Tonight's TLC pay per view, CM Punk's transformation from WWE superstar to mixed martial artist and Sami Zayn capturing the NXT title from Adrian Neville are major headlines in an extremely eventful week for pro wrestling as we head into the holiday season.
WWE presents its annual Tables, Ladders and Chairs extravaganza this evening in Cleveland. While there will be no heavyweight championship match on the docket, John Cena is putting his number one contender status up for grabs when he battles Seth Rollins in a tables match. Dean Ambrose clashes with Bray Wyatt in a complete TLC bout, while Dolph Ziggler attempts to regain the Intercontinental crown in a ladder match with Luke Harper.
Kane and Ryback's encounter is scheduled to be a chairs match and Miz and Sandow defend the tag titles against the Usos. Jack Swagger gets yet another shot at Rusev. Big Show tangles with Erik Rowan and AJ Lee defends the divas belt against Nikki Bella in what some are speculating could be Lee's swan song with the company. Goldust and Stardust are relegated to the pre-show, where they are penciled in against New Day.
Our friend Mick Foley, who is jollier than ever at this, his favorite time of year, did a great job of hosting a retrospective of famous TLC action entitled Demolition Derby on the WWE Network this past week to whet the appetite of fans for this evening's spectacular. Unfortunately, it is unlikely anybody will be able to replicate, nor should they, some of the most daring and devastating moments seen on this particular highlight reel. There can be no denying that the incredible high spots shown exacted a heavy price on most, if not all of the participants in years past and it is likely there will be some wrestlers paying a prohibitive price at this evening's TLC.
Although many wrestling fans were aware that CM Punk was an MMA fan and some might even know that he has some background in training with martial arts, most people were quite surprised this past weekend when a press conference was held prior to an MMA event to announce Punk would be venturing into the MMA world in 2015. Certainly, there is potential for some big money to be made on his initial foray into the octagon, but what the likelihood of his longer term success in the legitimate fight world might be seems open to much speculation.
At thirty-six years of age, with a body that has taken a pretty good beating in a lengthy pro wrestling career that is more arduous than most people who have never done it could possibly imagine, the odds are likely stacked against him, but Punk has already beaten plenty of unfavorable odds on his way through the independent scene to the top of the WWE mountain. He seems to thrive on challenges and this will likely prove to be among his greatest yet.
While there are plenty of things to be decided before he ever gets to his first MMA fight, like what his best weight class might be, what club might provide the most well-rounded training for him and who would be an ideal first opponent, there is no doubt that Punk's announcement created incredible buzz and the folks at UFC could potentially benefit greatly from the initial crossover interest in UFC by pro wrestling fans as happened with Brock Lesnar a few years back.
After blasting WWE on the Colt Cabana podcast, Punk heading over to UFC might seem to be another shot at his former employer. As such, many wrestling fans are wondering if Punk's wife, AJ Lee's days in WWE might be few in number going forward. Her choice or theirs, there is considerable speculation out there that Lee seemed to be giving somewhat of a farewell speech on Raw when accepting one of those goofy Slammy Awards last Monday. Of course, conjecture can sometimes be as accurate as say, our recent weather forecasts.
Sami Zayn, formerly toiling under a hood on the independent scene as El Generico, finally upended Adrian Neville to capture the WWE NXT championship at this past Thursday's NXT Takeover special on the WWE Network. It was one of the best television matches in the United States this year, even better than a previous encounter between the two that was already getting consideration for Match of the Year honors by people who appreciate the business enough to try to identify such things. It is most certainly worth your time to check it out on the network.
Kevin Owens, who plied his trade as Kevin Steen in Ring of Honor, debuted on the NXT special and attacked Zayn after the title victory and extended celebration that brought out the entire roster from the locker room. Owens had an impressive debut match with CJ Parker (two initials in lieu of a first name seems to be a trend in wrestling these days) earlier on the show when he withstood an apparent broken nose that somehow looked hauntingly familiar, but persevered to come out on top in a short, but intensely physical confrontation.
(Shamokin's Bill Gilger
"arranges" the interview each week with The Insider)