WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2011 Review

United States Championship
Zack Ryder Vs Dolph Ziggler

We start things off with the guaranteed crowd pleaser of Zack Ryder becoming United States Champion. It's a great ending to his story in 2011, where he began in obscurity on Superstars and finished a star on Raw, entirely through his own efforts using social media. The only problem is – he's not a very good wrestler. He's competent for sure, but also clumsy and charmless with a poor work-rate. By comparison Dolph Ziggler is a bonafide superstar in waiting. Unlike Ryder, Ziggler oozes in-ring charisma, is incredibly clean and crisp and has a tremendous work-rate. His salesmanship of the Rough Ryder for the finish was just beautiful. Every time he performs now he is just getting better and tonight he carries Ryder to his best match to date. It'll be interesting to see how well Ryder performs against a lesser opponent...

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWE Tag Team Championship
Air Boom Vs Primo and Epico

Air Boom continue their run of good matches with the Tag Team Championships, tonight up against a pair I didn't even know was teaming! It's the first PPV outing for Primo since 2009 and he makes a great case for why he should be used more often. What this matched lacked in heat or back story was made up for in agility and pace. Air Boom once again work in plenty of exciting double-team manoeuvres and both teams worked to create an elegant, well timed finish. My only complaint would be Rosa Mendes, who accompanied Primo and Epico ringside. Not only is she your stereotypically shrill Latina, she also forces Lawler to talk around his massive, inappropriate erection for a woman who's more than half his age. Thankfully both teams are able to negate bad commentary, a skill I think all WWE performers need to succeed in this era, and I would be very happy to watch both in action again soon.

Rating: 3 Stars

[PHOTO PENDING WWE.COM ACTUALLY WORKING]

Tables
Randy Orton Vs Wade Barrett

I've said for the past two TLC events that I have no problem with the Tables stipulation, but I'm against it being used for the WWE Championship match. For the first time that isn't happening and we finally get this match where it belongs – the mid-card. Not only that, we've also got the pleasure of watching Wade Barrett in this environment where it turns out he thrives. The tables are actually used in interesting ways and the “near falls” are genuinely dramatic, leading into some stand-out sequences of counters. The finish, where Orton counters Barrett into a mid-air RKO through the table, might have been obvious, but it was well performed and very satisfying. Barrett may have lost, but he also stood out as a star in a way he hasn't done since loosing to John Cena last year. Orton is simply on a roll on SmackDown with star-making performances. He's made Christian, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes and now Wade Barrett look like they're on his level even in defeat, and that's so awesome to see from someone who could get away with holding all of these men down.

Rating: 4 Stars

Sledgehammer/Ladder
Triple H Vs Kevin Nash

Ever since Kevin Nash walked back onto our screens at SummerSlam, I've been dreading his in-ring return. As a man who wasn't even entertaining in his prime, I had no desire to see him wrestle in 2011. Fortunately, thanks to not one but two gimmicks, Nash's return was fairly decent and hopefully now over. This was a slow, lumbering brawl as you'd expect but with enough impact and action to get by. The absence of a Jackknife Powerbomb from Nash was a bit disappointing, as it's the one thing he can do which still has some effect. Instead we just got a botched Pedigree and plenty of PG, soft-core sledgehammer action. I think “not awful” is just about the best praise this one could have hoped for.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Sheamus Vs Jack Swagger

When you're looking to throw a random match onto a card, you could do much worse than this pair. These two have had a very similar time in WWE thus far, both given world titles far too soon and suffering afterwards. Right now Sheamus is finally back on the rise again and as usual puts in a strong performance here. Unfortunately they do nothing to make this feel any more than a meaningless bit of padding for the show, failing to create any real urgency or drama. It's not an easy ask, granted, but we have seen a couple of matches thrown onto PPV this year that have managed it. This is what really holds them back, but I'm sure given more time in advance they could do much better.

