WWE TLC 2011 - Dolph Ziggler (c) vs Zack Ryder - United States Championship

[martymcfly]

I think it's pretty much a given that Ryder will end up champion....once the WWE is ready to move Ziggler up on the ladder. The problem is that I don't think that right now there is room for him in the main event scene now that Miz is already up there. Ziggler and Miz are basically the same on-screen personas.

So I would guess that at TLC, Ryder will be about to win, then Swagger will interfere causing a DQ, so that the Ryder/Ziggler program can be stretched out longer. Doing so makes the most sense because it keeps Ziggler relevant while waiting to be moved up, it keeps the Ryder fans happy by keeping Ryder relevant, and lengthening the struggle for Ryder will make it more satisfying when he finally does walk away champion.

So I predict that for now, Ziggler will retain by DQ.

 

[#1HEEL]

I think it's pretty much a given that Ryder will end up champion....once the WWE is ready to move Ziggler up on the ladder. The problem is that I don't think that right now there is room for him in the main event scene now that Miz is already up there. Ziggler and Miz are basically the same on-screen personas.

So I would guess that at TLC, Ryder will be about to win, then Swagger will interfere causing a DQ, so that the Ryder/Ziggler program can be stretched out longer. Doing so makes the most sense because it keeps Ziggler relevant while waiting to be moved up, it keeps the Ryder fans happy by keeping Ryder relevant, and lengthening the struggle for Ryder will make it more satisfying when he finally does walk away champion.

So I predict that for now, Ziggler will retain by DQ.

Furthmore, what hasn't been touched on is the petition.

If Ziggler wins by cheating, then it adds steam to the petition and builds the fued up further.

I only see Ryder winning at TLC if they want a mini Cena-Ziggler program, or actually plan on Ziggler winning the rumble.

 

[The Crock]

D-Man said it best: Finally. We've been building and building towards this, through matches, promos, interference, Z True Long Island Story, you name it, but we're finally getting that PPV match. I can see it going either way, really. Ziggler has impressed me a lot lately, he's stepping up and getting to that level where he'll be a main eventer really soon. Zack Ryder, on the other hand, has also been stepping up. He's been busting his ass lately and crowd can't get enough of him, he's earned this chance.

Zack Ryder getting the win would make sense on multiple levels: he's WAY over with the crowd, he's been chasing the gold for some time now, and Ziggler is poised to move on from the midcard. For all intents and purposes, it looks like Ryder will go over. That being said, I can definitely see Dolph Ziggler retaining here. Not only would it build this program up even further, making the eventual payoff sweeter (if they go that route), but it will tide Ziggler over until they're ready for that main event splash.

I honestly have no idea where to go with this, but my gut tells me that we'll have a new United States Champion in Zack Ryder. It'll give Dolph Ziggler an opportunity to test the main event waters, while finally giving Zack Ryder the ball and seeing what he can do with it.

 

[keehlnate]

This should be the time that Zack Ryder will become the US champ. If he doesn't win this, he will go down. Although I still see this feud going for a few more months and Dolph would regain this title once again.

 

[LSN80]

D-Man said it best: Finally. We've been building and building towards this, through matches, promos, interference, Z True Long Island Story, you name it, but we're finally getting that PPV match.

I understand where people are excited to see Ryder challenge Ziggler for the United States Championship, as I am. But finally? Ziggler did compete in two matches on each of the past two PPV's, with him defending the US Title against Ryder at Vengeance. I know WWE has been trying to sell the story that Ziggler has been ducking Ryder, but he did defeat him already in a US Championship match, on PPV.

Anyway, the WrestlingObserver/F4Online Newsletter is reporting that John Cena will be added to the match as the special guest referee. A yet to be determined stipulation will apparently be put into place for Cena, where if he meets certain conditions(refs the match down the middle?), he will be added to the TLC match between Punk/Miz/Del Rio, making it a Fatal Four Way.

Obviously, adding Cena to the match as the referee throws in a completely different wrinkle. Cena gave up his spot in the TLC match to afford Ryder the opportunity to compete for the US Title, so one would think his investment in Ryder winning the title is larger then him receiving the WWE Championship match. On the other hand, the face character of John Cena probably wouldn't show favortism. For those who will argue, "Well, he AA'd Mark Henry to help Ryder", you need to remember one thing: The match was a No DQ, no Countout match. In other words, what Cena did was within the confines of the rules.

