Storylines
The professional wrestling matches at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting promotion, WWE. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown . [7] [8]
The major rivalry going into TLC was between the reigning WWE Champion CM Punk and Ryback. Having been denied the title at Hell in a Cell by 'rogue official' Brad Maddox, Ryback along with John Cena competed in a triple threat match for Punk's title at Survivor Series. However, Punk was able to retain the title again when the debuting trio of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns interfered and powerbombed Ryback through a table as he was closing in on victory. The trio followed this up by putting Ryback through a table once again the next night on Raw, and, calling themselves The Shield, continued to attack a myriad of superstars over the following weeks including repeated assaults on the WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane), who vowed to put aside the personal differences which had marred their title reign and become united as a result. [9] Having been denied the chance to win the WWE Championship at Survivor Series, Ryback was granted another opportunity at the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match against Punk. [10] However, the following week during a brawl involving The Shield, Team Hell No and The Miz, Ryback assaulted Punk with a chair and a ladder before powerbombing him through a table. The next day, Punk underwent surgery for a (legit) knee injury, and so was removed from the card. Instead, Ryback would team with Team Hell No against Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns in a six-man tag team TLC match. This match (which was announced via a press release by WWE chairman Vince McMahon) differed from standard TLC matches as it would be decided via pinfall or submission. [11] However, the original TLC match between CM Punk and Ryback was rescheduled for the first Raw of 2013. [12]
On October 28, 2012, at Hell in a Cell, Big Show won the World Heavyweight Championship after defeating Sheamus. [13] The conflict between both men intensified after the match, leading to Big Show's attack on Sheamus and William Regal while the two were visiting an English pub during WWE's European tour. [14] Another fight broke out between the two of them in a parking lot during the November 16 episode of SmackDown. [14] The conflict reached its worst during their rematch at Survivor Series: the Big Show used a referee to shield himself from the Brogue Kick and managed to deliver a knockout punch (WMD) while Sheamus was checking on the downed referee. This foul play ultimately caused the Big Show to be disqualified from the match, thus retaining his title. Shortly after failing to regain the title, Sheamus attacked Big Show with a steel chair while the Big Show pleaded for a cessation of the attacks. Sheamus relented, but followed up the beating by performing his finishing move, the Brogue Kick, on the Big Show. [15] Therefore, a chairs match between Big Show and Sheamus was first announced on the November 23 episode of SmackDown by General Manager Booker T. TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs events have been an emotional point for Big Show as he both gained and then lost his title during the last event held in 2011 in a record of 45 seconds, as a result of Bryan Danielson cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase after Mark Henry knocked out Show post-match. [14]
Leading up to Survivor Series, Wade Barrett replaced The Miz as the final entrant of Team Ziggler, matching up with Kofi Kingston. During the Survivor Series tag team match between Team Foley and Team Ziggler, Barrett managed to pin Kingston and eliminate him. [16] On the November 19 episode of Raw, Barrett defeated Kingston in a non-title match. [17] During the November 26 episode, Barrett was granted a match to vie for Kingston's Intercontinental Championship at the TLC event. [18]
Since October 2012, John Cena was accused of having an inappropriate romantic relationship with AJ Lee during the latter's time as Raw general manager, which newly appointed Raw managing supervisor Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler were trying to prove, beginning a feud between Cena and Ziggler. [19] During the December 3 episode of Raw, Guerrero (after being coaxed by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon) made a ladder match between Cena and Ziggler for Ziggler's Money in the Bank World Heavyweight Championship contract at the TLC PPV. It marked the second time Ziggler would defend his contract. [20]
Antonio Cesaro was feuding with R-Truth heading into the pay-per-view after R-Truth unsuccessfully challenged him for the United States Championship at Survivor Series. The weeks building up included them facing off in a Six Man Tag Team Match and with Cesaro mocking America on the episode of SmackDown before the show. R-Truth suffered a small knee injury but competed anyway.
