Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match

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A Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, often abbreviated as a TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match originated with World Wrestling Entertainment, but can be seen in other wrestling varioations.

The TLC is a variation of a no holds barred match with a particular emphasis on the use of the three most popular "foreign objects" in wrestling. The TLC pits three or more tag teams against each other with the goal of acquiring the tag team championship belts which start the match suspended above the ring. In this sense, a TLC match can be seen as a ladder match where tables and chairs can be used as legal foreign objects. This, compared to the relative ages of the wrestlers involved, gives the match an atmosphere similar to that of a hardcore match.

The idea of the TLC match has its supposed origins in a tag-team ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz in the 1999 edition of WWE No Mercy, with audiences giving all four wrestlers a standing ovation at the end of the match due to the sheer number of potentially dangerous ladder spots used by the wrestlers (including one where two of the wrestlers were dangling over the ring when the ladder was taken out from underneath them), in stark contrast to previous ladder matches. The move catapulted both tag teams to the top of the tag team world. The following months had The Hardy Boyz face the Dudley Boyz in a tag-team tables match, which had similar success.

The three teams would be known for their three respective foreign objects, as well as the hardcore wrestling styles associated therein: the Dudley Boyz often had a spot in their tag team matches where Bubba Ray Dudley would say "D-Von, get the tables!" when a table spot was imminent; the Hardy Boyz, in singles matches, would challenge main-event singles wrestlers (such as The Undertaker) in ladder matches, considered at that time to be the "signature match" of the team; while Edge and Christian developed the "Con-Chair-To" finishing move, which involved the two hitting an opponent's head simultaneously with chairs (each would, after the tag team broke up, use the solo "Con-Chair-To" as part of their arsenal).

Eventually, the three teams were brought together in a triple ladder match in WrestleMania 2000, in what would be the forerunner of the TLC in terms of the spots involved. The first TLC match was contested between these three teams using the weapons (and to a lesser extent, the type of match) that they had made famous. The TLC was a huge success, leading to subsequent TLC matches known simply as "TLC II", "TLC III", and so on. These TLC matches frequently involved members of these three teams, and are largely remembered for the dangerous stunts, injuries, and length. However, the TLC matches slowly met its end when Edge and Christian broke up and the release of Jeff Hardy, as well as the overall trend in increased concussions and neck injuries that had plagued the WWE roster, and as a result, led to the return of more tradition mat-based style of matches. Although the tables remain, to this day, a Dudley Boyz gimmick, the Dudley Boyz are virtually the only tag team to use it, and thus table matches are few and far between. Chairs were reduced to their former roles as a form of interference in wrestling matches, while ladders and ladder matches are now used very rarely.

In other promotions, the TLC has quite the following, appealing to a niche market within professional wrestling. However, the term "TLC" itself was trademarked by the WWE, thus other promotions give different names to these types of matches despite having an identical setup. In more hardcore-style promotions, the chairs were often replaced, or were used alongside, chains.

Total Nonstop Action used a variation called "Full Metal Mayhem" with Abyss defeating Jeff Hardy in a match in which anything with metal in it was legal to use in order to retreive a contract for an NWA World Heavyweight Title match from above the ring.

There have been four televised TLC matches in the WWE: the first two occurred in the 2000 edition of Summerslam and WrestleMania X-Seven the following year. These matches involved the three aformentioned teams, with each having Edge and Christian winning. TLC IV was occurred on the May 24, 2001 edition of Smackdown!, when the tag team of Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit had to face three tag teams in order to retain the tag championship. The fifth and final TLC match occurred on the October 7, 2002 edition of WWE RAW, where four tag teams had drawn, as a result of "Raw Roulette", a TLC match. However, the team composition was drastically different, as one member of each of the traditional three teams were on the Smackdown roster: Rob Van Dam replaced Matt Hardy, Chris Jericho replaced Edge, while Spike Dudley replaced D-Von. The match saw these three teams facing defending champions Kane and The Hurricane. Before the match, The Hurricane was assulted backstage, leaving Kane to compete alone. Despite this, Kane managed to retain the titles.

External Links

WWE TLC Match description (http://www.wwe.com/inside/specialty_matches/2004_11_08_tlc.jsp)