But regardless of what happens with regards to Cena, I firmly believe Ryder wins the title here. WWE booking 101 says that when the challenger is going over, the champion gets the last shot in before the PPV, which Ziggler did when he Zig-Zagged Ryder and stole his Slammy. Besides, Ziggler has done all he can as US Champion, and it's time he move up the card, possibly even challenging Punk for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble should Punk retain at TLC. Further, Ryder is at the height of his popularity, so in the interest of giving the fans what they want, Ryder needs the title. His gimmick and look scream mid-carder for life, but there's no reason why he can't be a great mid-carder, and the first step to this would be to win the US title on Sunday. In what should be a highly enjoyable, well-wrestled match, I fully expect the referee, John Cena or otherwise, to be slapping the mat three times in favor of Ryder. Which leads to one more question to be answered here:

Are you interested/intrigued/in favor of seeing John Cena referee this match?

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Are you interested/intrigued/in favor of seeing John Cena referee this match?

First off, until it's ACTUALLY set in place, I would assume at Smackdown!, I'll take that with a grain of salt. But if it does come to be, I'd rather have him not be involved as a ref. First off, it cheapens Ryder's win. Yes that makes it a softer blow for Ziggler when he loses the belt, but they could always use Swagger or Vickie to screw up and cost him the title. Cena's "interference" should only be coming in to stop Swagger from getting involved, causing Ziggler to get distracted and lose. Cena does not need any more involvement than that.

And yes, I'm sure it's just a ploy to get more people to buy the PPV thinking Cena could potentially be in the main event, but he doesn't need to be in it. I guess it'll probably work though so more power to 'em. I'd just rather they did it another way instead of him reffing the US Title match.

PS - I think Ryder wins regardless of how or who gets involved.

 

[#hamler]

Ziggler has had a very sucessful reign as United States Champion. However, I think it's time for him to move on to bigger, better things. A feud with CM Punk seems ideal as it'll give us some memorable matches as well as phenomenal moments between Vickie and Punk. There's a way for this match to work incredibly well; push both men after this match is done. Zack Ryder's popularity is rising and it's rising fast. Not only has he become a viable contender to the United States Championship, but he's become arguably one of the most over midcarders in the WWE. His push has gained momentum and now isn't the time to stop it. Zack Ryder will be winning the United States Championship come TLC.

Hamler's Prediction - Zack Ryder will win the United States Championship

 

[Theo Mays]

I'm pretty much with Hamler here. Ziggler has had a fabulous championship reign, maybe the reign of the year (of all titles), but it is time for Ziggler to move on and get closer to the main event. Zack Ryder is the perfect guy for the US title. He has gotten himself over with the crowd and has earned this opportunity. I think it would be a waste if they had Ziggler go over Ryder. We've seen Dolph dodge Ryder and I think it is time, hence why they've given Ryder the shot. Hell they had Cena pretty much get it for him, it would be pointless to have Ziggler go over as it would make Ryder look extremely weak and likely ruin whatever momentum he has built in the recent months. Ziggler losing really won't do anything to his credibility as a superstar as he has proven himself in the recent months that he can truly go and hang in with the main event guys in the ring and on the mic. Ryder hasn't got that shot yet and he is the underdog in all this and needs the win to truly make him a mainstay in the midcard scene.

 

[Cracka Jack]

Here's hoping Ryder finally gets the belt. All of his hard work, basically just to save his job at first, has led him to being one of the most over guys on the whole damn roster. He and Dolph have loads of chemistry, and I'm sure they're both looking to steal the show on Sunday. This will be a fun, back-and-forth roller-coaster-type match, with both guys looking strong. While I have a lot of confidence that Ryder will win the title, my main concern here is how they go about it. I feel the presence of Cena possibly looming over this match, and I think he may just help Ryder out here. That may make Ryder look a little weak. That wouldn't be all bad though, as Dolph will look a lot stronger in losing, and will probably move up to the main event soon enough. This may just be the way to end things, aside from Dolph's guaranteed rematch. In the end, I expect to see the US Title with the Long Island Iced Z.

