Throwback Thursday: The Best of WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs on WWE Network

With the 7th annual Tables, Ladders, & Chairs coming up Sunday on the WWE Network, headlined by Sheamus defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns and a “Triple Threat Ladder Match” for the WWE Tag Team Championship, Throwback Thursday takes a look back at some of the best matches from the first 6 years of TLC, an event that has slowly become one of the most popular “B” PPVs of the year.

 
— ECW Championship – “Ladder Match” (WATCH)
Shelton Benjamin vs. Christian(c)
WWE Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2009 • December 13, 2009

The first match in TLC history turned out to be an exciting, fast-paced match full of memorable and creative spots that helped to elevate the talent involved and make the ECW Championship relevant if only for a moment. This marked one of the very last high-profile matches involving the ECW Championship, a title that was deactivated along with the rest of WWECW on Feb. 16, 2010.

 
— Unified WWE Tag Team Championship – “Tables, Ladder, & Chairs Match” (WATCH)
D-Generation X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) vs. Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho & The Big Show)(c)
WWE Tables, Ladder, & Chairs 2009 • December 13, 2009

This match marked the first time Triple H and Shawn Michaels won WWE Tag Team titles as a team, ending Jeri-Show’s sole reign of 140 days. Coming at the tail end of HBK’s stellar career, this match, while not a classic, exceeded many fans expectations. With a finish emblematic of the word “teamwork”, this match is a must-see for any D-X fan.

 
— “Number One Contender’s Ladder Match for the WWE Championship” (WATCH)
Sheamus vs. John Morrison
WWE Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2010 • December 19, 2010

A rematch of the Finals of the 2010 King of the Ring Tournament, this one came about after Morrison crashed Sheamus’ King of the Ring coronation. Though many had doubts about Morrison’s coming push, hopes were high for this match. In a match that nearly stole the show, John Morrison got the win and a momentary reprieve from the coming mediocrity that spelled the end of Morrison’s WWE run.

 
— World Heavyweight Championship – “Fatal Four-Way Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match” (WATCH)
Rey Mysterio vs. Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio w/Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Kane(c)
WWE Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2010 • December 19, 2010

After weeks of some of the worst backstage segments and promos of the time there was a glimmer of hope that this match would somehow salvage the angle. Not only did the match save the angle, it stole the show. Edge would leave the event as a 6-time World Heavyweight Champion (10-time World Champion overall), ending Kane’s first World Heavyweight title reign at 154 days.

 
— “Sledgehammer Ladder Match” (WATCH)
Kevin Nash vs. Triple H
WWE Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2011 • December 18, 2011

After receiving one of the biggest pops of the night at the 2011 Royal Rumble Kevin Nash expected one more run in WWE. But when Triple H signed Nash to a Legend’s contract instead the former “Outsider” snapped, brutally attacking “The Game”. While the two waged war inside “Hell in a Cel” at the Bad Blood 2003 PPV, it was this match that ended the feud once and for all, marking Kevin Nash’s last one-on-one match in WWE to date.

 
— WWE Championship – “Triple Threat Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match” (WATCH)
Alberto Del Rio w/Ricardo Rodriguez vs. The Miz vs. CM Punk(c)
WWE Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2011 • December 18, 2011

The first-ever “Triple Threat Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match” promised to be an epic affair between three of the best young stars in all of WWE, and it did not disappoint. The second “TLC” match for all involved, this match stole the show and put an end to the WWE title controversy that had engulfed the WWE since July’s Money in the Bank PPV.

 
— “6-Man Tag Team Tornado Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match” (WATCH)
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) & Ryback vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns)
WWE Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2012 • December 16, 2012

After making their debut at the 2012 Survivor Series The Shield quickly became one of the hottest teams in WWE and this match, The Shield’s in-ring debut and one of the very best of 2012, went a long ways in cementing their status as the best in WWE. This is a wild, chaotic, epic brawl that helped make TLC 2012 one of the best PPVs of the year.

 
— “Money in the Bank Ladder Match” (WATCH)
John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler(Mr. Money in the Bank)
WWE Tables, Ladder, & Chairs 2012 • December 16, 2012

Dolph Ziggler was in desperate need for a career-defining match by this point in 2012. After winning the MITB briefcase on July 15th at Money in the Bank, Ziggler was struggling to gain traction as a future World Champion. While the match ended up focusing on AJ Lee and John Cena it elevated Ziggler and paved the way for “The Show Off’s” eventual World Heavyweight Championship win on the April 8, 2013 edition of RAW.

 
— “Championship Unification Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match” (WATCH)
John Cena(World Heavyweight Champion) vs. Randy Orton(WWE Champion)
WWE Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2013 • December 15, 2013

In recent years few matches have had as big an impact on the direction of WWE as this unification match. With the World Heavyweight Championship retired the landscape of WWE shifted overnight. While the match itself is a solid, memorable, creative encounter, it is the matches impact nearly 2 years later that separates it from others on this list.

 
— WWE Intercontinental Championship – “Ladder Match” (WATCH)
Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler(c)
WWE Tables, Ladders, Chairs, & Stairs 2014 • December 14, 2014

The NXT “revolution” was nearing a frenzy by this point in 2014. The 3rd NXT TakeOver event, R Evolution, had taken place a mere 3 days prior to TLC 2014 and concerns abounded that NXT would overshadow the main roster. What WWE counted on was the main roster finding a sense of urgency and upping their game. No match on this night better illustrated that sense of urgency and intensity than this one.

 
Final Thoughts:

These are only ten of some of the best matches and moments from the 6-year history of Tables, Ladders, & Chairs. An event that’s gone from a mediocre PPV concept to one of the most anticipated “B” PPVs, TLC provides some of the most exciting and incredible moments of the year.

With this year’s TLC event right around the corner one can only wonder what we will see, and who will end up stealing the show!?

That’s all for this week’s TBT on WDN – cheers for reading! Are you a WWE Network Subscriber? If so, check out the matches, see them for yourself, and let us know what you think. And don’t forget to tune in for Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2015 this Sunday, 8pm EST, on the WWE Network.

Until next week, see ya at ringside!