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WWE presents their annual Tables, Ladders and Chairs event this Sunday night from the Target Centre in Minneapolis, Minnesota.The show currently boasts an incredible main event handicap TLC match that will see the newly reunited Shield take on Braun Strowman, Kane, The Miz, Cesaro and Sheamus.
This is the first time a match of this kind has main evented a TLC event and the first time since 2009 that the main event has been a tag team match under TLC rules. Even though the build-up to the event has been all about The Shield, there are a number of other matches on the card that include Alexa Bliss defending her Women's Championship against Mickie James and Enzo Amore hopes to win back his Cruiserweight Championship from Kalisto.
The TLC event has only been shown annually since 2009, but there have still been some interesting facts noted about the event since then.
#5 This year is the first time in TLC history that the Intercontinental Championship won't be defended
Ever since 2009 when Drew McIntyre defeated John Morrison to lift the Intercontinental Championship, the title has always been defended at this event.
More often than not, the IC title is defended in a ladder match (because the show is called TLC) and has been defended three times over the past eight years under this match stipulation.
WWE has decided to end this statistic this year since The Miz is the current Intercontinental Champion and he is part of the main event handicap match, which means that the Intercontinental Championship will not be defended as part of the show for the first time.
#4 Sheamus and Mickie James were part of the first TLC event in 2009
WWE decided to make this an annual event back in 2009, over the past eight years a number of WWE stars have made their debuts and competed for Championships at the event, but there are only two superstars who are currently scheduled to be on the show on Sunday night who were part of the inaugural event.
Mickie James takes on Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship on Sunday night, but back in 2009, she lost her Women's Championship to Michelle McCool.
Sheamus is a part of the main event handicap match in Minnesota this weekend, but back in 2009, he managed to defeat John Cena to become WWE Champion; it seems that even though both stars are still part of the company, things sure have changed over the past eight years.
#3 TLC is usually the final WWE event of the year
Aside from last year when WWE decided to add Roadblock: End of the Line in December following TLC, this event has always been the final Pay-per-view of the year.
TLC is usually the final event ahead of January's Royal Rumble match, but for some reason, WWE has decided to shake things up this year and have TLC take place in October and bring back Clash of Champions at the end of the year.
TLC always made sense in December as it was seen as one of the most brutal pay-per-views of the year and would usually mark the end of a number of WWE rivalries before many new ones were made after the festive break.
Once again WWE has decided to change tradition, but since the Raw roster ended the WWE calendar year on pay-per-view last year, it falls to the blue brand to wrap things up on December 17th with Clash of Champions.
#2 A member of the Shield has main evented the last three TLC events
The Shield reformed last week on Raw and now take on five men in the main event of TLC this weekend, but The Shield are no strangers to the TLC environment since Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns have been part of the last three main event matches.
Ambrose took on Bray Wyatt back in 2014 under TLC rules after Wyatt cost Ambrose the win in his Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins the previous month.
Roman Reigns was then defeated by Sheamus the following year in a TLC match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and Ambrose then took centre stage again last year when he faced AJ Styles in a TLC match for the WWE Championship, but after James Ellsworth turned on him and knocked him off a ladder and through two tables, Ambrose was unable to win back his Championship.
It seems that Seth Rollins is the only member of The Shield that hasn't been in a singles TLC match since he made his first pay-per-view match at the event back in 2012.
#1 Kane faced the Shield in their first pay-per-view match at TLC in 2012
Kane made his return to WWE on the final Raw before WWE TLC 2017 and set his sights on "The Big Dog" Roman Reigns during his steel cage match with Braun Strowman. Whilst many of the WWE Universe thought that it was quite random that Kane has chosen to make his WWE return, that might not be the case.
When The Shield made their debut at this event back in 2012, they faced Team Hell No and Ryback. Kane is the only man left out of that trio that is still employed by WWE as a wrestler and able to face The Shield one more time.
It seems that Kane has waited eight years to avenge that loss against The Shield and since he's stepping in the ring on Sunday night alongside four other men in a match that is contested under TLC rules, it seems that the odds could be in his favour this time a
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