PREVIEW
WWE's 12th Annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event is back tomorrow night (Sun., Dec. 16), live at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, for the first time ever. All the chaos is scheduled to go down starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Sunday night's show features all your favorite WWE Superstars, including Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, Big Show, Sheamus, Team Hell No, The Shield and more!
Luckily for you Cagesiders, our CSS staff of learned wrestling blowhards is faithfully here for you, yet again, in order to help you all figure out just how this latest PPV event is gonna play out.
We've got staff predictions for each and every match on the WWE TLC 2012 card coming up next!
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WWE TLC 2012 MATCH CARD:- WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match: Team Hell No & Ryback vs. The Shield
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Money in the Bank Contract - Ladder Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Chairs Match: Big Show (c) vs. Sheamus
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Wade Barrett
- WWE US Championship: Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. R-Truth
- WWE No. 1 Contenders Tag Team - Tables Match: Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. Team Rhodes Scholars
- WWE "Santa's Helper" No. 1 Contenders Diva Battle Royal: Layla vs. Kaitlyn vs. Alicia Fox vs. Natalya vs. Tamina Snuka vs. Aksana vs. Rosa Mendes vs. Cameron vs. Naomi
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CSS STAFF PREDICTIONS:
Team Hell No & Ryback vs. The Shield (Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match)
- The General: A cardinal rule to remember in pro wrestling is that heels are built to lose. They don't need to win to get over and that's always been the case. In WWE, even the hot heels lose a lot, up and coming or not. Ryback isn't losing another PPV match, no way no how. Pick: Hell-Back
- Keith Harris: This is another one of those situations where WWE have booked themselves into a bit of a corner. Normally, the new heel stable with rising stars should go over in their debut match, but Ryback needs to look strong to set up his WWE title match on Monday Night Raw in a few weeks time. I think the key here, is in the positioning of the match as the main event, which leads me to believe that the babyfaces will win to send the fans home happy. Of course, Ryback will pin the weakest link in The Shield trio, if that's the case. The Shield can always get their heat back by costing Ryback the victory over Punk once again. Pick: Hell No & Ryback
- Jesse Holland: Easy peasy. Shield is a unit, Team Hell No and Ryback were cobbled together to add star power to an emergency main event. If Ambrose, Rollins or Reigns loses, then The Shield loses, but if Daniel Bryan gets pinned, then he alone loses, meaning it's not hurting his tandem with Kane in the tag team division. In fact, that sounds like a perfect ending. Shield and Ryback need to be protected, so expect Bryan to get laid out while Ryback and Kane are brawling on the ramp or some other form of distraction. Pick: The Shield
- Nolan Howell: Ryback and Team Hell No are the power advantage here, but something tells me WWE wants to keep The Shield in for the long run. Ryback will likely be somewhat faded out of the title picture soon with the road to WrestleMania starting soon, so this would be a good way to phase him out and keep The Shield looking strong. Pick: The Shield
- C. J. Bradford: This is going to be a crazy match, and the winner is almost irrelevant. In the spirit of chaos, though, I will leave my prediction up to fate. Heads, Hell No & Ryback. Tails, The Shield. And the coinflip says... Heads. Pick: Hell No & Ryback
- Hollywood Wallace: Too many unknowns with The Shield. I'll make the safe play and pick the known quantities, though I realize that skulduggery may be afoot. Pick: Team Hell No & Ryback
- June M. Williams: I wanna say The Shield will get the 'W' here, perhaps in the fashion Holland describes, but I suspect WWE will force us to play make-believe: Imagining that Ryback can outshine Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns singlehandedly, presumably while Kane and Bryan are distracted by something nonsensical. Pick: Ryback & Hell No
