A common theme in the matches I am about to talk about will be multiple angles going on for some of these wrestlers possibly holding back the potential of the title feuds. I talked about that recently. The League of Nations was just formed, with some of those guys already having something going on prior to the stable becoming official. Then The Usos and Dean Ambrose came out to help Roman Reigns, bringing up the possibility of a stable there. The diva division is a mess, as usual.
Let me start with the Intercontinental Championship match. Dean Ambrose goes against Kevin Owens. I said that this was a feud that did not really need a fancy storyline to it. I did not imagine when I said that that things would work out like they have. Owens was not able to get involved as best as he could for a while. Dean Ambrose got involved with Roman Reigns against The League of Nations. The feud just became an afterthought. They will have a contract signing on Smackdown this week. My initial reaction was that this feud does not really need that, but it is probably a good way to give this match some hype prior to TLC. I still feel Owens retains. Given how things have worked out, extending the feud a few more weeks after TLC would not be too horrible.
Jack Swagger goes after the United States Championship held by Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio retains, but it is really a shame what has happened to this feud. This was the midcard title feud that had potential for a good story. But putting Del Rio into The League of Nations has ruined the storyline they could have had here. It will be a chairs match, but the feud could have been better.
The tag titles will be decided in a triple-threat ladder match. Considering the men involved, it should be a great match and give the main event some competition for match of the night. The New Day defend against The Usos and Lucha Dragons. The Lucha Dragons are probably just there to make the match more exciting. It is unlikely they win. But it is a shame that they have not been featured better in the feud. Winning a match here and there isn't enough. It is all about how you are actually featured. The New Day have been associating with Sheamus and his group. The Usos have obviously sided with Roman Reigns. If Sin Cara & Kalisto were not involved in this title match, there would be no problem. As it stands, it feels like they are getting the short end of the stick. It seems like a lot of these title feuds have gotten the short end of the stick for a while for the benefit of furthering Reigns vs. Sheamus. Do The Usos win the titles here? It is only a matter of time before they do. I will say they do win them.
The diva division is a mess. The feud between Charlotte and Paige has been horrible. I have said that they probably should have ended it already. Move on to something else. They have continued it and only seem to make it worse. Already teasing friction between Charlotte and Becky Lynch before the feud between Paige and Charlotte is done just takes away from the feud. If Paige was the one forcing the wedge, that would be one thing. She's not. Even Team Bella has stirred the pot.
And the WWE brings back Ric Flair to get involved even more regularly. I do not think that is fair. How many wrestlers have a legendary father at the level of Ric Flair to give them a rub? It wouldn't be right for The Rock to carry a certain family member of his that has issues connecting with the fans, so I do not think the WWE should do too much with Ric Flair for Charlotte's benefit. She needs to do it on her own. If they wanted to bring Ric Flair in to work with Charlotte in a certain storyline that really deserved it, that would be great. That is not what they are doing here. This is just trying to give Charlotte a rub. I am still not convinced they really want to make her a star or are just pushing filler right now and creating the impression they really want her over. Either way, Charlotte has still not proven that she should be pushed as a top star.
As for Paige, I have brought up before that this push she has been getting may not necessarily be to make her into the new AJ Lee. It could be more similar to what happened to Melina when she turned heel for the last time to feud with Natalya over the title. The feud got treated poorly. Melina was not built up well, she lost to Natalya, and the WWE just moved on. I read Paige loses to Becky Lynch on Smackdown this week. The last show before the PPV and she loses. It has happened before that credible jobbers lose like that and go on to lose when they get their title shot soon after.
I would expect Paige to lose at TLC. The WWE has already started to tease Becky vs. Charlotte. Unless Becky is the one that costs Charlotte the title, the title will still be involved for the storyline between Becky and Charlotte. Why put the title on Paige? She is a heel. Sasha Banks is a heel. Nikki Bella, whenever she returns, will likely be a heel. Are there any faces that Paige can genuinely feud with? I doubt the WWE would dig Natalya back up to go against Paige. No, I say the title stays on Charlotte as she goes against Becky Lynch.