 

[Matth3w]

First of all, I'm a broski, so I'm pulling for Ryder.

However, this is the WWE, where stupid illogical booking happens all the time (not booking Ryder in a match at survivor series as a recent example), so I wouldn't be surprised if Ziggler retained here.

My pick: Ryder.

 

[Da Prophet]

If anything other then Zack Ryder winning happens I'll be very annoyed. You can't build Ryder up like the WWE has and not put the belt on him. I still think Ryder should have taken the belt at Survivor Series and then defended it at TLC but it really doesn't matter at this point. What needs to happen is for Ryder to get the belt. You can't have Ziggler win because he is ready to move on and head to the main event scene in the near future. It has been an amazing job by Ziggler carrying the belt and making people care about his matches. For the past couple of months Ziggler has stepped his game up and shown he doesn't need Vickie to get a reaction from the audience.

A Ryder victory does wonders for both men at TLC and I can only hope that the title switch is made. I see no benefit in keeping the belt on Ziggler unless they want to do it the very last RAW of 2011 to give Ryder a real fresh start in terms of starting the year as nothing and becoming champion. Other than that the title change seems to be a lock and with a possible Cena involvement it can be even better. The WWE can use this angle about Cena being booed to their advantage with him helping a guy that has a strong connection with the audience.

In recent weeks they has shown the friendship between both Ryder and Cena so some involvement from John, who isn't written on the card, would make sense. With or without John Cena I predict that we will be seeing Zack Ryder walk out of TLC with the United States Championship to complete his 180 degree turn around from last year.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Ryder has to win here. He just has to. Ziggler has had a very successful reign as US Champion, but there has been a good amount of build towards this match, and I have to believe WWE will finally pull the trigger on Ryder this Sunday. Zack is really over with the fans, and he has improved in the ring, and a US Championship win would provide the much needed payoff all Ryder supporters have been waiting for. These two do have the potential to deliver something good at TLC, and I do have some high hopes for this match.

As far as Ziggler goes, a loss shouldn't hurt him too much. WWE has already shown tons of faith in Ziggler, he is high up on the list of young superstars, who have a very bright future in WWE, and he will wear more gold in the future, because WWE won't give up on this man.

 

[HoHo]

With all the buidling of Zach Ryder he needs this win.Ziggler is at the point where he doesn't really need the US Title, because he's Wrestling at a level of a World Champion, but I imagine Ryder wins, and Ziggler gets a rematch and he loses again, before moving on with someone better...

 

[Dagger Dias]

This is it. Ryder is finally winning the title here. He has to because by this point WWE know how over he is. It is time to capitalize on his popularity by giving Ryder his first singles title. The fans are begging for the push. Make it happen! Ziggler is above the midcard title at this point and no longer needs it. Or Vickie for that matter. The match will probably open the show and I think it will be one of the better matches of the night. Ryder wins his first singles title and Ziggler moves up to the main event tier.

DAGGER'S PREDICTION
Zack Ryder will win the United States Championship

 

[Stephen11]

First off, I really do hope that Cena doesn't ref this match. It will weaken the win and pretty much just set in stone that Ryder will win this match. WWE seems to be playing to this whole "Cena gave his spot to Ryder" so there's no way WWE will have Ryder lose when he has Cena's blessings. Ziggler's time as US Champ is up. He has had a long run and it has helped him become a main eventer even though he really has do anything with the actual championship.

I predict Ryder winning the US title (finally).

 

[Cuz]

I still don't see Ryder winning. I think Cena will be involved in a big way. There's no way I see Cena giving up a title shot for no reason.

Why is he putting on twitter that he is hanging out with Ryder? I just don't see all this happening just for him to let Ryder win, but it is obvious that there is some surprise in store.

Plus, Ziggler has been losing a lot lately. They usually make the heels look stronger before a PPV if they are going to end up losing. Why have him lose over and over, especially on the go home smackdown show and then have him drop the title too?

I don't think Ryder is going to do it. I still think Cena heel turn, but even if he doesn't turn, I just don't think that the WWE is that sold on Ryder even with all of the cheers.

I think the Kane attack is just to swerve all of this.