Tables, Ladders, and Chairs!! General PPV Discussion & Aftermath Thread

[Ambiguous Turd]

You know, it's sad, but I am not even looking forward to this PPV at all tonight. I could basically care less.

I do like the fact that someone new is in the Main Event with Cena, as I think the Main Event is beyond stale .... but I am just not really looking forward to this PPV as much as I thought I would.

Is it just me or could anyone else care less about this one?

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

This has all the makings of being a huge surprise PPV or a huge disappointment. It can't go both ways. Either we'll get some shocking results to this PPV or we're all going to be in the LD disappointed, or we'll see some great moments that'll prove the WWE takes TNA seriously and wants to send a message before January 4th.

I'm looking forward to this PPV a little bit, but not as much as I'd hope to be. The old saying goes, 'Some things change and some things stay the same.' This is something that the WWE lives by. Just when you think they'll do something out of the box, they just stay with the same formula.

 

[TLC]

I'm kind off looking forward to this Pay Per View. It could be a great PPV or a shit one as Lariat has already mentioned. The matches look like it could be a very good show but it depends on how they play out I guess. I just hope they don't squash Sheamus and give the ladder match time.

 

[DirtyJosé]

I may be out on a limb here, but I'm not alone in saying that tonight's event is debatably the PPV of the year. The WWE took some huge risks in many of the young stars getting big pushes and it actually saw it to the end in the case of McIntyre and Sheamus. Many of us really thought they would never do it. I'm not saying everything is turning up roses for them now. But what a message to send TNA in the last PPV of 2009. WWE just put up a PPV miles away better than most of TNA's offerings in the last year.

To be fair, I will say that the low points to me were the Women's title match, the botch-tastic ending to McIntyre vs Morrison, and the concept of a "Chair match". I was disappointed to see DX win, but even that was a great match.

It has been stated by others, but I'll say it again: the PPV is amazing not really because it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO awesome, but because of how quickly WWE was able to quickly and effectively use new talent. That can't be good news for TNA.

 

[IAmTheGame553]

I am actually glad to see Sheamus win this title, although I do not feel it will last too long. If it does have a lenghty title reign, I would be surprised. Sheamus gets no attention from the fans at all. It is a shame because he has a lot of skill. I figured by now the crowd would at least boo him. The booed Cena instead. I don't hate Cena; I am just sick of him with the championship. Hopefully, Sheamus will hold it until Elimination Chamber when it is in my hometown of St. Louis so I can see it change hands.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV Review


Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin {ECW Championship}

This was a great match to start off the show. As you’d expect from this sort of match, there were plenty of high spots and some great action throughout. Christian got really banged up during the match and got cut wide open by a ladder during the match. The crowd was very much into the match and started to boo the medics when they came down to the ring. Stryker had a nice cover line saying that the Texas Athletic Commission requires a cut be closed immediately. It was a bullshit line, but Stryker did make it sound very convincing nonetheless. Christian wound up retaining the title after about an 18 or 19 minute match and looked like he’d definitely earned it. The match was really good, but they didn’t go ape shit crazy during it so as to possibly overshadow anything else on the card..

On a scale of 1 to 10: 8.5


John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre {WWE Intercontinental Championship}

This was a good solid match, though nothing spectacular. McIntyre didn’t have all that much heat but the crowd was into the action. There was some good action during the match, though it had a tough time following the ladder match. I was a little surprised at McIntyre winning the championship, but I’m hoping this is really just the start to a feud between these two. It was around 11 minutes, I wish it’d been a little longer but it was a pretty solid match overall.

On a scale of 1 to 10: 7.5


Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James {WWE Women’s Championship}

This was a very good match for a Divas match. Nothing spectacular or anything, but it’s still much more than we’re typically used to from the Divas as a whole. The crowd was kinda flat through the first half of the match, but really started to come alive while Mickie James was on the offense. I think Michelle McCool has good heel presence, but the gal is pretty dead on charisma. Layla sort of interfered in the match, though not really as she didn’t touch James and was quickly kicked off the apron. I was surprised to see Michelle McCool get the victory here and retain, especially a clean win around the 8 minute mark. A pretty decent match overall and downright great for a Divas match.

