WWE TLC 2013

Image Source: Bleacher Report

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: December 15 2013
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, USA
Attendance: 14,120

The fifth annual Pay-Per-View event dedicated to the objects known as tables, ladders and chairs (oh, my!), TLC 2013 took on an additional level of importance due to the significance of its main event. For the first time in over 11 years, there would only be one World Champion after TLC was all said and done, and the man who would receive this honour would be decided in a championship unification match between reigning WWE Champion Randy Orton and recently-crowned World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, rekindling their old rivalry (or rivalries) in - yes! - a TLC match. Who would win this historic match to become the undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Champion? We would have to wait and see.

After Fandango surprisingly beat Dolph Ziggler on the pre-show (which doesn't say much for Ziggler's career prospects right now), TLC 2013 opened with CM Punk taking on The Shield in a 3-on-1 handicap match. What a difference a year makes: in late 2012, Punk as WWE Champion allegedly used The Shield to ensure that the title remained around his waist, with Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose making their official WWE in-ring debut in a phenomenal TLC match opposite Ryback and Team Hell No at the 2012 TLC event. One year on, in the first match on the show, Punk was now fighting the Hounds Of Justice all on his lonesome. Punk vs. Rollins and Punk vs. Ambrose were the better parts of this match, which provided a good start to the card. That isn't a knock on Reigns at all; it's just because Punk's wrestling style complements that of Rollins and Ambrose more smoothly. The big man had his moments to shine too, although his momentum was halted by a fairly serious eye injury suffered during the match. This may or may not been orchestrated as it partly contributed to the finish of the match, which saw Reigns accidentally Spear his Shield partner Ambrose, leading Punk to get Roman out of the ring and pin Ambrose to get the against-the-odds victory.

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