WWE TLC preview

Read on for how I'd book tonight's WWE PPV.

Kickoff:
The New Day get the win. I don't see any reason to stop their momentum here. There's the option of Goldust vs. Stardust (or Goldust vs. Cody Rhodes) at Mania. I don't know how many more big matches Goldust can pull off, so WM31 and Summerslam 2015 are the best options to finally get to that feud.

TLC:
I don't see any reason to have Nikki lose the title this early. She retains here, possibly with help from Brie. The important thing is where the title picture is going from here. I like the idea of Nikki losing on the night after Mania. We're not there yet.

The Usos winning here with no drama involving Naomi would be a waste. I'd have Naomi try to help the Usos, only for Miz to capitalize on the distraction to retain. The story going forward would be of which side she was really on, with the Usos not trusting her anymore. Miz pulls some strings and convinces the Board of Directors to get Naomi a Divas' Title match for her "help".

Ryback beats Kane after a war. No need to get too fancy there. Maybe he could hit Shellshocked on a big pile of chairs to finish the match? I like the idea of him looking like a decent-sized threat to win the Rumble and challenge Brock. We're in the post-Authority era, so the babyfaces are going to try to finish what's left of what they worked to build. That includes Brock as champ, and could include HHH vs. Sting at Mania.

Big Show is surprised at what Rowan brings to the table, and brings out an extra big set of steps to try to finish the job in a callback to the chairs match with Sheamus a few years back. Rowan counters a chokeslam into his own finisher on these steps for the win. Is it obvious I don't like pushing Big Show?

Rusev beats Swagger again. If you really want to, you can have Zeb try to interfere on Swagger's behalf to lead to the ending. I think you can have Zeb but Swagger through "boot camp" ahead of a final match at the Rumble. Zeb's a Vietnam vet. If he can get through that, his training should make Swagger a threat to Rusev. Rusev can beat indie talents from "each state" while Swagger's off training so we don't get 50 Rusev/Swagger confrontations ahead of the match. I also don't want Rusev in the Rumble, to keep his momentum going.

Ziggler tries his damnedest to beat Harper, but interference by Joey Mercury, Jamie Noble, and finally Mark Henry prevent him from grabbing the belt. Harper retains, and Ziggler is in position to have to overcome the odds at the Rumble. Mercury and Noble don't even have to be official participants to be thorns in Ziggler's side then. Harper and Rowan can feud going into the Rumble, but I don't think they have to have an IC Title match at the show itself. There should be plenty of action already.

Cena vs. Rollins goes on ahead of Ambrose vs. Wyatt. I think everyone knows how this one's going to go. Orton returns to put Rollins through a table, so Cena keeps his title match. However, since it was Orton who got the win, he has his own right to a title match. That will at least add a fresh wrinkle to the WWE Title picture.

Finally, Ambrose beats Wyatt. Before he can put him away entirely (i.e. injure him to the point of incapacitation), we get another spooky distraction to save The Eater of Worlds. Ambrose/Wyatt III at Fast Lane ahead of Ambrose vs. Rollins at WM31 for the briefcase. Ambrose is in the Rumble, but Wyatt prevents him from winning. We get spooky vignettes of whomever it is helping Wyatt (the hologram thing, I guess) while Wyatt recovers. Ambrose has his sights on the Rumble and the WWE Title while Wyatt's off in the swamp or wherever.

Set for Royal Rumble:
- WWE Divas' Championship: Nikki Bella vs. Naomi
- WWE United States Championship - Boot Camp match: Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
- Royal Rumble match
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton

More wrestling coming up.