On a scale of 1 to 10: 6.5


John Cena vs. Shamus {WWE Championship} {Tables Match}

This was a very solid match overall and good use was made out of using the tables as a gimmick. There was some great action during the match with the two going at it all over the ringside area, up the ramp, teasing moves around the tables, etc. Sheamus gave as good as he got to Cena. The ending was a shocker as Sheamus is the new WWE Champion. I was VERY surprised by this and I don’t think very many of us believed that he would win the title. There were a few slow spots during the match where they lost the crowd, but the surprise ending more than made up for that. Sheamus put Cena cleanly through a table and is the new WWE Champion. I think it’s great to see the WWE taking a chance like this, particularly when I’ve heard so much about the WWE being stale and predictable and all that. The crowd seemed stunned into silence when it was over. They expected a good brawl, but I don’t think any of them really expected Sheamus to win the WWE title.

On a scale of 1 to 10: 8.5


The Undertaker vs. Batista {World Heavyweight Championship} {Chairs Match}

The match was good and solid overall and was pretty much what one would expect. The crowd was kind of dead during a lot of this match, although the match did follow some matches that were either great in and of themselves and/or had some downright shocking endings. The crowd did start to get into the match around the 10 minute mark, firmly behind the Undertaker. Batista wasn’t really able to draw much heat with the live crowd. The ending came with Batista landing a low blow on Taker, giving him a chair shot to the head and getting the pin. However, Teddy Long comes out and restarts the match because while chairs were legal during the match, low blows weren’t. Batista gets a hard chair shot from Taker, is Tombstoned and Taker retains the title. I thought the finish for the match was pretty weak to be honest. The live crowd was very much into what was happening, I’ll grant that. But, I dunno..just when did low blows become illegal in matches where you can uses chairs in an unlimited fashion. This was kind of a flat match overall really. It was solid and all, but the ending just..ehh.

On a scale of 1 to 10: 7


Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston

This was another good match, it wasn’t really anything all that spectacular, but it was a solid performance by both guys. I figured that Randy Orton would get the win here, and he did around the 13 or 14 minute mark. I would’ve liked to have seen Kofi go over here and I hope that they just don’t end things between the two here. Kofi is someone that has a lot of potential and promise and I’d have for Orton to just kind of move onto something else as if Kingston was just a momentary annoyance that wasn’t any sort of real threat.

On a scale of 1 to 10: 7.5


JeriShow vs. DX {Unified WWE Tag Team Championship} {Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match}

This a pretty good TLC match overall. It doesn’t really compare to some of them. There were some chances taken during this match, but not as much as in some other TLC matches of the past. There was some good back and forth action in the match, both teams gave a strong performance. There was a scary spot during the match in which Jericho went over the top and through a table. His foot got caught up on the top rope as he was going over. Around the 23 minute mark, DX managed to climb the ladder and claim the titles, giving them tag team gold together for the first time in their careers.

On a scale of 1 to 10: 8


WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV overall on a scale of 1 to 10: 7.5

Overall, this was a pretty solid ppv that the WWE put on. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a great show overall but it was a good one. Some of the young bucks in the WWE really got pushed into the spotlight, namely McIntyre and Sheamus. Sheamus winning the WWE Championship is probably going to be considered the upset of the year. Some are going to hate it probably, but I thought it was great. It’s nice to see the WWE really taking this sort of chance and hardly anybody saw it coming. I don't know if he'll hold the title for very long, but I do enjoy seeing things shaken up so much. I was a little disappointed in the Undertaker/Batista match. I felt that it could have been much better than it was but there just wasn’t all that much build up for it. Batista jumping Taker two weeks in a row, Taker showing up on the last Smackdown before the ppv and nailing Batista with some right hands just wasn’t that great of a set up. The WWE needs to learn from this mistake and really build this thing up for the Royal Rumble if they want it to come off better. Overall, the show kept me entertained and being genuinely surprised by Sheamus’ win was worth the money spent to order the show.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Overall a solid PPV with some high points

(+) Sheamus winning the WWE Title. I guess no one saw this coming, but if the WWE was going to do it anyways the earlier the better right? I think this is a good thing and makes the WWE less predictable leading to WM w/o having to pull a switcharoo in Elimination Chamber.

