TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2018)

The 2018 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was the 10th annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs and took place on December 16, 2018, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The event aired via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming and featured wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. It was the first TLC event since 2010 to feature multiple brands with a brand extension in effect.

Twelve matches were contested at the event, including two on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Asuka defeated defending champion Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the first women's triple threat Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) match to capture her first SmackDown Women's Championship, which was also the first time the title was contested in the main event match of a PPV. In the penultimate match, Dean Ambrose defeated Seth Rollins to win Raw's Intercontinental Championship for a third time. In other prominent matches, Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles to retain SmackDown's WWE Championship, Ronda Rousey defeated Nia Jax to retain the Raw Women's Championship, and Braun Strowman defeated Baron Corbin in a TLC match to earn a match against Brock Lesnar for Raw's Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble as well as stripping Corbin of all authoritative power.

Production

Background

TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was an annual professional wrestling event generally produced every December by WWE since 2009. The concept of the event was based on the primary matches of the card each containing a stipulation using tables, ladders, and chairs as legal weapons, with the main event generally being a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.

Announced on November 22, 2017, the 10th TLC was planned to be held on October 21, 2018, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This would have been the second time the event took place in October, following the 2017 event. However, as first reported on July 10, 2018, and later confirmed on September 10, the 2018 event was announced to be held on December 16 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, which was the original date and venue for Clash of Champions. This returned TLC to its traditional December slot. The event aired on pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and was livestreamed on the WWE Network. Tickets went on sale on September 21 through Ticketmaster. The 2018 event was planned to be SmackDown-exclusive, but following WrestleMania 34 in April, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive pay-per-views, thus the 2018 event featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions.

Storylines

The event comprised 12 matches, including two on the Kickoff pre-show, which resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live, and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live.

On September 4, 2018, the finals of the 2nd Mixed Match Challenge were scheduled for TLC. On November 12, the winning team were reserved the number 30 spot for both the men's and women's Royal Rumbles at its own event. On December 11, the final two teams were determined to be Mahalicia (Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox) and Fabulous Truth (R-Truth and Carmella).

On the October 22 episode of Raw, after Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose won the Raw Tag Team Championship, Ambrose attacked Rollins, turning heel. Two weeks later on Raw, Ambrose attacked Rollins again, after the latter lost the titles in a handicap match. The following week, Ambrose burned his Shield gear and explained that being part of the group had made him weak. Rollins was scheduled to defend the Intercontinental Championship against Ambrose at TLC.

On the Raw prior to Survivor Series, Braun Strowman demanded to have another Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar as well as a match against Acting Raw General Manager Baron Corbin, who had cost Strowman his Universal title match at Crown Jewel, and get to choose the stipulation for both. Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon agreed under the condition that Strowman would help Raw to victory over SmackDown at Survivor Series, and that Strowman would not touch Corbin until after the event. Stephanie also said that if Raw was successful in the interpromotional matches on the main card at Survivor Series, Stephanie would consider making Corbin the permanent Raw General Manager. Raw indeed won all interpromotional matches on the main card, with Strowman scoring the final elimination in his respective match. The following night on Raw, Strowman was granted a match with Corbin at TLC and chose a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. Stephanie added the stipulation that if Strowman won, Strowman would get his Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble, and Corbin would be removed from authoritative power, but if Corbin won, Corbin would become the permanent Raw General Manager. The same night, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre crushed Strowman's elbow with the steel steps. Strowman required surgery, leaving his TLC match in limbo. The following week, Corbin said he would not cancel their match and would accept the win by forfeit.

At Evolution, Nia Jax won a 20-woman battle royal to earn an opportunity at the Raw Women's Championship. At Survivor Series, Jax was the sole survivor of the women's elimination match. The following night on Raw, Jax's championship match against Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey was confirmed for TLC.

On the November 13 episode of SmackDown, Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles to win the WWE Championship after attacking Styles with a low blow while the referee was incapacitated and continued to attack Styles after the match, thus turning heel. On the following SmackDown, Bryan explained his actions, stating that Bryan was following his dreams and that the fans were not with him during his recovery to return to the ring, and christened himself as the "new Daniel Bryan". A rematch between the two for the title was scheduled for TLC.

At Survivor Series, SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch was originally scheduled to face Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey, but due to a legit broken nose and concussion sustained just days prior to the event, Lynch was replaced by Charlotte Flair, who was disqualified for brutally attacking Rousey. On the following SmackDown, Flair explained that she attacked Rousey for Lynch, but a week later, Flair said that she actually did it all for herself. When a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match between the two for the SmackDown Women's Championship was scheduled for TLC, the remaining eight women of the SmackDown roster took exception, demanding their chance at the championship. An ensuing eight-woman battle royal was won by Asuka, who was subsequently added to the TLC match, making it a triple threat TLC match for the title, also marking the first women's triple threat match contested under the stipulation.

At Survivor Series, Drew McIntyre and Finn Bálor came to blows when tagging in to the men's elimination match, resulting in a confrontation between the two. Bálor also made an enemy of Acting Raw General Manager Baron Corbin, who scheduled Bálor to face McIntyre at TLC.

On the SmackDown 1000 episode on October 16, The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) defeated The New Day (represented by Big E and Xavier Woods) to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with help from Big Show. On the November 27 episode of SmackDown, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defeated The Bar. On November 30, a triple threat tag team match between the three teams was scheduled for TLC.

On the December 3 episode of Raw, The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan) came out and distracted Ronda Rousey and Natalya, after which, Nia Jax and Tamina attacked Rousey and Natalya. The Riott Squad then powerbombed Natalya off the ring apron through a table. On December 6, a tables match between Natalya and Riott was scheduled for TLC.

Following Rey Mysterio's full-time return to WWE, Randy Orton began attacking him after matches. A chairs match between the two was scheduled for TLC.

For several weeks, Elias and Bobby Lashley interrupted each other's promos, often ending in a brawl between the two, also involving Lashley's manager Lio Rush. On November 30, a match between Elias and Lashley was scheduled for the TLC Kickoff pre-show. On the December 10 episode of Raw, it was revealed their match would be a ladder match with a guitar hanging above the ring.

At Super Show-Down, Buddy Murphy defeated Cedric Alexander to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Murphy then successfully retained the title against Mustafa Ali at Survivor Series. On December 10, 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick scheduled Alexander's contractual rematch for the TLC Kickoff pre-show.

Event

Pre-show

During the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs Kickoff pre-show, two matches were contested. In the first match, Buddy Murphy defended the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Cedric Alexander. In the end, Murphy performed "Murphy's Law" on Alexander to retain the title.

In the second match, Elias faced Bobby Lashley in a ladder match with a guitar hanging above the ring. In the climax, Elias won the match by ascending the ladder and retrieving the guitar. After the match, Lashley attacked Elias.