TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2012

TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2012)

Promotion	WWE
Date	December 16, 2012
Venue	Barclays Center
City	Brooklyn, New York
Attendance	15,748
Last Event	Survivor Series
Next Event	Royal Rumble

TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2012) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE, which took place on December 16, 2012, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It was the fourth annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event, the first professional wrestling event to be held at the Barclays Center, and WWE's first event held in Brooklyn. In addition to the event, winners of several categories of the WWE Slammy Awards were announced in the pre-show. The event also marks the in-ring debut of The Shield. The event received 175,000 pay-per-view buys, down from 179,000 buys the previous year.

Event summary[]

“Santa’s Helper” No. 1 Contender’s Diva Battle Royal[]

Christmas came early this year for up-and-coming Diva Naomi, who took advantage of Divas Champion Eve striking Kaitlyn to seize victory in the “Santa’s Helper” No. 1 Contender’s Diva Battle Royal on the WWE TLC Pre-Show.

The beautiful Funkadactyl, typically seen busting a move alongside Brodus Clay, amazingly won the first match of her WWE career, not including her matches as an NXT season three Rookie, as she outlasted a stacked field, including former Divas Champions Alicia Fox, Layla and Natalya, as well as former No. 1 contender Kaitlyn, Tamina Snuka, Rosa Mendes, Aksana and her fellow Funkadactyl, Cameron. The enormous win grants Naomi a golden opportunity: a same-night title match against Eve to take place during the WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view.

The Battle Royal immediately started off with a bang, as the Divas, decked in festive attire, battled like they weren’t feeling the holiday spirit. The Funkadactyls used impressive and acrobatic teamwork on Aksana, while the daughter of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Tamina, showed she was a dangerous force to be reckoned with, whittling the field down.

And then there were three. As Kaitlyn struggled to push Tamina over the top rope, Naomi helped eliminate the powerhouse Diva, making it a showdown between the two finalists of NXT Season 3, Naomi and Kaitlyn. Eve moved from her seat on commentary to stand ringside, as Naomi leapt over a charging Kaitlyn, showcasing incredible athleticism.

It looked like The Hybrid Diva would use her notable strength advantage to secure another title match against her rival, Eve. This, however, was when the Divas Champion made her presence felt. Striking Kaitlyn while she was against the ropes, Eve gave Naomi the opening she needed to kick Kaitlyn over the top and pick up the massive win.

Eve’s malicious involvement sets her former challenger back, but it also gains her a new No. 1 contender in Naomi, one she has never faced before. With so many unknown variables surrounding the stunning Naomi and what she brings to the ring, she very well could be the competitor to end Eve’s dominant three-month reign.

The last Diva Battle Royal proved to be a coming-out party for Kaitlyn, who won the match and went on to establish herself as a top challenger for the butterfly-emblazoned title. Will Naomi follow the same path? Is this Funkadactyl the next competitor to reach the summit of the Divas division?

Divas Champion Eve defends her illustrious title against the winner of the “Santa’s Helper” No. 1 Contender’s Diva Battle Royal, Naomi, at the WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view.

Eve Torres vs Naomi[]

In a match that proved much more difficult than she anticipated, Divas Champion Eve defeated the winner of the “Santa’s Helper” No. 1 Contender’s Diva Battle Royal, Naomi, to extend her impressive title reign to nearly 100 days.

Naomi, one-half of The Funkadactyls who accompany Brodus Clay to the ring, won the Battle Royal and subsequent golden opportunity against Eve during the live WWE TLC Pre-Show, when the champion herself interfered in the match and distracted Kaitlyn, giving Naomi the massive win.

If Eve assumed Naomi would be an easier opponent than Kaitlyn for her title defense, however, she calculated poorly. Although Naomi had never competed in WWE outside season three of WWE NXT, The Funkadactyl showed she can bust more than a move, as she took the fight to Eve, while Brodus and her fellow Funkadactyl Cameron watched the action on a backstage screen.

Overconfident to a fault, Eve taunted her opponent to start the match, but Naomi immediately showed her athleticism and competitive spirit, as she leaped over and slid under the champion, even hitting Eve with a flying butt butt maneuver. Naomi gave Eve a challenge and looked good doing it, as she showed some of her moves in the ring.

Eve took control of the match with her incredible Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills and her natural mean streak, though. When Naomi went off the top rope, the Divas Champion was able to dodge the high-impact move and hit The Funkadactyl with a neckbreaker to seal the win and successful title defense. Ever the bad sport, Eve posed over her defeated foe for a mocking photo op.

Even though Divas Champion Eve is in the midst of a dominant run with the butterfly-emblazoned title, the emergence of an exciting new contender in Naomi, combined with the ongoing drama between Eve and formidable challengers like Kaitlyn, makes the new-look Divas division a volatile situation worth keeping an eye on as WWE rolls into 2013.

John Cena vs Dolph Ziggler[]

John Cena promised on Twitter that history would be made at WWE TLC. Little did he realize that history would be made at his expense.

In a turn of events that left 16,000 rowdy New Yorkers in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center uncharacteristically speechless, AJ Lee inserted herself into the Ladder Match for Dolph Ziggler’s World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract and helped The Show-Off defeat John Cena by carelessly pushing the Cenation leader off a ladder.

