WWE DVD Review: TLC - Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2012

WWE DVD Review: TLC – Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2012

To round off 2012 the WWE offered up its TLC pay-per-view.

TLC is an interesting event to witness. It is also one that does exactly what it says on the tin, as in it offers us a tables match, a ladders match and a chairs match, plus we also get them all combined in one TLC encounter.

This time around we got to see Irishman Sheamus and Big Show battle it out in a hard-hitting chairs match. John Cena and Dolph Ziggler had a belter of a ladder match for Ziggler's Money In The Bank briefcase.The Shield were also on hand to challenge the mighty trio of Team Hell No and Ryback in a match that really put the faction on the map.

The TLC concept has been watered down slightly in the more PG version of the WWE, but that is not to say that the concept is lost on its new audience. In fact it is quite the opposite, the action is now a lot more intense and the lack of blood, headshots or other career shortening moves make things all the more enjoyable.

The elevation of The Shield as a worthy addition to the WWE roster started here and it is very good to see the company do such a thing at long last.

There are many surprises during TLC 2012 and the match quality is certainly above par throughout.

On the extras front the DVD has an interview with Dolph Ziggler (by Matt Striker). The Blu-ray however has a wealth of additional features. These includes matches and excerpts from the December 16^th Monday Night Raw event and the December 18^th Smackdown shows. Highlights here are Ric Flair presenting the Slammy to the Superstar of the Year, The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Tommy Dreamer facing 3BM, Ryback versus Antonio Cesaro and a Miz TV segment with AJ Lee, Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston.

TLC (Tables, Ladders, Chairs) 2012 is available now from all good retailers.

RRP £17.99 (DVD), £19.99 (Blu-ray)

Www.wwedvd.co.uk

www.wwe.com

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review - TLC 2012

WWE DVD Review: TLC (Tables, Ladders, Chairs) 2012

WWE's TLC pay-per-view event is one that has a tendency to deliver greatly with its match quality and results. Even the lack of blood can't affect the violence that many of the wrestlers bring to the ring when foreign objects such as tables, ladders and steel chairs become legal weapons. This year we were also treated to a few new faces, which helped create new feuds and elevate some often neglected mid-card talent. With CM Punk injured there was some re-jigging behind the scenes match wise, but perhaps it was for the best. WWE need his fresh and ready for his upcoming scrap with The Rock.

It was also nice to see the legendary Jerry 'The King' Lawler return to his commentary duties. Lawler seems to have recovered well after his near fatal heart attack (which occurred during a live raw show).

TLC kicked off with a very reasonable tables match for the number one contender spot for the WWE tag team belts. The duo of Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara battled Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes in a fun battle. Cara is looking so much better in the ring now he is teamed up with fellow high flyer Mysterio. Rhodes Scholars on the other hand are a wonderfully fresh addition to the diminishing tag ranks. Rhodes and Sandow picked up the win after Cody caused Cara to plough through a table.

Your reviewer is not a hug fan of US Title holder Anonio Cesaro, but he can put together a pretty decent match with the right (talented) performer. The match however didn't really sizzle as much as we had hoped it would. Cesaro was able to overcome a few nice looking pin attempts by Truth and nailed a 'Neutralizer' to retain his gold.
Uk wrestler Wade Barrett has been making real strides in recent months to get one more big push for his WWE career. His match with Kofi Kingston here highlighted the fact that Barrett does have potential. Putting Kofi's Intercontinental Title on the line helped as well of course. Wade is a very good big man and has an aura about him, perhaps he will be William Regal's successor to the role of sterotypical British bad guy. Kofi did manage to fend off his European influenced assault and retained the belt.
Whether they are associated with Champion CM Punk The Shield were (and are) a welcome addition to the WWE roster. Their sneak attacks and N.W.O. Inspired storyline is something that may just inject some much needed adrenaline into the WWE product.