- The General: Remember what I said about heels not needing to win? It's why Ziggler has lost a billion times and we're still totally cool with this match. Sure, we'd like to see him win and of course they have to win every now and again to build credibility (which WWE already took care of with Ziggler pinning Randy Orton at Survivor Series), but it's not completely necessary. All that said, I'm thinking AJ inadvertently costs Cena this match to keep Ziggler with his briefcase and continue the Cena-AJ thing. Whatever that thing is. Pick: Ziggler
- Keith Harris: The hype for this match has been strange, as Dolph Ziggler was put over Randy Orton and The Miz strong in the first week of build, but then John Cena pinned him twice on Raw, despite suffering a freak storyline knee injury. There's been speculation that Cena could win the briefcase here and somehow use it to set up his WrestleMania 29 match with The Rock, but there's other ways to do that, and he doesn't need to beat Ziggler a third straight time either. As Cena's not in the main event slot for once, this is likely to be one of the rare times he loses relatively cleanly on pay-per-view. Pick: Ziggler
- Jesse Holland: I already blew my stack over this booking and it only works if it serves to legitimize Dolph Ziggler's run at the title. If "The Showoff" was simply keeping the briefcase warm for Cena as we head into 2013, then I will hold Vince McMahon down and vomit on him, Fight Club style. Cena could win the briefcase, challenge Punk, win the belt, lose it to Rock atWrestleMania. Or, they could do the right thing and use TLC to set up for Ziggy's big push. For now, I will ignore the cynical voices in the back of my head and hope creative comes through. Pick: Dolph Ziggler
- Nolan Howell: We all know where my heart leans here. I'll pick with it just so I don't have to speak the name of the jort/khaki-adorned one. Pick: Ziggler
- C. J. Bradford: I'm of split mind here. The naive fan in me wants to see Ziggler climb up the ladder and reclaim what is rightfully his. The worn out writer knows that Cena virtually always wins. However, I just cannot bring myself to lose all hope. I don't know how it will happen, nor do I really care. Ziggler takes the briefcase and the win. Pick: Ziggler
- Hollywood Wallace: Dolph Ziggler had been the most promising guy in the WWE for what seems like forever. John Cena has been alpha dog for what seems like forever. Dolph may well break through, but it won't be tonight. Pick: John Cena
- June M. Williams: For once, SuperCena is gonna actually meet his kryptonite in The Show Off... and I am gonna enjoy every second of it. Pick: Ziggler
- The General: After that interview with Peter Rosenberg the other day, I'm fully on the Show bandwagon. It's just too bad I don't think WWE is committed to him the way they are Sheamus and after a couple of victories kept the belt on him, I think it's time for Sheamus to get it back now. Pick: Sheamus
- Keith Harris: Given that this is their third PPV meeting, this seems to be the blow off of their feud together. The Big Show has done well with his surprising World Heavyweight title run, but they haven't set up any future babyface opponents for him, so this just seems to be a short caretaker reign to help get Sheamus over stronger. Thus, I'd expect a title switch here, with Sheamus starting new championship feuds with Antonio Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and the soon to be turning Randy Orton in the New Year. Pick: Sheamus
- Jesse Holland: I want to believe Big Show retains because otherwise, what the hell was the point of having Sheamus drop the belt to him in the first place? To have an excuse to keep this feud going for another few months? The good news is, I've enjoyed their program and Sunday will be no different, but I think it's time to turn the corner. Then again... imagine the swerve if Sheamus won, got laid out by Big Show, then had Ziggler come and cash in? Would his Cena match then be a title fight? Sounds crazy, but that might actually make this thing worth 50 bucks, which is why it won't happen. Pick: Big Show
- Nolan Howell: Show seems to be playing the cowardly heel here, but I believe this PPV isn't going to be the one where the title changes hands. With the Rumble coming up, that seems like the most opportune time to change a "bigger" title. Pick: Show