(+) ECW finally got a respectable title match on PPV.

(+) Tag Team Championship match headlining the PPV. It's very rare this happens and its nice to see it again. The last two (I believe) was at Backlash 2001 and Fully Loaded 1998.

(-) Weird parts in matches. I could name 3. The first being the ECW Ladder Match where the medic had to cover up Christian. This was just stupid and killed a lot of momentum in the match. The second being the IC Title, the finished made no sense, what was the point of Morrison taking off his belt? The World Title match, another screw job. No low blows in a chair match? I hate restarting matches.

Overall good show. I would give it a B. However for a PPV being a TLC match there was nothing really innovative in this match.

 

[goodlay]

Definitely one of the more memorable PPVs of the year, it seems that WWE may be feeling the need to change things up due to the rising TNA with McIntyre and Sheamus winning titles.

Preshow
So we get the usual promo that leads us into the pyro and the run down of the card. Hm, WWE has a bunch of Tables, Ladders, and Chairs hanging in the air? Interesting to say the least. Once again we have Cole, Lawler, and Stryker calling the action which is fine if Cole doesn't talk too much. So right away we get the Christian/Shelton Ladder match, here we go.

1.Christian (c) defeated Shelton Benjamin after laying him out on a Ladder!
The crowd really got into this one right from the beginning with Christian getting a big pop to his intro. Really liked this one, had a lot of great spots that were brutal. Christian even accidentally dropped a Ladder on his face and had a cut near his eye and we got blood! Of course the medical staff comes over and stops the match for a good minute while we get blood clean-up. The crowd started chanting "We want blood!" at some point. Great match, and it really helped legitimize the ECW title, regardless if it may be canned next year.

Rating: 8 out of 10

2.Drew McIntyre defeated John Morrison (c)
This match was surprisingly above average, and McIntyre showed he knows more than 2 moves. With WWE pushing the young guys lately, I think Morrison is going to be shot into the main event. McIntyre will now probably sit in the mid-card while he's prepped for the main event. The end of this one was just weird though, why did Morrison take off that belt?

Rating: 7 out of 10

3.Michelle McCool (c) defeated Mickie James

This match wasn't as awful as many of the previous Diva bouts, but it still doesn't give me much hope for the Diva's division in WWE. Seemed like the jist of this match was involved with Layla childishly picking on Mickie, even wearing a "Piggy James" shirt. This was more of lame catfight more so than a wrestling match.

Rating: 5 out of 10

4.Sheamus defeated John Cena (c) after being pushed off the top rope into a table!
This one was pretty solid, I wouldn't say great by any means though. The problem with Tables matches is that a lot of the time, it's just based around the suspense of when they are going to fall. There wasn't a whole lot of wrestling in this one, as they brawled outside for a good bit. The ending is still being speculated as it looks as Cena may have accidentally fallen off and thus lost. Just the reaction when Cena fell threw seemed like it was a botch, it was so anticlimactic. Also the fact that Cena has his title in the Tribute to the Troops special may be an indicator of this, so don't be surprised if Sheamus drops his belt on Raw before the Rumble.

Rating: 7 out of 10

5.The Undertaker (c) defeated Batista after Teddy Long ordered the match to restart!
This match did a good job of not overusing the chairs and focusing more on the wrestling. In spite of the recent events coming out about Test's brain damage, obviously there were no clean chair shots to the head. Even though both of these guys don't seem to be in the best condition, they put on a good one. I really thought Batista was the new champ, but here comes Teddy Long and he orders the match to restart because Batista won by using a low blow when the ref couldn't see. Taker botches a chair shot then the Tombstone and Taker wins.