Rating: 3 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship – Chairs
Big Show Vs Mark Henry

It's finally time to end this ongoing feud. It's had it's ups and downs (mostly downs), but few would argue it's been on of the best in the career of Mark Henry. We get the usual stalling to start but with an unusual twist; Big Show throwing chairs into the ring while he encircles it. It's a great visual and much better than what we so often have to endure. This leads into some good brawling with more strong visuals as they both use chairs to attack each other's weak spots before clashing in the middle of the ring. Henry attacks Show's hand, but despite the pain he hits the KO punch and this one's over surprisingly soon, just when it got going! Big Show seems genuinely emotional about the win, but gets attacked by Henry for his trouble. Oh now wait, what's this?

Daniel Bryan is out to cash in Money in the Bank. Is this a heel turn? No? I don't get how I'm supposed to feel as one of my favourites becomes world champion, but in the cheapest way possible. They wasted an opportunity to have something original happen with the contract, not to mention the anticipated build-up for WrestleMania and a rare emotional victory for a deserving star. Now we've just had yet another weak cash in without even a bit of a match beforehand, yet another first-time championship win that doesn't really seem like it. I don't think the Money in the Bank concept is bad by definition, but in the last 4 years it has been booked so poorly on every single occasion I wish they'd just be done with it. It is ruining careers that ought to be legendary. Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, John Cena – these men did not win their first world title like this. They won at WrestleMania, they won after a hard fought match. They could have done the same for Daniel Bryan but instead he gets the same treatment as Jack Swagger, as CM Punk, as The Miz and as Alberto Del Rio. Not to mention it makes no sense as if Bryan was just going to do this he'd have been even more likely to win during the aftermath of the ring explosion at Vengeance. The whole segment was enjoyable, but this finish leaves a nasty after-taste.

Rating: 3 Stars

Intercontinental Championship
Cody Rhodes Vs Booker T

You had to assume this one was off after not one but two assaults on Booker T by Cody Rhodes this evening. Thankfully that was just part of the build up and works to give this match so much urgency and intensity before it even begins. Once it does some will be surprised by the stiff style and fast pace that is established and kept pretty much throughout. As with Kevin Nash, Booker T is not a man in his prime, but unlike Nash he was once great and shows why here. Rhodes is his usual excellent self and together they work in exciting sequences that always keep you guessing. The finish is well executed and Rhodes rightly takes it in dominant fashion. It might be brief and brisk, but a very welcome addition to the card. I would so much rather have Booker working in the ring than behind the booth that's for certain.

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Championship – TLC
CM Punk Vs Alberto Del Rio Vs The Miz

One of the greatest strengths of the WWE is that whatever the show, they often save the best for last. Finishing a PPV with the Match of the Night is always a benefit and one again they do it here. This one was very similar to Hell in a Cell from October in set-up, with an awkward triple-threat dynamic rather than a more focused one-on-one affair. As with that show my expectations were low, so this Match of the Year candidate was a really welcome surprise. The best aspect of the match was how it took an obvious result and made you genuinely believe it wasn't going to happen. The tension around Punk's certain victory and the wild card of two challengers made this the biggest nail biter since Money in the Bank.

Alberto Del Rio's aggression was thrilling to watch tonight as he dominated much of the proceedings and looked set to win it with ease. His weapon-enhanced Cross Arm Breakers to both Miz and Punk were fantastic, as was the corner spot they were all involved in. I felt for sure everyone involved was done for at one point, only to watch them all come back and make me sure all of them would win it. The heart and soul of this was the use of handcuffs on Punk, perfectly spun into a dramatic story that changed and evolved as the match went on. His reactions sold all of this and you really felt his despair once he was locked into the turn-buckle with no obvious way out. Even The Miz was at his best, working in some crisp counters and taking some extremely stiff looking chair shots throughout. All in all, one hell of a way to close the show.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2011 Final Score: 3.5 Stars

Despite the score this was a significant improvement on Survivor Series with three great matches and no truly bad ones. The Nash Vs Triple H contest was predictably the worst, but so much better than it could have been. The main-event was Punk's first great match since Money in the Bank, a masterpiece of booking that made the certain uncertain and allowed everyone involved to shine. The amount of matches was also a welcome surprise, technically ten in total including the women's match and Daniel Bryan's cash in. Nothing had much time, but nor did anything feel too brief besides the World Heavyweight Championship match, and there were justified reasons for it. I am disappointed in Daniel Bryan's big win being so meaningless, but hopefully now we'll get to see him wrestle on PPV more often.