Ranking all 10 WWE TLC PPVs so far from worst to best

In less than a week, WWE will be presenting their final pay-per-view of 2019, and the decade as a whole, in TLC. This was one of the many stipulation-centric pay-per-views that WWE introduced in 2009, moving away from the likes of Unforgiven, No Mercy, and Armageddon. TLC has played host to all varieties of matches involving tables, ladders and chairs, with the latter being one of the most contentious match stipulations in recent history.

Sure, TLC-based matches are guaranteed to provide some great action, but the premise of the pay-per-view does seem forced, taking away from the unpredictability of when such matches would take place. More often than not, WWE has done a fine job at integrating tables, ladders and chairs into storylines in the month of December and as a result, we have seen some excellent TLC pay-per-views.

But not all of them have been a hit. So far, there have been ten editions of WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs. Here is every single one of them ranked from worst to best.

#10 2014 (TLC + Stairs)

In the fallout of the extremely hot Team Authority vs Team Cena program at Survivor Series, WWE hit a creative roadblock. This is probably because of the absence of a certain WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but there was no excuse for a pay-per-view this bad. For the first and last time the company added steel stairs to the traditional tables, ladders, and chairs concept.

This was to accommodate a Stairs Match between Erick Rowan and Big Show. The one good match on the card was an Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match between Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper, which opened the show, but once that match was over, pretty much the rest of TLC(S) 2014 was a boring mess. Roman Reigns returned in the John Cena vs Seth Rollins Tables Match, before cutting an unfortunately bad backstage promo.

The miserable night was compounded with a TLC Match between Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. While it was actually pretty decent, the finish was what places 2014's edition as the worst in TLC history. Ambrose tried to get a TV into the ring, but he forgot to unplug it and it exploded in his face, allowing Wyatt to pick up his first pay-per-view win in forever. Aside from Team Authority vs Team Cena, the last few months of 2014 were a real dark time for WWE.

#9 2013 (World Title Unification)

The 2013 edition of TLC was not that terrible. It was just a very uneventful show. It was hyped up to feature the unification of the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships, crowning a single undisputed world champion, but beyond that, there was not a single match on the card that featured tables, ladders, or chairs. This really took away from the point of the TLC pay-per-view concept.

Randy Orton defeated John Cena in a good TLC Match, which should have been much better. Elsewhere on the card, WWE's two biggest babyfaces endured mirroring challenges in the form of 3-on-1 Handicap Matches. CM Punk took on The Shield, buoyed by a rising Roman Reigns, while Daniel Bryan faced The Wyatt Family, weeks before he would join the sinister stable himself.

CM Punk won his match after some miscommunication between Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, but Daniel Bryan was unsuccessful in his efforts against The Wyatt Family. In the coming months, one would be gone from WWE and the other would be pushed to the moon. Aside from a solid 4-Way Elimination Match for the tag titles, it is really difficult to pinpoint any other major happenings on this card, which is why it ranks close to the bottom.

#8 2015 (The Night That Roman Was Cheered)

Like 2013 and 2014, the end of 2015 did not show WWE at its glittering best. The ratings suffered some real damage following Survivor Series, where Sheamus cashed in on Roman Reigns to become WWE Champion. He defended his title against 'The Big Dog' in a hard-hitting TLC Match, but the main talking point came after the final bell, as Reigns completely snapped and took out the League of Nations, before delivering a huge beatdown on Triple H.

After chair shots, Superman Punches, a powerbomb through a table and a thunderous spear on 'The Game,' Roman Reigns was cheered like never before. This set up his popular title victory one night later, but unfortunately, he could not sustain his popularity. The other highlight of TLC 2015 was the crazy, spot-filled Ladder Match between The New Day, The Usos and The Lucha Dragons. This was a fun opener and may be considered the best match of The New Day's historic 483-day Tag Team Championship reign.

Elsewhere, Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental Championship from Kevin Owens and The Wyatt Family trounced ECW Originals, Tommy Dreamer, Rhyno and the Dudley Boyz, in a Tables Elimination Match. It was a decent show, if somewhat unmemorable at times. There have been better efforts by WWE, though.