It was the last thing the WWE Universe expected from the popular Diva who had an intensely personal confrontation with Ziggler only weeks ago. But it proved once again that the only thing predictable about AJ is her unpredictability.

Would Dolph have lost his coveted contract were it not for AJ’s efforts? It certainly appeared that way. Although Dolph walked into the biggest match of his career brimming with confidence, the egotistical Superstar from Hollywood, Fla. had difficulty containing Cena. A decade into his WWE tenure, the franchise player was out to prove to Ziggler that it’s one thing to say you belong in the main event — it’s another thing altogether to hang there.

John Cena promised on Twitter that history would be made at WWE TLC. Little did he realize that history would be made at his expense.

In a turn of events that left more than 15,000 rowdy New Yorkers in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center uncharacteristically speechless, AJ Lee inserted herself into the Ladder Match for Dolph Ziggler’s World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract and helped The Showoff defeat John Cena by intentionally pushing the Cenation leader off the top of a ladder.

It was the last thing the WWE Universe expected from the woman they had just voted Diva of the Year on WWE.com’s Slammy Awards, especially after her intensely personal confrontation with Ziggler only weeks ago. But it proved once again that the only thing predictable about AJ is her unpredictability.

Would Dolph have lost his coveted contract were it not for AJ’s efforts? It certainly appeared that way. Although Dolph walked into the biggest match of his career brimming with confidence, the egotistical Superstar from Hollywood, Fla., had difficulty containing Cena. A decade into his WWE tenure, the franchise player was out to prove to Ziggler that it’s one thing to say you belong in the main event — it’s another thing entirely to hang there.

That’s not to say Dolph didn’t impress. Taking advantage of the Ladder Match’s free-for-all rules, The Showoff utilized a steel chair and a ladder to even the playing field against the supremely powerful Cena. In fact, Ziggler nearly took the Cenation leader out of the equation early by sending the sharp edge of a ladder into Cena’s ocular cavity, but it would take more than an eye injury to stop the powerhouse.

Seemingly energized by the electric Brooklyn crowd, Cena almost knocked Ziggler out of his short shorts by bashing him in the head with the steel steps. The former WWE Champion then found the strength to climb the ladder towards the Money in the Bank contract while Ziggler executed a Sleeper Hold on his back before a woozy Cena fell and both men crashed through a table below.

The Showoff found his feet first and scrambled back up the ladder, but that’s when the West Newbury, Mass., native truly showed his uncanny resolve. Rising from the rubble of a shattered table, Cena grabbed the ladder with Ziggler on it and pressed both the ladder and Ziggler onto his shoulders as if to apply his patented Attitude Adjustment. The eely Dolph managed to squirm away from the dangerous predicament, but he realized in that moment that Cena was even more powerful than he had imagined.

From there, it was an endless game of one-upmanship between the two talented Superstars. Cena would go for the AA and Ziggler would land on his feet. The Showoff would execute a Zig Zag and the Cenation leader would be back in the fight before Dolph caught his wind. By the time Cena sent Ziggler through a table with an unimaginable standing hurricanrana, even the WWE fans in the Barclays Center were struggling to catch their collective breath.

What would it take to stop John Cena? A Mack truck would have helped, but Ziggler had to settle for a tiny Diva named AJ Lee. It played out like this: After Cena dispatched Dolph with an Attitude Adjustment, Vickie Guerrero attempted to take out the Cenation leader with a steel chair only to be stopped by a fiery AJ. Clad in a John Cena T-shirt and matching wristbands, the spunky Diva hit Vickie with her own version of a Five Knuckle Shuffle and then cheered Cena on as he climbed the rungs towards the briefcase.

And that’s when she recklessly pushed the face of WWE off the ladder and sent him spiraling perilously to the ring ropes below.

Cena's tumble was ugly and, for a moment, Ziggler and AJ stared at each other from across the ring, both grasping to figure out what the other was thinking. But the tension broke as AJ flashed a wicked smile and skipped away as Dolph hurried up the ladder to recapture his Money in the Bank briefcase.

Dolph was barely out of the ring by the time WWE fans started asking questions. Had it been a deliberate assist for Ziggler on AJ’s part? Or was it a manic cry for Cena’s attention? That’s difficult to say. After trysts with CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and even Kane this year, AJ has shown she changes romantic interests more often than she changes Converses. But her heated confrontations with The Showoff make it hard to understand why AJ would help a Superstar so loathsome.

Either way, we can predict Cena will be looking for answers from AJ on Monday’s Raw. Just remember, John, AJ’s not so easy to predict.

Results[]

"Santa's Little Helpers" battle royal to determine the #1 contender to the WWE Divas Championship: Naomi won by last eliminating Kaitlyn
Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship: Eve Torres (c) defeated Naomi

Battle Royal[]

Elimination	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Time
1	Rosa Mendes	Natalya	00:27
2	Cameron	Snuka	01:22
3	Alicia Fox	Aksana	01:30
4	Aksana	Layla	02:02
5	Layla	Snuka	03:32
6	Natalya	Kaitlyn and Naomi	03:46
7	Tamina Snuka	Naomi	04:40
8	Kaitlyn	Naomi	05:47
Winner:	Naomi	N/A	N/A