The 2012 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was the fourth annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. It took place on December 16, 2012, at the

Barclays Center Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. It was the first professional wrestling event to be held at the Barclays Center and WWE's first event held in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Ten matches were contested at the event, with two matches contested on the pre-show. In the main event,

Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he performs under his real name, stylized as Nic Nemeth, where he is one-half of the TNA World Tag ...

defeated

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

in a

Ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

to retain the World Heavyweight Money in the Bank contract. In other prominent matches,

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...

(

Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth ...

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...

, and

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...

) defeated Ryback and WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No ( Kane and Daniel Bryan) in a Six-man tag team Tables, Ladders and Chairs match which was also The Shield's debut match as a stable and

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...

defeated

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...

in a Chairs match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The event received 175,000 pay-per-view buys, down from 179,000 buys the previous year.

Production

Background

TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was an annual

(PPV) produced every December by

since 2009. The

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

of the event was based on the primary matches of the card each containing a stipulation using tables, ladders, and

chairs A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or Upholstery, upholstered ...

as legal weapons, with the main event generally being a

Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match A tables, ladders, and chairs match, often abbreviated as TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match that originated within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The TLC match is a variation of a ladder match, which is modified to c ...

. The 2012 event was the fourth TLC and was scheduled to take place on December 16, 2012, at

. It would in turn be the first professional wrestling event held at the Barclays Center and subsequently WWE's first event held in

. In addition to the event, winners of several categories of the

WWE Slammy Awards The Slammy Awards, also known as the Slammys, is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers. Introduced in ...

were announced on the pre-show.

Storylines

The

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

, WWE. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, '' Raw'' and '' SmackDown''. The major rivalry going into TLC was between the reigning

WWE Champion The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand ...

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...

and Ryback. Having been denied the title at

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...

by 'rogue official' Brad Maddox, Ryback along with

competed in a triple threat match for Punk's title at

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

. However, Punk was able to retain the title again when the debuting trio of

, and

interfered and

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a s ...

ed Ryback through a table as he was closing in on victory. The trio followed this up by putting Ryback through a table once again the next night on ''Raw'', and, calling themselves

, continued to attack a myriad of superstars over the following weeks including repeated assaults on the WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No ( Daniel Bryan and Kane), who vowed to put aside the personal differences which had marred their title reign and become united as a result. Having been denied the chance to win the WWE Championship at Survivor Series, Ryback was granted another opportunity at the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match against Punk. However, the following week during a brawl involving The Shield, Team Hell No and

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...

, Ryback assaulted Punk with a chair and a ladder before

ing him through a table. The next day, Punk underwent surgery for a (legit) knee injury, and so was removed from the card. Instead, Ryback would team with Team Hell No against Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns in a six-man tag team TLC match. This match (which was announced via a press release by WWE chairman

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...

) differed from standard TLC matches as it would be decided via pinfall or submission. However, the original TLC match between CM Punk and Ryback was rescheduled for the first ''Raw'' of 2013. On October 28, 2012, at Hell in a Cell,

won the World Heavyweight Championship after defeating

. The conflict between both men intensified after the match, leading to Big Show's attack on Sheamus and

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...

while the two were visiting an English pub during WWE's European tour. Another fight broke out between the two of them in a parking lot during the November 16 episode of ''SmackDown''. The conflict reached its worst during their rematch at

: the Big Show used a referee to shield himself from the Brogue Kick and managed to deliver a knockout punch (WMD) while Sheamus was checking on the downed referee. This foul play ultimately caused the Big Show to be disqualified from the match, thus retaining his title. Shortly after failing to regain the title, Sheamus attacked Big Show with a steel chair while the Big Show pleaded for a cessation of the attacks. Sheamus relented, but followed up the beating by performing his finishing move, the Brogue Kick, on the Big Show. Therefore, a chairs match between Big Show and Sheamus was first announced on the November 23 episode of ''SmackDown'' by General Manager

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...

. TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs events have been an emotional point for Big Show as he both gained and then lost his title during the last event held in 2011 in a record of 45 seconds, as a result of Bryan Danielson cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase after

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...

knocked out Show post-match. Leading up to Survivor Series,

Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English acting, actor and former professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a color commentator on the ''WWE Sma ...

replaced

as the final entrant of Team Ziggler, matching up with

Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kofi ...