#7 2010 (Cena Buries Barrett)

When The Nexus burst onto the scene, it was one of the hottest acts in recent WWE history, but over time, all of the heat fizzled out. From their damaging defeat at SummerSlam to WWE failing to commit John Cena into the group, The Nexus turned into a shell of their former selves within six months. Their misery was compounded when John Cena destroyed Wade Barrett in a Chairs Match at TLC 2010 and ended the pay-per-view by symbolically burying him under a litany of chairs.

Aside from that terribly sad main event, this was actually a pretty fun show. There were some memorable matches involving the various weapons at play, including the first ever all-female Tables Match. Natalya and Beth Phoenix took on LayCool, with the Divas of Doom coming out on top. The World Heavyweight Championship was on the line in a TLC Match, as Edge won the big gold belt in his favorite match by beating Kane, Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio.

However, the show was stolen by the Number One Contender's Ladder Match between Sheamus and John Morrison. It was excellent, with some great spots to showcase both talents. Morrison came out on top, putting him on the map as a top player on RAW. Funnily, nine years after this show, both Sheamus and John Morrison are set to make their returns to WWE.

#6 2017 (Meningitis Strikes)

TLC 2017 had a similar issue to TLC 2013, in that there was only one TLC-related match on the card: A 5-on-3 Handicap Match pitting The Shield against The Miz, The Bar, Braun Strowman and Kane. However, meningitis struck the RAW locker room and WWE was forced to make some changes to the top matches. Roman Reigns was replaced by Kurt Angle, making his WWE in-ring return after 11 years and becoming a de-facto member of The Shield.

That main event was good, if a little long. The other big change came in the Sister Abigail vs Pumpkin Demon match. Bray Wyatt caught the illness and was taken out, with WWE calling upon AJ Styles to save the day. The match that he and Finn Balor shared was excellent, ranking as one of the greatest WWE dream matches of this generation. However, we will never know what WWE had planned for Bray Wyatt's Sister Abigail alter-ego.

Aside from the top two matches, we saw the main roster debut of Asuka, who defeated Emma just days before she was released by the company. TLC 2017 may go down as one of the strangest WWE pay-per-views ever, because of the circumstances surrounding it and the changes that the company was forced to make just days before the show.

#5 2011 (3 Popular Champs At Once)

TLC 2011 may not seem like such a strong card from the offset, but it was the vibe of the show and the immediate fallout to it. The group of WWE Superstars who held championship gold heading out of this show may be the most popular one in WWE history. CM Punk defended his WWE Championship for the first time on pay-per-view in a Triple Threat TLC Match against Alberto Del Rio and The Miz. It was a lovely match, with Punk obviously coming out on top.

He was joined at the top of the mountain by Daniel Bryan, who cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on a knocked out Big Show to win the World Heavyweight Championship. It was surreal at the time. In the show's opener, Zack Ryder rode the wave of popularity and defeated Dolph Ziggler to become the United States Champion. It honestly seemed like a revolution, if only for a brief moment.

Cody Rhodes defeated Booker T to retain his Intercontinental Championship and Randy Orton stunned Wade Barrett with an RKO Outta Nowhere to win their Tables Match. It was such a feel-good show, that even that awful Sledgehammer Ladder Match between Triple H and Kevin Nash couldn't dampen the day. Oh, and John Cena was not on the pay-per-view

#4 2018 (The Empress Reigns)

Last year's TLC event had twelve matches, including the pre-show. So naturally, at least a couple would have impressed. Luckily, there were more than a couple good matches. The show kicked off with the Mixed Match Challenge Finals, as R-Truth and Carmella punched their tickets to the final spot in their respective Royal Rumble matches. Solid matches involving Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio also helped the consistency of the card.

Daniel Bryan defended his WWE Championship in an excellent match against AJ Styles, one that would have been the main event had it had a stipulation attached to it. However, the one thing that bogs TLC 2018 down from the top spots is the supremely disappointing Intercontinental Championship match between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Everything between the two after Ambrose's shocking heel turn was a massive letdown, with this match being no different.

The night did end on a much more positive note, as Becky Lynch faced off against Charlotte Flair and Asuka in a Triple Threat TLC Match for her SmackDown Women's Championship in the main event. It was another really fun match on the show, with Asuka getting the huge win thanks to an assist from Ronda Rousey. Even with the interference, this match and victory will remain memorable as a solid ending to the progressive 2018 for the women of WWE, if nothing else.