Rating: 7 out of 10

6.Randy Orton defeated Kofi Kingston with an RKO!
On a night where the young guys seemed to be getting put over, you would think Kingston would win this one. But apparently not because the 5 time world champion needs to beat a young guy and get put over for some reason. This was a good match, both guys really looked beat up after this one. I hope this isn't the last of this feud, because I don't think either of them would feud with Sheamus.

Rating: 7 out of 10

7.D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) defeated Chris Jericho and The Big Show (c) in the night's only TLC match!
This definitely doesn't compare to the Dudley Boyz/E&C/Hardy Boyz TLC matches, but it was still pretty good. There were some cool spots, like with HHH and HBK suplexing a ladder onto Big Show, and HHH holding up the ladder for HBK. It'll be interesting to see what happens with JeriShow in the coming weeks.

Rating: 8 out of 10

 

[Lancer]

I didn't really have high expectations for this PPV, but as it ended I was was satisfied. There were a few "WTF?" moments, and some very solid matches throughout.

The "WTF" Moments:The stoppage of the ECW Title match due to Christian's bleeding (even though he was still bleeding at the end)...John Morrison removing his belt (huh?)...(Naturally) Sheamus winning the WWE Championship...Teddy Long restarting the World Heavyweight Title match for the Undertaker, even though just a short time ago, he screwed him over...

Things that stood out in my mind: Orton's sweet dropkick to Kofi in mid-air outside the ring...how Sheamus really shows his "battle damage"...and a scary moment for Jericho as he fell off of Big Show's shoulders to the outside and apparently cracked his jaw on the table after falling nearly head-first.

 

[marklouis]

After Sheamus won, the first thing I thought was that this is how they are going to put the title back on Orton. I just don't see Sheamus as a long-term champion. If you think about it though, WWE painted themselves into a corner. No one expected Sheamus to win. So the only way to keep people interested was to have him win.

DX needs to feud with the Hart Dynasty. That has the potential to be a classic feud.

The Undertaker/Batista ending was awful. Either let Batista win or don't. The way they did it was lame.

 

[cole924]

Just a quick note:

I'm 90% sure Sheamus was supposed to fall through the table set outside of the ring at the same time Cena went through his table. That would have made the match no-contest and it would have either resumed or took place at another time.

Sheamus fell into the table but did not break it as the match ended. There is no need for that table to be there if it wasn't in use.


edit: My only other complaint is that Theodore Long came out and reversed the cheap shot during the Tista/Taker match, but didn't do the same for his IC Champ...??? McIntyre gave the cheap shot then hit his finisher, and even though it was the same type of ending as the WHC.. we are supposed to believe that Long doesn't care about anyone but Undertaker?


I also can't believe how many botched moves occurred in this PPV. From the first match when Shelton messed up a spot along the ropes (ladder wouldn't stay still) to the blood fiasco, the Morrison weird belt situation, Taker botching a chair shot, Sheamus/Cena possible botched ending, and unfortunately the Jeri-show/DX match was filled with them as well. The main event had a few with Big Show messing up the finale by almost throwing Jericho into a really tough position (where Jericho still missed the table he was supposed to go through). Jericho had to awkwardly get balance on the top rope and missed the jump completely. Show needs to be his leverage there.

This PPV was unpredictable which I guess is good.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Just a quick note:

I'm 90% sure Sheamus was supposed to fall through the table set outside of the ring at the same time Cena went through his table. That would have made the match no-contest and it would have either resumed or took place at another time.

Sheamus fell into the table but did not break it as the match ended. There is no need for that table to be there if it wasn't in use.


edit: My only other complaint is that Theodore Long came out and reversed the cheap shot during the Tista/Taker match, but didn't do the same for his IC Champ...??? McIntyre gave the cheap shot then hit his finisher, and even though it was the same type of ending as the WHC.. we are supposed to believe that Long doesn't care about anyone but Undetaker?

Regarding the finish of the Cena/Sheamus match ... I am not convinced that the spot didn't go as planned.

The only reason I say that is because there did not seem like any sort of panic was going on around ringside. If you noticed, Justin Roberts made the announcement almost immediately and Sheamus' music was played almost instantly as well.