. During the Survivor Series tag team match between Team Foley and Team Ziggler, Barrett managed to pin Kingston and eliminate him. On the November 19 episode of ''Raw'', Barrett defeated Kingston in a non-title match. During the November 26 episode, Barrett was granted a match to vie for Kingston's Intercontinental Championship at the TLC event. Since October 2012,

was accused of having an inappropriate romantic relationship with

AJ Lee April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author, screenwriter and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. Mendez began her professional wrestling career in 2007 in New ...

during the latter's time as ''Raw'' general manager, which newly appointed ''Raw'' managing supervisor

Vickie Guerrero Vickie Lynn Benson (formerly Guerrero, née Lara;Guerrero, Eddie. ''Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story'', p. 53. born April 16, 1968), better known as Vickie Guerrero, is an American former professional wrestling personality ...

and

were trying to prove, beginning a feud between Cena and Ziggler. During the December 3 episode of ''Raw'', Guerrero (after being coaxed by WWE Chairman

) made a ladder match between Cena and Ziggler for Ziggler's Money in the Bank World Heavyweight Championship contract at the TLC PPV. It marked the second time Ziggler would defend his contract. Antonio Cesaro was feuding with R-Truth heading into the pay-per-view after R-Truth unsuccessfully challenged him for the United States Championship at Survivor Series. The weeks building up included them facing off in a Six Man Tag Team Match and with Cesaro mocking America on the episode of ''SmackDown'' before the show. R-Truth suffered a small knee injury but competed anyway.

Event

In an untelevised match, JTG beat

David Otunga David Daniel Otunga (born April 7, 1980) is an American actor and former professional wrestler and lawyer. He is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2009 to 2015. Otunga was the runner-up on the first season of ''WWE NXT'' and later an origina ...

by pinfall. The next match aired on the pre-show. It was a " Santa's Little Helpers"

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

for the #1 contendership to the Divas Championship between

Alicia Fox Victoria Elizabeth Crawford (born June 30, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where she performs under her real name as the on-screen Deputy Director of Authority, and also performs ...

, Aksana, Naomi, Cameron, Tamina Snuka, Kaitlyn,

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, '' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movemen ...

, Natalya, and Rosa Mendes. Naomi won the match after last eliminating Kaitlyn. WWE also offered a tribute to the victims of the

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Newtown Public Schools, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. The victims were 20 children bet ...

at the start of the pay-per-view. The audience was prompted to rise as the bell was tolled 26 times in a gesture of respect to the 26 victims of the tragedy, their families, and everyone affected by the events.

Preliminary matches

The first match was a tables match to determine the #1 contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship between Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes) and Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. In the end, Sin Cara attempted a

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

maneuver, but Rhodes pushed Sin Cara off the ropes, knocking him through a table on the floor, meaning that Rhodes and Sandow won the match. Next was the United States Championship match between Antonio Cesaro and R-Truth. Cesaro performed a Neutralizer on R-Truth to retain the title.

came to the ring to host an unannounced episode of "MizTV". 3MB (

Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Heath Slater. He also performed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling ...

Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began ...

, and

Jinder Mahal Yuvraj Singh Dhesi (born July 19, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is performing on the independent circuit under his real name, stylized as Raj Dhesi. He is best known for his tenures in WWE, where he performed under the ring nam ...

) were the guests. They announced that they were going to perform "live" for the first time during the 2012

. 3MB began mocking Miz and the crowd before mocking the Spanish announce team. Ricardo Rodriguez came to the aid of the Spanish announce team, but was attacked by 3MB.

Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where h ...

came to Ricardo's aid and attacked 3MB with The Miz. Slater then challenged Miz, Del Rio, and a partner of their choosing to fight 3MB later in the night, which Miz and Del Rio accepted. The third match was for the Intercontinental Championship between Kofi Kingston and Wade Barrett. In the end, Barrett attempted a Bull Hammer on Kingston, but Kingston ducked and performed Trouble in Paradise on Barrett to retain the title. In the fourth match, The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins) faced Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) and Ryback in a six-man Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. The Shield dominated the early part of the match, isolating one member of the other team and performing a triple powerbomb through an announce table on Ryback. Ambrose and Rollins performed a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

superplex off a table, which was positioned on the top rope, on Bryan and attempted the same move on Kane, who countered and performed a flying clothesline on Ambrose. Reigns performed a

