The inaugural edition of WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs came to you, live on pay-per-view, from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX. Six championships were defended and three changed hands at the event.
Match Results
- ECW Championship: Ladder Match: Christian (c) def. Shelton Benjamin to retain.
During the match, Christian was busted open over his left eye. EMT’s cleaned up the cut the best they could before Christian waved them off.
- Intercontinental Championship: Drew McIntyre def. John Morrison (c) by pin following the Scot Drop to win the Intercontinental Title.
With the referee distracted, Drew McIntyre used a thumb to the eye of John Morrison to set up for the Scot Drop and the win.
- Women’s Championship: Michelle McCool (c) (with Layla) def. Mickie James by pin following a big boot to retain.
Layla interfered in the match by shoving Mickie James off of the top rope, but as Mickie got a hold of Layla, Michelle McCool accidentally kicked Layla off of the apron, but was still able to hit Mickie with a big boot to win the match.
- WWE Championship: Tables Match: Sheamus def. John Cena (c) to win the WWE Title.
With a table set up in the ring, John Cena went for a superplex on Sheamus, but Sheamus shoved Cena off of the superplex attempt and Cena went through the table for Sheamus to win.
- World Heavyweight Championship: Chairs Match: The Undertaker (c) def. Batista by pin following the Tombstone Piledriver to retain.
The rules of a Chairs Match is that a competitor can use steel chairs, and only steel chairs, in the match. With that exception, the match does have disqualifications and count-outs. In the match, Batista used a low blow behind the back of the referee and followed it up with a chair shot. Batista then pinned The Undertaker and was declared the new World Heavyweight Champion, but SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long came out and restarted the match. Undertaker then hit Batista in the back with a chair and hit the Tombstone to win the match.
- Randy Orton def. Kofi Kingston by pin following the RKO.
The end of the match came when Kofi Kingston went to hit Trouble in Paradise, but Randy Orton ducked it and hit the RKO for the win.
- Unified WWE Tag Team Championship: TLC Match: D-Generation X def. Jeri-Show (c) to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles.
Towards the end of the match, Jeri-Show put DX in a ladder and closed the ladder on them before using a steel chair on it. After this, Big Show pulled on the ladder and the ladder broke into two pieces. With the ladder broken, Chris Jericho got on Big Show’s shoulders to try and get the tag titles, but Shawn Michaels hit Sweet Chin Music on Big Show and Jericho fell off of Big Show’s shoulders to the outside where his face bounced off a table set up on the outside. Back on the inside of the ring, Michaels hit Big Show with Sweet Chin Music for a second time before both Triple H & Shawn Michaels hit Big Show with one of the halves of the ladder. Triple H then held up the same half to allow Michaels to climb the ladder and retrieve the belts.
Match Quality
- TLC Match for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship
- Ladder Match for the ECW Championship
- Tables Match for the WWE Championship
- Intercontinental Championship
- Chairs Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
- Randy Orton Vs. Kofi Kingston
- Women’s Championship
Detailed Results
With mayhem and destruction guaranteed, WWE TLC kicked off with the Ladder Match for the ECW Championship as Christian defended the title against “The Gold Standard” Shelton Benjamin. Early on in the contest, the ECW Champion was bloodied after a ladder made brutal contact with Christian’s face. Despite this impairment, the Ladder Match veteran used a Frog Splash to send Benjamin through a steel ladder en route to retrieving the ECW Title belt and retaining his crown!
The Intercontinental Championship was up for grabs as “The Chosen One” Drew McIntyre challenged champion John Morrison and, after a well-placed thumb to the eye of “The Friday Night Delight”, McIntyre hit his signature Scot Drop on Morrison to allow McIntyre to pin Morrison and claim the Intercontinental Championship!
After the biggest win of his WWE career, Drew McIntyre was confronted by a fellow newcomer in Sheamus, who vowed that McIntyre would not be the only newcomer winning gold!
Mickie James challenged Michelle McCool for the Women’s Championship, but Mickie ran into trouble with Layla in the contest after Layla shoved Mickie off of the top rope. Mickie got a hold of Layla, but McCool accidentally knocked her friend off of the apron! Despite the mix-up, McCool was still able to hit a big boot on Mickie and retain the Women’s Championship!