The match here was a TLC one and The Shield (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose) faced off against the formidable trio of WWE Tag Team Champs Kane/Daniel Bryan and the fastest rising star of the year Ryback. This match was a brutal, tough and well-paced affair. Working with such talented opponents The Shield team were on perfect form. What was nice was that amidst the weapons based fun and games, we saw some new faces get their hands raised (over some more established acts). This angle by WWE may just work out very well for all concerned. The Shield pulled off a rather good win, to continue their progression.
The Divas were up next, with Eve defending her title against (pre-show match winner) Naomi. Naomi did show some impressive in-ring ability here. It was of course always going to be Eve's night and here she did not disappoint. Eve retained her glamorous belt as predicted.
As explained before a TLC PPV should really feature some blood. But you know what sometimes the spilling of claret is not necessary. The World Heavyweight Title match between champion Big Show and challenger Sheamus was a real barn-stormer. Sheamus seems to bring something out in show that we have not seen in a while and perhaps Show himself has grabbed this opportunity to highlight how valuable he is to the company. The match was violent, hard-hitting and worked to both men's advantage. Shows win maintains his grasp of the belt and Sheamus' loss does little more than make him a man we will root for next time.
Next up we saw an interesting battle. This was Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre taking on Alberto Del Rio, The Miz and Brooklyn Brawler. This was a nostalgic match for veteran fans, as longtime jobber the Brawler (Steve Lombardi) returned to the ring. Lombardi is a familiar face to anyone whoo who watches WWE biographical or special edition DVDs. He often pops us as a talking head on such releases. Lombardi never won a major title, but he did elevate many superstars to the next level and his simple style made him a minor league star. Brawler got his chance to shine on PPV in Brooklyn (of course) and even picked up a rare win.

Love him or hate him John Cena is one of the few real stars the WWE have available to perform at present. His act may need polished and a break from his main event appearances would help things. But 

with no one else ready to fill his spot or shift as much merchandise this is a picture we will have to expect for a while, the one of Cena in the main event.

The storyline featuring Cena/AJ/Vickie Guerro has been fun (even if it does echo a recent ill-fated TNA one). This match between Dolph Ziggler and Cena was a curious entry too. Ziggler could have as easily cashed in his 'Money in the Bank' title shot, but instead he offered it up in a match with Cena. This was a ladder match to remember. Cena took some stiff shots, Ziggler was a bump-machine (in the style of Shawn Michaels) and the outside interference proved to be beneficial to the pair. Cena in a rare moment for his character stared at the lights for the ever-exciting Ziggler. AJ did prove to be the thorn in Cena's side, but this was really all about raising Dolph to the next level. After all if he can beat Cena, this man may just be able to win the big one.

On the Extras front the DVD has an interview with Dolph Ziggler only, Blu-ray owners will be able to witness an episode of Monday Night Raw, Slammy award presentations and some very nice matches.

RRP £17.99 (DVD), £19.99 (Blu-ray).

TLC 2012 is available now from all good retailers.

Wwe.com

By Phil Allely

Dolph Ziggler interview highlights

As reported earlier, Emmy winning entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet from WOIO recently spoke with Dolph Ziggler in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. He talks about breaking away from Vickie Guerrero, how he would have been pushed sooner if he was bigger and his thoughts on John Cena and CM Punk.

He talked about how if he was bigger he would have been pushed earlier, saying if he was 4 inches taller and 40 pounds heavier he would be “a multiple time world champion”. However he admits that he’s he glad he has had to work for all of his success because he feels it has made him better.

He also discussed CM Punk’s claim to being the best the world saying “He has to put it on a shirt. It’s almost like ‘Guys, I’m the best in the world, right? Just ask me!’ It comes off like he’s begging for it and if you keep saying it I guess you think it’s true.”

On being great at selling moves, “I do everything, especially when I’m getting beat up, If I’m going to run into something, I’m running into it full force and it hurts. But instead of hearing‘oh, is that guy ok?’ you hear ‘OOOOH!!’. My body’s on the line because I love this and I do it for a living”

On the topic of John Cena, Ziggler says, “The eight-year old kids, they still think that John Cena’s really good at stuff, other than being strong. And they buy the t-shirts and that’s great. Everybody else goes ‘well, I graduated high school. I get that [Ziggler’s] better than everybody else’”

On being compared to Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect: “Mr. Perfect, I was a big fan of his because we kind of had similar deals like wow, we’re almost too good at this that it looks easy sometimes. Huge fan of his, huge fan of Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair. Those guys who always wanted the spotlight even if they weren’t supposed to be in it. They were the guys, if they weren’t the main event, they showed up the main event to let everyone know that next time you put me in there”

On whether he or any of the [WWE] guys in the back follow what's going on in TNA: "Me, personally as a wrestling fan, it's something I've said before where I study movies, I study comedians, why they are getting these reactions; I watch all wrestling. And lots of us, because of the ever-changing roster for both sides, we're friends with half of those guys anyway because we were wrestling with them a few months ago. So that community, we all kind of follow each other. A lot of us watch it just because we love wrestling. We'll watch TNA. We'll watch Ring of Honor. I watch everything just to see what's going on and know where I need to be. 

