WWE TLC preview & predictions: SmackDown’s final PPV of the year
The last SmackDown PPV of the year takes place this evening, live at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.
The theme of the show is Tables, Ladders and Chairs, so we will see all of those represented in four different matches. Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss will square off in a tables match for the SmackDown Women’s title. Dolph Ziggler and the Miz will battle it out in a ladder match for the Intercontinental title. Baron Corbin and Kalisto will face off in a chairs match, and in the main event all three weapons will be in use as AJ Styles defends the WWE World title against Dean Ambrose in a TLC match.
Unfortunately, those who were hoping that the beloved stairs match would return are in for deep disappointment as it’s not here.
We round off the card with another stipulation match, as well as a title match as Nikki Bella battles Carmella in a no DQ match and Heath Slater and Rhyno defend the SmackDown Tag Team titles against Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton.
Current tallies:
- Kyle S. Johnson: (Columnist) (70 points)
- Steve Khan: (WWE SmackDown Live recapper) (67 points)
- Bryan Rose: (New Japan/205 Live reporter) (67 points)
- James Cox: (WWE Main Event recapper & WWE DVD reviewer) (62 points)
- Jeremy Peeples: (Lucha Underground recapper) (48 points)
- Brian Hoops: (Daily Pro Wrestling History) (48 points)
- Ryan Frederick: (UFC reporter) (40 points)
- Paul “Gramps” Fontaine: (MMA writer and recapper and new grandfather) (22 points)
- PeachMachine: (University of Phoenix Online Mascot) (17 points)
- JJ Williams: (NXT reporter) (6 points)
Chairs Match: Kalisto vs. Baron Corbin
Bryan Rose: I am very excited for the CHAIRS match. Corbin wins because he is tall.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Brian Hoops: Baron Corbin is a future title contender, Kalisto is not
Winner: Baron Corbin
James Cox: After all they’ve done, there’s no way it’s not Corbin here.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Steve Khan: They will probably need a new contender for Miz’s IC title, and Kalisto could be that guy. But I just don’t see him winning here after already making Corbin look like a punk, whether or not they still have big plans for Corbin.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Paul Fontaine: I’ve proven to be pretty terrible at predictions this year but I can say with absolute certainty that Corbin is winning here.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Kyle S. Johnson: Baron Corbin is big. Kalisto does lucha things. This is WWE. Big wins.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Ryan Frederick: I don’t see how they don’t put over Corbin unless they’ve given up on him.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Jeremy Peeples: Corbin is big and tall — so he’s winning this one.
Winner: Baron Corbin
No Disqualification Match: Carmella vs. Nikki Bella
Bryan Rose: Tough, but I guess Nikki wins to avenge John Cena or something.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Brian Hoops: No DQ is Nikki’s specialty match.
Winner: Nikki
James Cox: Strange storyline that needs telling properly. Nikki shouldn’t be losing, regardless.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Steve Khan: It’s hard to care about this at all, but it’s even harder knowing Carmella isn’t the one who attacked Nikki. Nikki could win to keep her strong, or whoever did attack her could get involved here and help Carmella win. However, Carmella has beaten Nikki so often already, I’ll go with Nikki and hopefully that’s the end of this.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Paul Fontaine: This match could be ugly. That’s the portion of the prediction that I’m confident in. As for the winner….well, I think it’s Nikki’s turn to get her win back.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Kyle S. Johnson: Nikki wins here to blow off this feud and perhaps gets beaten down post-match by Natalya to set up the next one.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Ryan Frederick: This one has been done to death and hopefully this is the end. Nikki should be the winner since she’s moving on to something else, but I wouldn’t be surprised at an interference ending with Carmella winning. I’ll flip the coin on this.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Jeremy Peeples: With it being a no DQ match, I can see Carmella getting a heel win here — but I don’t see Nikki losing the blow off match.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Ladder Match for the Intercontinental title: The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Bryan Rose: This feud has gone on for so long I kind of don’t care, even though this will probably be a great match. Miz has become a really solid worker in this role and Dolph will take a bunch of crazy bumps. Too soon to do another title change (at least, in my opinion) so I feel Miz takes this one.
Winner: The Miz
Brian Hoops: Could be one of the better matches of the night.
Winner: Miz retains in a great match.
James Cox: The Miz retains. He’s been excellent in 2016.
Winner: The Miz
Steve Khan: Miz is on a nice run and Ziggler is a total nothing. The only thing going against Miz is there aren’t a lot of babyface contenders, but that doesn’t mean he should lose.
Winner: The Miz
Paul Fontaine: Miz is consistently one of the favorite things for me on SmackDown. I think that whatever’s going to be happening for him leading into Mania probably gets set up here.
Winner: The Miz
Kyle S. Johnson: This should be a fun little car crash. Miz has been on a tremendous roll this year, and it only makes sense to have him continue to push on into 2017 with a win over the nearly-lifeless Ziggler.
Winner: The Miz
Ryan Frederick: Miz has been one of the best guys in the company this year and I enjoy him. I don’t see how you switch the title again so soon, or even at all, at least with Ziggler. I think this will be a great match.
Winner: The Miz
Jeremy Peeples: Miz has been a shining star for everything SD-related for months now and he should retain here. Poor Dolph has been killed by stop and start pushes, and another nothing IC title win wouldn’t help him — so Miz should win this.
Winner: The Miz
SmackDown Tag Team Championship: Heath Slater & Rhyno (c) vs. Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt
Bryan Rose: Slater and Rhyno’s shelf life felt like it peaked ages ago. Orton and Wyatt win to continue whatever they are building towards.