- C. J. Bradford: Can I say I have no clue? Because I have no clue. If it was just between these two men, Show would go over. But with the Money in the Bank briefcase out there, anything could happen. I don't think WWE would have Cena cash in on Sheamus, nor would Ziggler necessarily cash in on Show. Or everyone could be waiting for a new challenger who will step up. Let's just say Show takes it because it keeps more options open. Pick: The Big Show
- Hollywood Wallace: The Great White has been seething over his inability to topple Big Show in their recent feud. I think he uses all his powers to overcome the Giant here. Pick: Sheamus
- June M. Williams: I suspect Big Show is about as good as he is gonna get. If WWE were smart for a change, Show would step out of the limelight while he is still generating some heat. (So they can dust him off later on, if need be, without making us vomit.) Even though he is a dick-face, the Great White Irish dude will probably go over here. I generally like Ginger's, so I guess I can live with it. Pick: Sheamus
- The General: This just feels like such a nothing match. Then again, all Kofi Kingston matches feel like nothing matches. Except for when he went over on Chris Jericho a few years ago. The power of a good heel. Barrett's not a good heel and he's also not hot enough to get the title. Pick: Kingston
- Keith Harris: This is a hard one to call, as they seem to be behind Kingston at the moment, giving him a big victory over Alberto Del Rio this Friday on SmackDown, yet WWE management is rumoured to be very high on Barrett too and apparently want to give him a big push in 2013. My gut feeling is they'll give Barrett the nod here, but this is a match that could go either way. Pick: Barrett
- Jesse Holland: I think we'll eventually see Wade Barrett make a run for the title, but it's not going to be the Intercontinental title. Since he's returned from injury he's had some ho-hum matches but that's because creative has nothing for him... yet. In the meantime, he'll do fine as the villain in his brief feud against Kofi Kingson, but he's not walking out of Barclays with the belt. He doesn't need it as much as Kofi does, who is gearing up for Evan Bourne's return/heel turn. Hey, it could happen! Pick: Kofi Kingston
- Nolan Howell: Yikes. Uh, I can't really stand Kofi as a champion of any sort? So, Barrett? Pick: Barrett
- C. J. Bradford: WWE seems high on Kofi Kingston, and have done nothing with Wade Barrett in forever. The champion retains. Pick: Kofi Kingston
- Hollywood Wallace: If you've been watching Main Event and Main Event only (not a bad idea. btw) then you might think that Kofi is some kind of great wrestler. Barrett is full of potential, but I think he's an also ran right now. Pick: Kofi Kingston
- June M. Williams: I wanna say Barrett here, because quite frankly, Kofi bores me. But, this is a "predictions" post, not a "pick who you wanna see win" post. So... Pick: Kofi
- The General: Rumor has it WWE is going to be pushing Cesaro big in 2013, and although you should never, ever trust a rumor, I just don't see any reason to take the U.S. title off him here. He's doing well with it, and actually, I would argue it holds as much value as it has in years. Pick: Cesaro
- Keith Harris: U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro is on quite a roll this week already cleanly pinning Intercontinental champion Kofi Kingston on Raw, even beating Sheamus on SmackDown via count out thanks to some distraction. I think his momentum will continue, as to me it seems palpably obvious that the only reason R-Truth has beat him twice in recent weeks is to keep this feud going for another month. Pick: Cesaro
- Jesse Holland: It's time for Antonio Cesaro to move on to bigger and better things and somewhere along the line he's going to have to drop the United States title, but to R-Truth? Not a chance. Killings has taken over for Santino Marella as the weekly stooge, coming out and doing his shtick for a few comedic pops. He can also work a match, so at least it won't be a total loss, but there's no reason to make him champ at a rising star's expense. Pick: Antonio Cesaro
- Nolan Howell: Cesaro is probably one of the best things going in the WWE today. Keep that momentum rolling with a beautiful Swiss Death. Pick: Cesaro
- C. J. Bradford: WWE seems high on Antonio Cesaro, and have done nothing with R-Truth in forever. The champion retains. Pick: Antonio Cesaro
- Hollywood Wallace: The stone cold lock of the night. Truth is serviceable but Cesaro is money right now. He just beat Sheamus on Smackdown for god's sake! Pick: Antonio Cesaro