I could see a possibility that perhaps Sheamus was supposed to go through the table in a delayed fashion AFTER Cena went through his table a split second earlier. That would have made it close, but somewhat of a cheaper victory for Sheamus ... which I could have seen them doing, because Sheamus would have also been put through a table as well .... just a second too late.

But I don't see any indication that there was supposed to be any type of alternate ending planned for the match other than what transpired.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I enjoyed this PPV. Although I'm not happy that Cena lost, the rest of the show more than made up for that. I was not expecting much, but my expectations for tonight's show were blown away. This was one of the best PPV's this year and I found it very entertaining because not a single match was bad or boring. As for my predictions on each match that I made in the threads for the individual matches.... I correctly predicted 4 out of the 7 outcomes. I'm usually right about at least half of the matches on most PPV's. (I got the first three matches and the main event right.)

I'm not going to sit down and review every individual match, but I did enjoy this entire PPV because it was entertaining from beginning to end, and that is something I have only been able to say about a few PPV's in 2009.

 

[And I'm Awesome]

WWE TLC:Tables, Ladders, and Chairs

ECW Championship Ladder Match
Christian def. Shelton Benjamin

Well, with 4 gimmick matches and a half dozen championship matches on the card, makes sense to start off by striking one from each category. This match had a ton of potential, but the ladder spot which opened Christian up killed the momentum in the middle of the match. "We Want Blood!" from the WWE Universe was amusing, though. I do wonder who thought up the line about the Texas Athletic Commission rules forcing the stoppage in action. My only qualm with that is that wrestling is admitted entertainment now, knowing the match outcome ahead of time is accepted. Why would the TAC have any say? Good thing someone had King back it up by saying it was also a WWE rule. Some excellent spots in this one, capping with a frog splash through a ladder. Ouch.

8 out of 10

Intercontinental Championship Match
Drew McIntyre def. John Morrison

This was a pretty good wrestling bout. The problem is that it was a standard wrestling match on a card gimmicked out. That kind of take away a little something when you know there are going to be some "Oh Shit!" moments later in the show. I felt that these two put on a pretty impressive match, even if I would have preferred Morrison to hold the belt just a little bit longer. On the plus side, expect to see Morrison as a legit possibility in the Royal Rumble.

7 out of 10

WWE Womens Championship Match
Michelle McCool def. Mickie James

Yawn. Why does WWE insist on putting Diva's bouts on PPV? What really irked me is that I think these two ladies can actually wrestle, so I was rather underwhelmed with the effort shown tonight. That, and the finish just seemed so blah.

4 out of 10

WWE Championship Tables Match
Sheamus def. John Cena

You know, I wasn't so much surprised by the fact that Sheamus won as I was by the fact that he looked pretty good doing it. We haven't seen the guy be on the receiving end of any altercation since coming to RAW (and apparently we are to forget that whole Goldust thing in ECW). He looked pretty impressive throughout the match to me, and that was my biggest question mark going in. Whether you love him or hate him, you know Cena can get the job done in the ring when he needs to. I was glad to see Sheamus could look good all around. As far as the match. Eh, it was a tables match. I honestly tend to find them boring, as there are too many 'OMG he's gonna fall!' moments that take away from the flow of the story of the match. As such, two scores, I think...and the side note that I'd like to see these two in a traditional wrestling match. Just not until Royal Rumble.

As a Wrestling Match: 7 out of 10
As a Tables Match: 8 out of 10

World Heavyweight Championship Chairs Match
Undertaker def. Batista

I was admittedly curious as to how this would work. I understood going in that chairs were legal. I was glad the announcers clarified that countouts, and DQ's could still happen, so the weaponry needed to stay in the seating furniture family. As to the match itself...well. It was a match. It had its ups and downs, but it just did not draw me in with any regularity. It brought me in emotionally for a few moments at a time, but failed to keep me interested throughout. One thing I was not surprised by was the pretty lame use of the chairs. I'm not asking these guys to bash their brains in, but when you take out head shots, chairs lose a whole lot of their appeal. And in reply to another poster's review noting that 'Taker botched the last chair shot...I doubt it. Both men were likely working under orders to avoid (or severely limit) head shots with chairs. I think 'Taker hit Dave exactly how he meant to.