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

through the barricade on Kane and The Shield buried Kane underneath rubble from the broadcast table and barricade, taking him out of the match. Bryan applied the Yes Lock on each member of The Shield, but each member broke the hold. Ryback recovered, dominated The Shield and executed Shell Shocked on Ambrose, but Rollins and Reigns broke up the pin. As The Shield fought with Ryback on the entrance ramp, Ryback threw Rollins off a ladder through two tables. Back in the ring, Reigns and Ambrose performed an aided powerbomb on Bryan off the top rope and through a table and Reigns pinned Bryan to win the match. The next match was the WWE Divas Championship match between Eve Torres and Naomi. Eve executed a Heart Breaker on Naomi to win the match. The chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Big Show and Sheamus followed. Sheamus performed a diving shoulder block with a chair on Big Show and dove off the top rope, but Big Show countered with a

. Show attacked Sheamus with a chair and performed a

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerf ...

on Sheamus for a near-fall. Show attempted another chokeslam through two chairs on Sheamus, but Sheamus countered with

White Noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used with this or similar meanings in many scientific and technical disciplines, i ...

through the chairs for a near-fall. Sheamus attempted the Brogue Kick but missed and Big Show executed the

Knockout Punch In metalworking, a knockout punch, also known as a chassis punch, panel punch, Greenlee punch, or a Q-max, is a hand tool used to punch a hole through sheet metal. It is a very simple tool that consists of a punch, die, and screw. There are t ...

for a near-fall. Big Show hit Sheamus with a large chair to retain the title. Next was a six-man tag team match between the team of The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and their surprise partner The Brooklyn Brawler against the 3MB. The Miz performed the Skull-Crushing Finale on Jinder Mahal and tagged in The Brooklyn Brawler. The Brooklyn Brawler forced Mahal to submit to the

Boston crab The Boston crab, also known as the ''cangrejo'' (Spanish for "crab") or , is a professional wrestling hold that typically starts with one wrestler lying in a supine position on the mat, with the other wrestler standing and facing them. It is a ty ...

for the win.

Main event match

In the last match of the night, Dolph Ziggler defended his World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract against John Cena in a ladder match. Ziggler applied a sleeper hold atop a ladder on Cena, causing Cena and Ziggler to fall off the ladder through a table. Cena applied the STF, causing Ziggler to pass out. Cena attempted an Attitude Adjustment on Ziggler, but Ziggler countered into a Zig Zag. Cena performed a

hurricanrana Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

on Ziggler, sending Ziggler through a table. Cena executed an Attitude Adjustment on Ziggler, causing Ziggler to roll out of the ring.

then came out and tried to interfere, but AJ stopped her and performed the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Guerrero. Cena climbed the ladder, but suddenly AJ pushed it over, allowing Ziggler to superkick Cena. Ziggler climbed the ladder and retrieved the briefcase to win the match.

Reception

The event received high reviews overall. The six-man tag team TLC match between The Shield against Team Hell No and Ryback received the highest rating of the event by Dave Meltzer, with 4.5 stars out of 5.

Aftermath

The big stories out of this show were the face turn by Alberto Del Rio and the heel turn by AJ Lee. On the New Year's Eve episode of ''Raw'', the champions were allowed to pick their opponents to defend their titles against. Big Show challenged Del Rio's ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, and brutally assaulted him until Del Rio came to Rodriguez's rescue. This resulted in Del Rio challenging for Big Show's World Heavyweight Championship in a Last Man Standing match on the January 11 showing of ''SmackDown'', which Del Rio won. AJ said that she felt that Cena had betrayed her when he told her not to attend his matches, and she turned heel and became the in-story girlfriend of Ziggler. Ryback ended up getting his title rematch against Punk on the first ''Raw'' episode of 2013 in a TLC match, but again failed to capture it due to interference by The Shield. The Rock went on to defeat Punk and end his reign at 434 days at the

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

. Kaitlyn received two more opportunities at the Divas Championship, defeating Eve via DQ and countout each time. Kaitlyn finally defeated Eve to capture the Divas Championship on the 20th Anniversary episode of ''Raw'' on January 14, 2013, in Kaitlyn's hometown of Houston. Eve quit WWE in an exclusive segment after losing the title.

Results

Battle Royal

References

External links

Official TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tlc: Tables, Ladders and Chairs (2012) Events in Brooklyn

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2012 in New York City Professional wrestling shows in New York City 2012 WWE pay-per-view events December 2012 in the United States es:WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs#2012