#3 2009 (The Very First One)

The final pay-per-view of the 2000s was the first of a decade's worth of Tables, Ladders and Chairs. It was a great show, featuring some good matches and major moments. Christian and Shelton Benjamin set the tone early with a stunning Ladder Match for the ECW Championship before Drew McIntyre won the Intercontinental Championship from John Morrison. That would not be the only title change of the night, as Sheamus shocked the world to become the WWE Champion just months after debuting in the company.

'The Celtic Warrior' opportunistically pushed John Cena through a table to capture the gold. We also saw the first ever Chairs Match in WWE history, as The Undertaker retained his World Heavyweight Championship against Batista following the match being restarted after the 2020 WWE Hall of Famer had won the match using a low blow and a chair shot to the head. Randy Orton also defeated Kofi Kingston in a solid match, right before the big TLC main event.

DX defeated JeriShow to win the WWE Tag Team Championships in a fantastic TLC Match. It may be one of the last times that the tag titles main evented a WWE pay-per-view and what a way for it to happen. The finish saw Chris Jericho nearly kill himself by falling face first from Big Show's shoulders onto a table instead of through it, following a Sweet Chin Music from Shawn Michaels to the giant. It was a great ending to a great show. The star power on it was just impeccable.

#2 2012 (The Shield's First Match)

TLC 2012 was the first ever WWE event to take place at the Barclays Center, which is now pretty much their home. That was not the only first on that show. The Shield wrestled their first match in WWE that night, taking on the team on Daniel Bryan, Kane, and Ryback in a TLC Match. It was a classic, ranking right up there with the greatest Shield 6-man tags in history. The chaos was unbelievable, as bodies flew around everywhere. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins came out on top, proving that they were here to stay.

Aside from possibly the greatest match in WWE TLC history, we got a main event Ladder Match between Dolph Ziggler and John Cena for Ziggler's Money in the Bank briefcase. This was another excellent match, with AJ Lee turning on Cena to end the match and the night on a shocking note. Elsewhere, Big Show used a giant chair to take care of Sheamus and the Rhodes Scholars battled Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in a fun Tag Team Tables Match.

We were even granted an appearance from the Brooklyn Brawler, who wrestled a tag team match alongside The Miz and Alberto Del Rio to defeat 3MB. All in all, TLC 2012 was an excellent show compounded by two phenomenal matches, one of which has stood the test of time and remains one of the greatest matches ever. This is how you book a pay-per-view when your WWE Champion is out, whether it is injury or indifference.

#1 2016 (Land Of Opportunity)

Possibly the best brand-exclusive show in this era.

SmackDown Live was on fire in late-2016, with plenty of fun storylines and matches throughout the program. Almost everything worked really well. TLC saw the culmination of some of those stories, while seamlessly continuing a couple of others. Randy Orton joining The Wyatt Family seemed like a very temporary oddity, until he captured the SmackDown Tag Team Championships alongside Bray Wyatt. The two of them terrorized Heath Slater and Rhyno to win the belts, before Nikki Bella ended her feud with Carmella by beating her in a No DQ match.

Baron Corbin defeated Kalisto in what might be regarded as the most entertaining Chairs Match of all time, before Alexa Bliss won her first championship in WWE by defeating Becky Lynch in a Tables Match. The Miz and Dolph Ziggler ended their rivalry over the Intercontinental Championship at TLC as well, in a Ladder Match that was unfortunately a step or two behind their emotionally-charged encounter at No Mercy. It was still a solid match though. However, the main event was the match that had everybody talking.

AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose put everything on the line in their feud-ending TLC Match for the WWE Championship. There was a host of huge spots involving tables, ladders and you guessed it, chairs. The end came when James Ellsworth tipped a ladder over to send Ambrose crashing through a number of tables and ensuring that Styles retained the title. Let's not get into his logic for doing so. Even with that weird ending, Styles and Ambrose put on a classic that is worthy of headlining any card in the world.

TLC 2016 will be remembered as SmackDown Live in it's prime. It was just a stupendous show from top to bottom, with everything clicking. This may be the greatest brand-exclusive pay-per-view of the modern era.

Edited by Michael McClead