6 out of 10

Well, this one has no fancy title...
Randy Orton def. Kofi Kingston

These gentlemen put on an excellent show, as I expected them to. Not much else I can say about the match itself. I think Randy going over here is fine, especially how he did it. Take out a guy's left arm, and he's screwed. Especially if that happens to be the side you land on if you miss your Trouble in Paradise kick to the skull. I don't think this is quite the end between these two. I hope not, because if it is, I fear Kofi is about to pull a Jack Swagger and disappear.

8 out of 10

WWE Unified Tag Team Championship Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match
D-Generation X def. JeriShow

OK, so this was a pretty impressive match, what with all the flying metal and flesh and what have you. Match of the night? Depends on what your personal cup of tea happens to be. I do have two major complaints, though. At one point, JeriShow was in the ring, DX laid out. I'm sorry, but Chris Jericho is smarter than that. I know, I know, it's a work. He has, before, in character, put a title in jeopardy just to humiliate an opponent (Mysterio and his mask). Chris is portrayed as an intelligent human being (which he is in real life...but my point is that even his character is portrayed as intelligent). Why wouldn't you go for the belts? Second...I liked the way Trips held the ladder for Shawn to do some climbing. You're seriously telling me that Jericho would rather try to stand on Show's shoulders than brace the half ladder against the 7 foot, 480 pounder? Even in kayfabe, that doesn't make sense. Yes, again, needed for the finish that the 'E' wanted. Still, stupid. Anywho, score...

7 out of 10

Overall thoughts...a lot of the matches left me only moderately impressed (or completely underwhelmed if it involved chicks). There was a whole lot of potential in the ring that I think was not realized tonight. However, there was an equal amount of potential in storylines that was realized, which is the first time I've felt like a creative goal has been accomplished by WWE since No Way Out and Edge getting his EC on. Some better wrestling would have vaulted this PPV quite a ways. Nonetheless, I still feel that it was one of the better PPV cards of the year. For decent wrestling and excellent advancement of storylines, I give WWE TLC an

8 out of 10.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Ok, here goes.....

ECW title Ladder Match

This was a fairly good match overall, altough not quite the spectacle that i thought it would be. The medic rushing in to clean up Christian's eye was the one point that killed it for me personally. Even the fans at ringside were chanting 'we want blood' and i'm sure the fans at home would've understood that it's live and those things are likely to happen, so why interrupt a match for a cut above the eye, after decades of guys bleeding like stuffed pigs? What also ruined it was the announcing as usual. 'I can't believe he broke that steel ladder!!' Steel my ass! Big Show was ripping through them like fuckin' paper for God's sake!

Anyway, good match, can't really unerstand why people think Christian is going downhill, because he looked just as good as always to me.

One final thought. I'd one day actually like to see someone get German suplexed off the apron. I know they'd probably have their career ended, but having it teased so many times makes me want it more!

IC Title match

Can't say i'm surprised to be honest. Well, i mean, it wasn't half as shocking as the next match's outcome. Drew's push, while not as fast as Sheamus', is a little quick for my liking. The guy's beaten like 2 guys and he's a champ already, but his match last night was half decent, and like Sheamus he's good on the mic, so i'll give him a try. Couple of slip ups in this match. JoMo clearly didn't land the Corkscrew properly, plus i don;t think the belt thing was supposed to happen. I think that Drew went to pull on JoMo's belt so that he'd trip and walk face first into the turnbuckle, so that Drew could hit the Double Arm, but the belt buckle came off, hence why JoMo was able to take his belt off just by pulling it out of his pants. I'm just spitballin' but if i'm right, then very well recovered by the two.

Final thought. Ziggler gets 22 shots and always loses. Drew gets one and wins immediately. Who'd Ziggler piss off?

Women's title

Wish it'd been Maryse v Melina. Mickie must be uber pissed with this 'Piggie James' angle because her aggression semed to be making her look really sloppy in the ring. And for God's sake do more than Thesz Press every once in a while.

