WWE TLC 2016 Review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

What we took away, what we learned and what the future holds for the superstars of Smackdown Live following Sunday night’s WWE TLC pay-per-view in Dallas.

Alright, folks. The 2016 version of WWE’s annual Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view is in the books.

Overall, I’d have to say that I was pleased with how the night went down. Sure, not every match was an instant classic (although I would put one in that category), but this card got the job done. We saw two title changes, a surprising heel turn and the end of a few long-running programs that were ready to be wrapped up. So I’d say that TLC accomplished what it needed to accomplish and the superstars of Smackdown Live can now set their sights on the closing weeks of 2016 and look ahead to what the new year, the Royal Rumble and the beginning of WrestleMania season brings.

The pre-show match wasn’t announced until very late and the 10-man tag match featuring American Alpha, The Hype Bros & Apollo Crews vs. The Ascension, The Vaudevillains & Curt Hawkins was pretty forgettable. So let’s just go ahead and skip that and get to the action on the main card.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match

Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno (c)

What we learned: Hey look, everyone. Bray Wyatt won a championship.

I don’t think anybody actually expected Heath Slater & Rhyno to retain the titles in this matchup, but I’m not sure most people thought that it would happen as quickly as it did. I mean, the champs got in a little bit of offense there, but this essentially turned into a squash match, didn’t it?

They’ve been teasing some tension between Randy Orton and Luke Harper recently (and doing it quite well), but they put that to bed (for the moment anyway) when Harper jumped in front of a spear attempt on the outside that was meant for Orton, much like The Viper did for Bray at Survivor Series against Roman Reigns.

Cut to the finish and you have Bray distracting Rhyno with his backwards crab walk, which allows Orton to hit an RKO (certainly not his best or most surprising by any means) for the 1-2-3 and we have new Smackdown Tag Team Champions. So the match itself…not very interesting.

However, things did get interesting for a moment afterwards as all three members of the Wyatt Family were in the ring with the titles. Honestly, for a moment there, I thought that Orton was going to turn and RKO them both, which I think a lot of people are expecting at some point. But instead, the three looked to be on the same page as Luke Harper was given both titles to hold as the three posed in the ring.

What’s next: I’m quite pleased with how they’re running this program. Heath Slater & Rhyno will likely get their rematch at some point and hopefully they’ll remain relevant on Smackdown Live as they’ve been really good together and are over with the crowd , but the big story here is obviously what’s going to happen with the Wyatt Family. They’re finally tasting some real success and have built some momentum going into 2017. And after almost 15 years in WWE, Randy Orton is still finding ways to be relevant and interesting, and I’m digging it.

So where do they go from here? I’m still extremely high on Bray getting a run at the WWE title at some point, but I suppose this is a good start. It’s likely that they run with this for a little while, perhaps with some sort of swerve at the Royal Rumble that causes a little tension. And maybe that transitions to a match at WrestleMania between Orton and Wyatt. I’m just happy that they’re not breaking it up too quickly like they did with Daniel Bryan a few years back and giving it a chance to work. We’ll see if anything comes from it on Tuesday, but I could watch this new Wyatt Family storyline develop for a while and be okay with it.