearer appearance?
John: No I think Paul’s been written out. Maybe he can do some screaming, though. The chicks dig that.
David: Pair him up with Kelly Kelly!
John: And call him Paul Paul!
David: Paulie Paulie!
John: Win!
John’s Pick: Edge
David’s Pick: Edge
Check out thejohnreport.net either late Sunday night or Monday for a recap of the show. Have a great weekend.
Thanks for reading,
John Canton [email protected] or Twitter.com/johnreport
David K. Twitter.com/DaveTheAwesome