Winners: Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt
Brian Hoops: Orton and Wyatt winning the belts would elevate the titles.
Winners: Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt
James Cox: This is a no contest, on paper and in storyline. Quite the interesting tag team champions and I look forward to them.
Winners: Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt
Steve Khan: Wyatt & Orton suddenly have a good thing going and they should win the titles. The tag division needs all the help it can get, and Wyatt & Orton being on top allows the potential for other new teams to get involved. Also, losing the titles doesn’t have to spell the end for Slater & Rhyno, who the crowd seem to like.
Winners: Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton
Paul Fontaine: I’m going against the grain here and predicting the champs retain. Either dissension within the Wyatts (although I think it’s a little too soon for that) or someone interferes, setting up a program for them.
Winners: Heath Slater & Rhyno
Kyle S. Johnson: What makes sense here is having Bray and Randy win the titles, allowing Randy to further sow seeds of dissension between Wyatt and Harper. This would lead to an eventual split, Randy would then turn on Bray having accomplished his goal of isolating Wyatt, and we would get the blow off match between the two at WrestleMania since neither seem to have any larger long-term plans.
Given that it is WWE, I would not at all be surprised if they hot-shotted the rest of the program into one show and just had Randy turn on Bray at TLC, but it would make so much more sense for these two to carry the belts for the while and drop them onto American Alpha at a later point that I’ll presume that this is what happens.
Winners: Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton
Ryan Frederick: I’ve enjoyed Heath Slater and Rhyno as champs, but I see that reign ending here. Orton and Wyatt winning is a set up, but a necessary set up to further the story where Randy eventually turns on Bray. Winning the belts here advances that.
Winners: Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton
Jeremy Peeples: It’s amazing to think of how little they’ve done with Rhyno and Heath over the past month — so they just feel like guys with belts as opposed to the champions. Randy and Bray made for fairly dreadful opponents, but are outstanding allies and a tag title run should freshen them up.
Winners: Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton
Tables Match for the SmackDown Women’s title: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Alexa Bliss
Bryan Rose: I say Bliss wins this, but in such a manner that the win is cheap and they go for the rubber match where Lynch quickly regains the title.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Brian Hoops: Bliss is not ready to hold the title.
Winner: Becky Lynch
James Cox: I don’t know whether the title will change hands but I think this feud will continue. These two are good together.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Steve Khan: I wouldn’t say this has gotten old yet, but it will if it doesn’t end soon. Lynch should win and she likely will after going through a table already on SmackDown. Bliss is a good performer, but she’s not ready yet to be champion (not that it matters).
Winner: Becky Lynch
Paul Fontaine: Bliss is the best woman on the SmackDown roster, in my opinion. Logic would state that if Nikki is winning over Carmella that the heel win here. But this is WWE. I think Bliss wins but does not win the title. I’m calling the shot early and saying Bliss wins the title at the Rumble.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Kyle S. Johnson: This is still Becky’s division, and it should remain her title. Given WWE logic, it’s entirely possible that she’ll segue into a feud with Carmella despite her likely losing to Nikki Bella on this same show.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Ryan Frederick: Alexa isn’t ready to hold the title just yet. She should win a program over either Naomi or Nikki next to springboard back into winning the title. She’ll eventually get it, but I like the shine they’re giving to Becky. Not sure where Becky goes from here, but she should retain.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Jeremy Peeples: Becky and Alexa have shined when given the chance on SmackDown, and Becky is a solid champion. Alexa could win this, but she got the better of Becky on the go-home show, so Becky should retain.
Winner: Becky Lynch
TLC Match for the WWE World title: AJ Styles (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Bryan Rose: I don’t see Ambrose regaining the title. Styles is the best choice for champion right now, and this should be a really good bout if given time. I think as long as it doesn’t have a really weak finish this could be the match of the show.
Winner: AJ Styles
Brian Hoops: Should be an outstanding match, never get tired of seeing Styles beat Ambrose.
Winner: AJ Styles
James Cox: AJ Styles is the best thing on and about the main roster. Should be a very good match.
Winner: AJ Styles
Steve Khan: I’m a big Ambrose fan, but it’s probably unanimous that Styles should and will win. Either guy could face Undertaker (or Cena) next, assuming that’s the direction, but having Ambrose as champion for a month accomplishes nothing. Styles is the man right now and should win.
Winner: AJ Styles
Paul Fontaine: This is the last PPV that AJ is going to hold his title through as I’ve been convinced since he won it that he’d hold it until the Rumble, where Cena would beat him for it. I expect this to be the best match on the show but it should be a decisive win for AJ. James Ellsworth could cost Ambrose the match if they’re going for a screwjob.
Winner: AJ Styles
Kyle S. Johnson: AJ Styles will close out 2016 as the WWE Champion. Had you told me this one year ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. Somehow, the best wrestler on the planet continues to defy and exceed expectations.
Winner: AJ Styles
Ryan Frederick: AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world, and he should be rewarded with holding onto that title for longer. He’s the most complete performer on the roster and I think this will be a hell of a match. As much as I like Ambrose, he shouldn’t be beating Styles for the title, unless there is a double turn involved. I really don’t hope they involve James Ellsworth in the finish, even though he is super over.
Winner: AJ Styles
Jeremy Peeples: AJ feels like “the man” on SD, while Dean’s stock has dropped quite a bit. AJ should win this and send Dean maybe into the IC title picture for a bit. AJ vs. Cena is a good plan for the future and to get there, Dean needs to lose this one.
Winner: AJ Styles