- June M. Williams: Who are we kidding, here? There is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that R-Truth hasn't got a shot in hell at this. Pick: Cesaro
- The General: I don't know what's going on with Mysterio, other than hearing he's got another knee injury and they're trying to protect him a little bit. The powers that be are getting tired of dealing with it, quite frankly, but he's still a valuable commodity. So is Sin Cara but if you remember, they already won a number one contender match. There's no reason to put them in another one unless the plan is to have them lose. Believe it or not, WWE will push a guy to the sky based on the most trivial of things and Cody Rhodes' mustache getting over so big bodes well for The Rhodes Scholars. Pick: The Rhodes Scholars
- Keith Harris: Only one choice here - the Rhodes Scholars. It's clear that they're being groomed for the tag titles, a switch that might have happened on this show had CM Punk not got hurt. Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara are just here to make them look good and they even may go their separate ways shortly there afterwards, as Cara still isn't clicking on all cylinders, so they may feud the two of them to see if that helps him grow as a worker and a star. Pick: Rhodes Scholars
- Jesse Holland: "The Pink and the Stink" are on the rise and asMonday Night RAWproved, getting plenty of heat along the way. Why ruin that by jobbing to a novelty tag team? The faces will come out and wow the crowd with their high flying, but they do that every match anyway and don't need to beat The Rhodes Scholars to keep getting pops. Pick: The Rhodes Scholars
- Nolan Howell: "Luchadores vs. Rhodes Scholars": It's academic! Pick: Rhodes Scholars
- C. J. Bradford: The belts are currently on a face team. It would stand to reason that the challengers will be heels. This may be simple logic, but it is tried and true. Pick: Rhodes Scholars
- Hollywood Wallace: Civility wins out here. Pick: Rhodes Scholars
- June M. Williams: Again, if this was a "pick who you want to win" post, I would go with Mysterio & Sin Cara, just 'cause I find them entertaining - yeah, I said it. But, that being said, I also enjoy what the Rhodes Scholars have been bringing lately. Their push makes me believe the win goes to the Scholars, indubitably. Pick: The Rhodes Scholars
- The General: Wow. I guess Tamina because she had something going with AJ and they can build towards that again if she wins. Who knows, there's no real direction here. Pick: Tamina
- Keith Harris: The star Divas are missing from this match, as AJ Lee is too busy getting in John Cena's way and Eve Torres has a minor injury. The favourite would be the woman feuding with the biggest star of the two, AJ, which would be Tamina Snuka. Not that it really matters much who wins this match. Pick: Tamina
- Jesse Holland: Tamina Snuka is back (Thanks, Rock) and is getting a decent push. Decent for a Diva, anyway, and what better way to have her pick up a pay-per-view win than by tearing the wings off a Funkadactyl? Maybe Cameron can finally get her in-ring punishment for her DUI fiasco earlier this year. Keep your chin tucked! Pick: Tamina Snuka
- Nolan Howell: Prediction: Lots of skimpy outfits and I can't wait to see what the Funkadactyls look like in theirs. Winner: Me
- C. J. Bradford: AJ would have been the obvious choice, but she must be mixed up in some other storyline. I doubt if WWE is willing to mix Cena up with the Divas Championship. Kaitlyn already had a few shots at the belt. I would go through the rest of the Divas roster but no one actually cares. Let's just say Layla, because she would look wicked cute in a "Santa's Little Helper" outfit. Pick: Layla
- Hollywood Wallace: This is a crap shoot, but I'll bank on Snuka living up to potential here. Though I'd personally prefer Natalya to win. Pick: Tamina Snuka
- June M. Williams: On the one hand, this charade makes me embarrassed of my gender. On the other hand, I look forward to seeing some hot chick-on-chick-on-chick-on-chick-on-chick-on-chick-chick-on-chick-on-chick action. Damn you WWE for making me so conflicted and riddled with guilty self-hatred and shame. Do I gotta pick only one? Oh wait, this is for the winner, not for my x-mas gift... so... Pick: Tamina (cause it is the popular vote)
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