WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs (December 2012)

 

Original Airdate: December 16, 2012

From Brooklyn, New York; Your Hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and John Bradshaw Layfield

Opening #1 Contender's Tables Match: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara v Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow: I continue to dig Sandow’s Randy-Savage-meets-Rick-Martel gear. Rey and Sin dominate to start, and clean house. That sets up stereo baseball slides on Sandow, and they bring a table in to beat on Cody with. Sandow comes in, so they beat on him as well, but Cody manages to turn things around. They dominate Sin by targeting the leg, but Cody fails to whiplash Rey through a table, and eats a 619. Cara tries a springboard, but gets shoved off the top, and crashes through a table on the floor at 9:27. Fine. *

WWE United States Title Match: Antonio Cesaro v R-Truth: Truth shoves him into the corner to start, so Cesaro goes to a headlock. Truth tries criss crossing, but takes a shoulderblock for two, and Cesaro goes back to the side-headlock. Another criss cross ends in Truth countering a hiptoss with a victory cradle for two, and a schoolboy is worth another two. Truth goes to a mat-based side-headlock of his own, but Cesaro powers to a vertical base, and uses a side suplex to escape. Cesaro adds a double stomp, and he pelts Truth with a headbutt, then a knee to the gut for two. Cesaro grounds him in a cobra clutch, but Truth escapes, and makes a comeback - but gets caught in the Neutralizer at 6:34. Another technically competent, if underwhelming match. *

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Kofi Kingston v Wade Barrett: Posturing to start, dominated by Barrett. A criss cross allows Kingston a jumping backelbow, and he lands a dropkick for two. He looks to keep it going, but Wade clotheslines him over the top before he can, and the challenger follows to the outside to whip him into the apron - only for Kofi to flip into the ring, and rebound with a tope. Kingston tries a springboard on the way back in, but Wade dodges, and pumphandle-slams him for two. Wade with a slingshot backbreaker for two, and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets him two. A 2nd rope elbowdrop gets him two, so he goes to a reverse chinlock, but Kofi blocks another slingshot backbreaker, and puts Barrett down. Kofi makes a comeback, but misses Trouble in Paradise. A reversal sequence allows him to deliver the SOS for two, and a ten-punch count in the corner follows. Wade comes back with a full-nelson scrapbuster for two, so Kingston tries a flying bodypress, but Barrett rolls through for two. Kingston with a cradle for two, but he gets caught with a swinging scrapbuster for two. Barrett looks for a short-forearm to finish, but Kofi counters to the Trouble at 8:12. This was solid. **

Six-Man Tag Team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match: Kane, Daniel Bryan, and Ryback v Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins: This is the main roster TV debut for all three Shield guys. Everyone brawls on the outside to start, as the crowd chants ‘Goldberg’ at Ryback. Everyone grabs weapons and tee off, with the heels dominating. This is just a car wreck spot fest match, and isn’t my cup of tea at all. Reigns and Rollins go to the outside to bury Kane and Ryback in the rubble of a table, which allows Bryan to get Ambrose in a LeBell lock with no one to save. Dean nearly taps, but his partners manage to save in time, and they go to work on an isolated Bryan. Ryback returns to make a big comeback, but gets triple teamed as they brawl over to the entrance set, and dominated. The Shield lay him out on a table, and Rollins climbs to the top of a super ladder, but Ryback recovers before he can dive. Ryback follows Seth up the side of the ladder, and tosses him off for a table bump. Meanwhile, Roman and Dean have went back to the ring to double up on Daniel, and they manage to powerbomb him through a table for the pin at 22:45. If you like this type of thing, you might like this. I generally do not. *

WWE Divas Title Match: Eve Torres v Naomi: Eve dominates her in the corner to start, but Naomi manages a takedown, and she uses a hip attack to knock Torres to the outside. Naomi stays on her out there, but Eve beats the count, and snaps Naomi’s arm across the top rope on the way in. Eve with an overhead wristlock, but Naomi escapes, and delivers a weak corner spinheel kick. She tries a dive, but misses, and Eve delivers a swinging neckbreaker at 3:05. Naomi looked really bad here. DUD

World Heavyweight Title Chairs Match: Big Show v Sheamus: Sheamus grabs a chair early, but Show is so big that he doesn’t get far (lovin’ them rap stars, you know who you are). Sheamus with a baseball slide, and more chair shots soften Show up for a bodyslam that gets two. Show gets hold of the chair and beats Sheamus down on the outside, but Sheamus starts throwing rights on the way back in, so Show chokeslams him for two. Show with a pump-splash for two, and Show is moving super slowly now. Sheamus fights him off with a Samoan driver onto a chair for two, but the Brogue kick is countered with a big knockout punch from Show for two. And then Show just hits him with a chair to finish at 14:15. Sinfully boring. ¼*

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and Brooklyn Brawler v Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, and Heath Slater: Del Rio and Slater start, and Alberto dominates. Tag to Brawler, and the heels take over, duh. They work Brawler over, but Heath misses a 2nd rope kneedrop, and Miz gets the tag. He runs wild, and a DDT on Jinder gets two when Drew runs in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Miz hits Jinder with the Russian facebuster, and Brawler puts Mahal in the Boston crab at 3:23. DUD

Main Event: Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Dolph Ziggler v John Cena: They measure each other to start, feeling each other out. Cena goes for a ladder, but Ziggler uses a baseball slide to knock it away. Ziggler looks to climb, but Cena knocks him off, and dumps him out of the ring to ram with the steps. Cena brings a table into the ring (despite Dolph being down on the outside, and John having a clear path to climb for the briefcase), but by the time Cena gets done setting it up, Ziggler recovers, and nails him. Ziggler climbs, but Cena pulls him down for a slugfest - ending in Dolph getting a sleeper on. Cena - genius - decides to climb the ladder with Ziggler on his back, and he makes it to the top, but, you know, he’s in a sleeper. And Ziggler doesn’t seem to grasp the gravity of it, either, and keeps wrenching it on, until Cena passes out, and both guys go crashing through the table John set up earlier. Ziggler is up first, and goes for the ladder, but Cena recovers, and cuts him off. Cena looks for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Dolph counters with a rocker dropper. Ziggler goes out looking for a weapon, but all that allows Cena to recover, and he gets Dolph in an STF. Dolph taps, but there are no submissions, and the announcers are shouting over each other like a political opinion show. Cena tries the Attitude Adjustment, but Ziggler counters with a Zig Zag. Dolph brings another table in, but Cena goes through his comeback routine, and manages the Shuffle. AA, but Dolph counters with a jumping DDT. Dolph climbs, but Cena follows up the opposite side for a slugfest. Cena wins by knocking him off the top, but Ziggler cuts him off before he can grab the case. Ziggler pounds him down, but Cena pops up with a rana through a table, in a nice spot. Cena goes for the ladder, but he’s slow, and Ziggler dropkicks it away from him. Ziggler with a flying bodypress, but Cena rolls through, and tries the AA, but Dolph uses a chair to block. Superkick, but John ducks, and hits the AA. That draws Vickie Guerrero in with a chair, but AJ Lee runs out to take her out. Cena kind of ignores all of this and climbs, but AJ tips him over, and Dolph plants a superkick. That draws a smile from AJ, and Ziggler gets the case at 23:14. This was okay, but too long. The crowd was genuinely invested in it throughout, though, and it was certainly the most interesting match on the card. And Cena’s freak of nature feats of strength were entertaining. ** ½ 

BUExperience: I mean… no…

DUD