"Even a good friend of mine, Mike Mondo, who was with me in the Spirit Squad, he's in Ring of Honor tearing it up. Everyone's always saying how great he's doing."

In a follow-up question, Ziggler is then asked, "There seems to be some storylines between TNA and WWE that are kind of overlapping right now. Isn't that weird? He responds, "I'm a little behind on [TNA] storylines, but yes. I heard that from several different people. So, maybe..."

Other topics covered were: getting more mic time, breaking away from Vickie Guerrero and his Twitter feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Dolph Ziggler Interview Highlights

WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler recently spoke with Metro.co.uk. Here are some highlights:




Why have you found success with this persona?



A lot of it was about learning. When I started, I just wanted to get as much ring time as possible. You don’t get the full grasp of it until you have a few years under your belt, know how to listen to the crowd and look like you’re having fun – then the crowd has fun too.



What’s been your most embarrassing gimmick?



I was in the Spirit Squad, which was a group of guys with a cheerleading theme. I told myself no matter what the persona is, get your foot in the door and run with it.



There’s the perception that wrestlers are all hooked on steroids – is that a source of irritation?



It is because we’ve gone from the big burly guys who eat hotdogs and live a rough lifestyle to wrestlers who are all health nuts and work out every day. We’re constantly tested and there are measures to make sure we’re all safe and healthy. I hope that perception changes because we’re highly tuned athletes.



What’s been your worst injury?



I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had two concussions in six years and broke my nose a couple of times but a lot of people have constant injuries. Edge is amazing, he was a very positive influence on me and helped me out backstage but he had to retire recently because of back injuries

WWE TLC 2010 DVD Review

WWE DVD Review – TLC Tables Ladders & Chairs 2010


By Phil Allely

TLC 2010 was a thoroughly enjoyable pay-per-view offering from the WWE and one that considering its reliance on gimmick matches could have gone wrong in many ways. The card itself saw a few major lines continue, one being the on-going feud between Nexus leader Wade Barrett and John Cena, others included WWE Champion The Miz defending his recently won title against former champ Randy Orton, Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler taking on Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston and Kane defending his World Heavyweight Championship in a four-way brawl with Edge, Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio.

This DVD of course features the above entertaining TLC battles Cena/Barrett (Chairs), Miz/Orton (Tables) and Kane/Edge/Mysterio/Del Rio (TLC), Ziggler/Kingston/Del Rio (Ladders), plus a nice ladder match between Sheamus and John Morrison, the first ever Divas Tag Team Tables Match between the combos of Natalya/Beth Phoenix and Lay-Cool, plus a WWE tag team Championship bout with Santino Marella and Vladimir taking on Nexus duo Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel.

So just what does this release have to offer the home video collector of WWE events? Well having the thrilling gimmicks on hand to assist and improve/enhance any moves is a bonus for each bout. Many of which of them are indeed heightened by the addition of such prop, each performer also stepped up to the plate to risk their bodies as well. The action throughout has a decent pace in each match. There are also some standout moments too including, some ladder based stunts, a double sharpshooter by Natalya on Lay-Cool, a festive Big Show appearance, Vickie Guerrero precariously hanging off a ladder and some highly inventive use for the tables, ladders and chairs on hand.

TLC proved to be a surprising event in many ways, titles changed hands, feuds ended and some were kick started. Many of the superstars were more than likely pretty sore after the gruelling situation they put themselves in as well. Whilst some PPVs are watch one only events, this one has some durability on that front due to the gimmicks involved, extras wise there is a post-match interview with John Cena only however.

TLC 2010 is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.

Coming soon from Silver Vision:

The Big Show – A Giant’s World

WWE Tagged Classics - Rebellion 2001/Insurrection 2002

DX – One Last Stand