“The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus would have the biggest match of his young career as he challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship in a Tables Match. In a grueling match that saw John Cena suplex Sheamus on the steel ramp and attempt to slam a table on top of Sheamus, it was one simple maneuver that led to Cena’s downfall. With a table set up in the ring, Cena went to set Sheamus up for a match-ending superplex through the table, but Sheamus fought the superplex attempt and shoved John Cena off of the top rope and Cena went crashing through the table! The world was in shock as Sheamus was announced as the new WWE Champion! In what many would call the biggest upset of the year, Sheamus defeated a six-time World Champion in John Cena to win the WWE Championship after only being on RAW since October 26! How will John Cena respond to this shocking loss at the hands of Sheamus?
After using his new favorite ally, a steel chair, over the last few weeks, Batista would get the opportunity to use them all he wanted as he challenged The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship in the first ever Chairs Match. The unique match would allow chairs to be legally used in the contest, but any other illegal weapons or maneuvers would still warrant a disqualification. This is a rule that “The Animal” thought he would get away with breaking; with the referee’s back to the action, Batista utilized a low blow to The Undertaker that allowed Batista to waylay the champion with a steel chair shot leading to Batista pinning The Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Title, or so Batista thought. After Batista was declared the new champion, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long came out and refused to allow the title to change hands following an illegal maneuver like the one Batista used. Having dealt with the bad side of The Undertaker before, not to mention still being under probation by Mr. McMahon, Teddy Long made the decision to restart the championship match! When Batista re-entered the ring to restart the match, The Undertaker blasted “The Animal” in the back with a steel chair before spiking Batista with the Tombstone Piledriver that led to The Undertaker retaining the World Heavyweight Championship!
Before he went one-on-one with Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston was confronted backstage by Orton’s protégés, Legacy, who told Kofi they were there to deliver a “message” from Orton. Kofi referred to Legacy as Orton’s “sidekicks” and Legacy responded by claiming that Kofi is “terrified” of Randy Orton! The fearless Kofi Kingston responded to the allegation by walking right into Randy Orton’s locker room and telling Orton, to his face, that Orton is a “coward” and saying that Orton does not deserve another title shot! Kofi then added that he’s looking forward to “beating down” Orton!
After a Legacy-aided win and a Mark Cuban-aided win for Randy Orton & Kofi Kingston, respectively, WWE TLC would host the “rubber match” between these two bitter rivals. The end of the match came when Kofi went to hit Orton with Trouble in Paradise, but “The Viper” was able to duck the maneuver and hit a lightning-quick RKO on Kofi to pick up the win!
Backstage, an enraged Batista confronts SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and protests that he was “robbed” of the World Heavyweight Title and demanded that Long “make it right” before threatening Long with a steel chair! After inciting the wrath of “The Animal”, will Long be forced to “make it right” for Batista?
The main event of the evening was a TLC Match for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship as Jeri-Show defended the titles against D-Generation X. In an incredible contest filled with destruction and mayhem, the dangerous match looked to be firmly in the control of the champions as Jeri-Show utilized the ladder, much like they did on RAW, to place DX in the ladder and close the ladder of the legendary duo before using a steel chair on it! After this scissor ladder assault, Big Show pulled on the ladder, which came apart into two pieces! That would not be the only thing Big Show would destroy as, on the outside, he hoisted Shawn Michaels up for a chokeslam and threw Shawn Michaels into Triple H and both DX members went crashing through a table! Back in the ring, Jericho tried to use half of the broken ladder to no avail. However, Jericho gets the idea to use his mammoth partner as the ladder! Jericho gets on the shoulders of “The World’s Largest Athlete” and Jeri-Show slowly works together to try and get the title belts. With Big Show holding Jericho on his shoulders, Shawn Michaels hit Big Show with Sweet Chin Music, which knocked Jericho off of Big Show’s shoulders and sent Jericho sailing to the outside of the ring where his face bounced off of a table! Back inside the ring, Shawn Michaels delivered a second rendition of Sweet Chin Music before both members of DX used the half ladder to send Big Show to the outside of the ring! Triple H held the half ladder as Shawn Michaels ascended it and grabbed the belts! For the first time as a team, Triple H & Shawn Michaels have won the tag team titles! Not only did DX claim their first tag team titles together, they have vanquished Chris Jericho back to his “home brand” of SmackDown! After being dethroned by DX, how will Chris Jericho & Big Show respond to their defeat?