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WWE Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) was an entertaining pay-per-view that helped WWE end 2020 on a high.
While TLC had mostly high-quality matches, there were still a few issues and questions that were left unanswered. Charlotte Flair made her return at the show, and it took her no time to add another title to her trophy case at TLC.
The Hurt Business defeated The New Day for the RAW Tag Team Championships, and the heels did not need much help from MVP or Bobby Lashley to achieve the feat.
Most surprisingly, Roman Reigns did not get to end the TLC pay-per-view as the main event spot was handed to ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. The two men competed in a Firefly Inferno match to write a new chapter in their rivalry.
In this article, we will look at the 5 biggest questions fans have after the WWE TLC pay-per-view.
#5 Could WWE have allowed Charlotte Flair to return without taking Lana out from WWE TLC?
One of the biggest surprises WWE had in store for fans at WWE TLC was the return of Charlotte Flair. Flair last competed in June this year and returned six months later to partner with Asuka to win the Women’s Tag Team titles.
The Women’s Tag Team Championship was the only active title Flair hadn’t won before TLC, and WWE decided to sacrifice Lana to allow Flair to return.
While it was good to watch The Queen return to the ring and win another big title, was it necessary to take Lana out of the equation? Lana worked hard in the latter half of the year to build a top storyline for herself. While the WWE Universe believed that she was being punished at first, WWE turned things around to give her a chance to win her first title in the company.
Could WWE not have taken out Asuka before the match instead, and made the odds fall against Lana once again, before Flair’s return? Pairing Flair with Lana would have given the latter a big boost to her career, and possibly her first title in WWE.
Was it necessary to take out Lana at such a crucial point in a rivalry that had been building for months?
#4 Was winning the Women’s Tag Team Championship at WWE TLC in Asuka’s best interests?
Carrying on from the previous question, another thing that needs to be addressed is if Asuka needed to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at TLC. No Superstar wants to let go of an opportunity of winning a title, but was it in her best interest to win the title at this point?
WWE has been struggling to build a top rivalry for Asuka. The Empress last defended her title against Lana almost a month ago, and prior to that in September against Zelina Vega.
Instead of booking Asuka to win the title with Charlotte Flair, couldn’t the company have given Lana her spot instead? We could have watched Shayna Baszler injure Asuka before TLC instead of Nia Jax injuring Lana on RAW.
This would have allowed Flair to return and win the Women’s Tag Team Championships from Baszler and Jax alongside Lana. It would have also given Asuka her next challenger in the form of Baszler on the road to the Royal Rumble.
#3 Was it the best time for The Miz to cash in his Money in the Bank contract at WWE TLC?
The Miz defeated Otis to win the Money in the Bank contract from the heavyweight. While Otis held the MITB contract for some time, WWE made the bold decision of taking it from him, essentially reversing his MITB ladder match victory. At WWE TLC, Miz decided it was time to cash in his contract during the WWE Championship match.
Miz was smart enough to wait until both Drew McIntyre and AJ Styles had done a considerable amount of damage to each other in the match, but was it smart to cash in during a match where the title hung high above the ring?
With no disqualifications in place, it was not the best decision, keeping in mind that Omos was always nearby to interfere whenever required. Could Miz not have waited for a traditional match where he could have pinned one of the Superstars late in the contest, with no fear of outside interference?
Yes, is seems WWE did not want anyone to cash in the MITB contract successfully on McIntyre, but was it the best time for a MITB cash in at TLC? Having Miz sneak up on McIntyre after the match and then cash in the briefcase could have helped make The Scottish Psychopath look even stronger, and could have led to a very interesting feud.
#2 Can Roman Reigns defend his WWE Universal Championship without the help of Jey Uso?
Roman Reigns made an incredible return after time off due to the COVID pandemic this year. It did not take him long to win the Universal Championship following his return. At WWE TLC, he was faced with a major challenge in the form of Kevin Owens.
Owens had vowed to win the Universal Championship from Reigns at the show, or die trying. At Survivor Series, Reigns had locked horns with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and came close to a loss before Jey Uso ran in and interfered to help The Tribal Chief.
At TLC, we saw something similar as The Head of the Table needed Uso to play a major role in the match and come back to interfere, after being taken out by The Prizefighter initially.
Uso helped Reigns distract and attack Owens at the end of the match again to help The Tribal Chief choke out Owens and retain his title at TLC.
Reigns has come across as the top heel on SmackDown and has also been difficult to beat in the past. While he has won most of his matches on his own in previous years, it begs the question why does he suddenly need help from Uso to win now?
It's agreeable that he’s playing a heel character and WWE needs to bring more heat towards the Superstar, but Reigns' history is proof he is dominant enough to get the job done himself.
#1 What’s next for ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt after his loss at WWE TLC?
WWE has tried to protect ‘The Fiend’ character since its inception and Bray Wyatt has only brought out the character for special occasions and matches. While fans believed that The Fiend would be sort of invincible in WWE, they’ve learned the bitter truth over the past year or so.
At WWE TLC, The Fiend was booked to compete in a Firefly Inferno Match against Randy Orton. With 'Firefly' attached to the title of the match, it was expected that Wyatt would go over The Viper in the final pay-per-view of the year.
However, Orton managed to set The Fiend on fire during the contest and win the match in the process. This was a bit of a shocker for many fans, as the match-type and the bizarreness of it all favored The Fiend.
Surprisingly, WWE has allowed The Fiend to lose many critical matches, and his character now does not seem much different than Kane’s, who came across as a threat but failed to go over in many big matches.
Keeping in mind that Wyatt will likely continue his rivalry against Orton in the weeks to come, the question is: What’s next for The Fiend character? Wyatt, and his character, have lost steam, even though he’s tried hard to keep himself relevant and give fans great wrestling content and matches.