Final thought. Layla's t-shirt was nowhere near revealing enough. Sorry, can't muster anything better than that.

WWE Title Tables match

Wow. I had an inkling that Sheamus would win, because they did the whole 'hey you're new on the other brand and you just won a title. Watch me do the same thing.' promo right before the match. It went at a good pace, with Sheamus showing good offense, but not too much to make him look better than Cena. Cena looked to be in control for the majority of the match and especially towards the end. The ending itself was a classic way to get nobodies to beat champions. Both guys fall off the turnbuckle, only one goes through a table, ref can't see 100%, so goes with what he knows. Cena got wood, title changes. Cena made a stupid mistake in trying the superplex, because another bog standard AA would have sufficed. Cena wanted to make Sheamus suffer, made a istake and he lost the title, and he knew it. Hence picking up the table shard as a 'reminder' of his mistake. Sheamus didn't beat Cena, Cena fucked up. Great ending, Raw ME shaken up and taking an experimental direction again. It should garner more interest heading into this Jan 4th situation, and if it doesn't work, they'll have plenty of time to make changes before the Rumble.

Final thought(s). A lot of people give Sheamus flack because of his complexion. Seeing all those whelps and bruises on him last night actually made me like him more because i could see everything he had gone through to win that match.

Plus the newspaper article screamed 'he'll definitely win now.' Didin't see the Russian Gazette before Kozlov's title match did ya?

WHC Chairs match

I love Batista as a heel, because now he actually thinks about what he's doing. Face Batista was such a moron that that seemed to be the only reason he ever lost. Heel Batista is a LOT smarter and makes him more engaging to watch IMO. Another good match from these two but with a different dynamic than any of the classic wars they've had before. Instead of being torn between who to cheer, you now know Batista is the bad guy. Am getting a little sick of T'Lo restarting matches though. You know it'll only ever happen during a SD match because Raw has no authority figure at PPV's, and it's just lame.

Final thought. Knew Taker wouldn't be afraid to take one to the face.

Orton v Kofi

The only non-title match is 2nd to last? WTF? That's awesome for Kofi but it makes Orton look more important than both World titles? Do they want to elevate him to that level right now? Anyway, this was the type of match i've waited to see out of Orton for a looooooooooong time. He actually won without any run-ins, cheap shots, DQ's, count-outs or shady officiating. Orton proved that he was simply better than Kofi. He out-wrestle him and beat him convincingly with no doubt in anyone's mind, while at the same time making Kofi look like a million bucks. Big props to both men, they deserved the spot on the car that they had.

Final thought. Best match of the night imo.

Unified Tag Title TLC match

Apparently DX didn't have 2 words for San-Antonio, but i have 2 words to describe this match. LET-DOWN! There was a lot of stumbling around not really doing anything, plenty of less than imaginative use of the ladders, a few chair shots here and there and one, singular, weak ass table spot! Remember when the tables used to be the most used object in TLC? What happened to those days. These high danger, stupid spot matches aren't designed for the 40 yr old veterans who have extensive injuries (excluding Y2J), they're designed for the mid-card spot monkeys that are healthy enough to take a few stupid bumps every now and then. That's why people loved the first few TLC matches because it was young guys crashing from enormous heights through a bajillion tables in order to stand out and get over, not for the Main Eventer's to try and put on an entertaining match while not crippling themselves as they go. Pretty much knew the outcome would go that way. It's the Christmas season and Cena just got beaten by a nobody, so they'd have to do something to send the kids home happy.

Final thought. That holding up half a ladder thing. What was the point in that exactly? Especially as there was a perfectly fine ladder lying next to the busted on outside the ring?

I enjoyed this PPV very much overall, although i have to say, it was the matches with the mid-card guys that impressed me the most, a LOT more than the ME matches (WHC and UTT). But what left me a bit miffed was that, didn't Cena say that if he lost he'd use his rematch clause immediately? What happened to that? Anyway, i'm excited to see how the next 7-8 weeks before the Rumble pan out.