TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs will consist of professional wrestling matches that involved wrestlers from pre-existing scriptedfeuds or storylines that play out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown. Wrestlers portray heroes or villains as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[2][3]
At Survivor Series, Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose in a tournament final to win the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but Sheamus then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Reigns to win the title.[4] The following night on Raw, Sheamus was scheduled to defend the championship against Reigns in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at the event.[5] On the November 30 episode of Raw, Reigns received an early title match, in which he would have to defeat Sheamus in under 5:15; Reigns won the match via disqualification, so he did not win the title.[6]
On the November 26 edition of SmackDown, Dean Ambrose defeated Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler in a Triple Threat match to earn a Intercontinental Championship match against Kevin Owens at the event.[7]
On the November 30 edition of Raw, The Lucha Dragons and The Usos faced off in a #1 contenders match for The New Day'sWWE Tag Team Championships. The New Day attacked both teams, causing a double-disqualification. Later, Stephanie McMahondecided that because neither team lost, both The Lucha Dragons and The Usos would challenge the champions in a Triple ThreatTag Team Ladder match.[6]
At Survivor Series, Charlotte defeated Paige via submission to retain the WWE Divas Championship.[4] The following night on Raw, after Paige stated that Charlotte had cheated the previous night, she received a rematch for the title, which ended in a double countout.[5] Following this, another match was set for TLC.[8]
On the November 23 edition of Raw, Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper defeated The Dudley Boyz.[5] The Dudley Boyz then defeatedBraun Strowman and Erick Rowan on the following episode of SmackDown.[7] On the November 30 edition of Raw, Tommy Dreamer returned to the WWE and joined The Dudley Boyz, after which the two groups fought to a no contest. On the December 3 edition of SmackDown, Wyatt defeated D-Von Dudley.[9] On the December 7 edition of Raw, Rhyno returned to the WWE and joined The Dudley Boyz, after which it was announced that The Dudley Boyz, Dreamer and Rhyno would face The Wyatt Family in a 8-man Tag Team Elimination Tables match at the event.[8]
On November 30, Ryback interrupted Lana's return to Raw and defeated Rusev by countout in an impromptu match.[6] After a rematch the following week ended in a double countout,[8] another match was scheduled for TLC.
At Hell in a Cell, Alberto Del Rio won the WWE United States Championship and joined forces with manager Zeb Colter,[10] leading to confrontations with Colter's former protege,Jack Swagger. Though Del Rio ended his association with Colter on the December 7 episode of Raw, a title defense against Swagger in a Chairs match was scheduled for TLC.[8]
On December 13, it was announced on WWE.com that Becky Lynch would face Sasha Banks on the TLC Kickoff show.[11]
Matches
| No. | Matches | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1P | Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks | Singles match[12] | |
| 2 | Sheamus (c) vs. Roman Reigns | Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[13] | |
| 3 | Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dean Ambrose | Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[14] | |
| 4 | The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods) (c) vs. The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) vs. The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) | Triple threat tag team ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[15] | |
| 5 | Charlotte (c) (with Ric Flair) vs. Paige | Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship[16] | |
| 6 | The ECW Originals (Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno) vs. The Wyatt Family(Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) | Eight-man tag team elimination tables match[17] | |
| 7 | Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger | Chairs match for the WWE United States Championship[18] | |
| 8 | Ryback vs. Rusev (with Lana) | Singles match[19] | |
| |||
