Tonight, there are a few returns, as well as many unique matchups that will be talked about for ages. Tiger vs. Kevin Owens in a chairs match, Chris Sky vs. Shandi Essick in a TLC Match, Bear vs. Kyle O'Reilly in a tables match, Tag titles decided in a Ladder Match, and more! Live from The Palace of Auburn Hills, it's RTX: Tables, Ladders and Chairs!
Steel Hell Match for the RTX Divas' Tag Team Championship:
Max Black & Caroline Channing (c) defeated Gail Kim & Amber Gallows vs. Becky Lynch & Paige:
For those of you that don't know, a Steel Hell Match is basically a TLC match, except you can only win by pinfall. Love is the first to go through a table when she is powerbombed off the apron by Caroline. One spot saw Kim dive off a ladder onto Paige and Lynch inside the ring. The momentum swung back and forth between the three teams until Paige performed a RamPaige DDT onto a chair on Caroline. With everyone else down, it allowed Max to surprise Paige with the Black Magic for the pinfall.
RTX Divas' Championship (Women of Honor Four Way):
Candice LeRae (c) defeated Taeler Hendrix, Mandy Leon and Deonna Purrazzo:
Purrazzo qualified for this match with her recent victory over LeRae on ROH Television. Hendrix and Leon were added as a means to settle their personal ROH rivalry. Hendrix, accompanied by Jessika Havok, seemed to have an early advantage. Late in the match, Candice dropkicked Purrazzo and sent her to the floor. Candice dove onto Deonna outside. Back in the ring, Leon was chokeslammed by Havok, but managed to kick out of a pin by Taeler. Taeler grabbed a chair and tried to nail Mandy Leon with it but accidentally collided with Havok and knocked her off the apron. As Candice slid back under the bottom rope, Leon hit a moonsault on Hendrix. Candice and Leon began to fight but Candice got control and laid out Leon with a trifecta of German suplexes to retain her title.
Chairs Match:
Tiger defeated Kevin Owens:
Tiger had just returned from an ankle injury he had suffered in early October at a house show, but he was already the target of a spotlight hungry Kevin Owens, who challenged Tiger to this match only six days before. The ending of this one left many fans surprised. Not surprising, Bear ran down to support Tiger after repeated chair-shots by Owens. As Owens tried to package piledrive Tiger onto four steel chair, Bear slid in and kicked Owens between the legs, allowing Tiger to plant Owens through the chairs with a DDT. Owens recovered with a superkick on Bear and the pop-up powerbomb on Tiger. Before Owens could pin Tiger, Seth Rollins showed up outta nowhere, followed by security guards. Rollins Curb Stomped Owens onto a chair and was carried out of the arena by security guards. This time when Owens got up, he was met by a vicious chairshot by Tiger that got Tiger the three count.
Ladder Match for the World Tag Team Championship:
Sting and Kevin Nash (c) defeated The Young Bucks and America's Most Wanted:
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| Nash doing a Jackknife to Chris Harris |
The Young Bucks had surprised the world with a non-title upset victory over Sting and Nash recently, but afterward both teams were attacked by James Storm and Chris Harris, who were then added to this ladder match. One spot in the match saw Sting perform a splash from the top of a ladder in the ring, driving Matt Jackson through a table outside. Back in the ring, Nash performed a Jackknife Powerbomb on James Storm and began to climb the ladder. Nick Jackson shoved the ladder over and Nash fell through a table. Both Nick and Chris Harris battled up the ladder to try to grab the titles. Nick perform a kind of jumping superkick, and both he and Harris fell to the mat. Nick set another ladder up and he and Matt began to climb them. Sting surprised them, pulling Matt off one ladder and then dropping Nick off the two ladders with the Scorpion Deathdrop before grabbing the titles. The last shot before the next segment was Sting checking on a fallen Nash.
Steel Cage Match:
Dean Ambrose defeats AJ Styles:
Ambrose wanted revenge on Styles as revenge for several months of torment and being cheated out of several WWE World Title shots. Ambrose got just that, revenge. The downfall for Styles came when he missed a Spiral Tap from the top of the cage. Ambrose hit a Dirty Deeds for two count. Styles managed to reverse another Dirty Deeds and low-blowed Ambrose. Styles tried to escape through the door but Chris Sky ran out, dressed in some crazy, Nikki Sixx 1982-inspired outfit, and slammed the cage door on Styles' head. Ambrose performed another Dirty Deeds on Styles, then climbed to the top of the cage and performed a diving elbow onto the prone Styles below. Ambrose then stumbled out of the cage door to gain his revenge.
Tables Match for the RTX Championship:
Kyle O'Reilly defeats Bear (c):
As opposed to most nights, TLC wasn't a night of victory for the No Remorse Corps. Kyle O'Reilly had recently defeated Adam Cole for the ROH World Championship at ROH Final Battle a week earlier and was still suffering some injuries from that match. Many people thought that Bear would have the advantage because of his experience with weapons, while O'Reilly relied more on submission. As per table match rule, the combatants could win only by putting their opponent through a table. The opponent mistakenly putting themselves through a table did not count. O'Reilly made that mistake first when he attempted his signature running dropkick from the apron but Bear moved and O'Reilly snapped a table in two. After smashing O'Reilly into the post. Bear set up two tables on the floor and tried to suplex O'Reilly off the apron. O'Reilly blocked it and fought Bear on the apron. Bear charged O'Reilly on the apron but O'Reilly moved and Bear's head hit the post. O'Reilly capitalized with a sickening brainbuster off the apron, through the tables below to end Bear's four-and-a-half month title reign and became the second person to unify the ROH and RTX Championships.
Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match for the RTX World Championship:
Chris Sky (c) defeated Shandi Essick:
The shocking, confusing, and very dramatic ending to an amazing night saw Chris Sky battling Shandi Essick in this incredible Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match that spanned nearly thirty five minutes. These two have had some great battles in the past, in RTX and the indy circuit, but this was only the second time they've battled in this environment. As mentioned before, Sky came to the ring dressed in a Nikki Sixx 1982 outfit (as seen in the photo to the right). Shandi came dressed in her usual attire, rocking the psychotic, mental asylum, goth-metal getup. Shandi had turned on Chris in the latter's Ultimate Revenge match with Eddie Edwards recently, not to mention stalking Chris's niece three years before, leading to her leaving the company, giving this match the personal touch it needed. Shandi and Sky didn't try to feel each other out in the opening moments of the contest, they knew each other too well. Instead, Sky instantly brought in a ladder and threw it at Shandi. It seemingly didn't faze her, and performed a YEEH! (diving spear with inhuman screech) to Chris. It didn't take long for Shandi to set up the ladder but instead to reaching for the title she tried to dive on Sky. Sky caught her and threw her backwards out of the ring and to the floor. Sky then dove over
the top rope Undertaker-style onto Shandi, driving her back into the commentators' table. Sky charged Shandi but she tripped him and his face hit the edge of the steel steps, cutting him open above the eyebrow. After many chairs were destroyed and tables used (and set up), the two battled on the apron. Shandi back-suplexed Sky through a ladder scaffolded between the apron and the ring barrier. Shandi brought out an even bigger 16-foot ladder and knocked out Sky with a chairshot to the head. Shandi laid Sky on the commentators' table and dove from the top of the ladder with a moonsault onto her prone cousin below. Shandi tried to climb the ladder and grab the belt back in the ring but Sky popped up out of nowhere and pushed it over, sending Shandi crashing through four tables outside the ring. As Sky climbed the ladder, a woman popped up on the screen, revealing herself to be Sky's former legitimate best friend and tag partner Meagan Shelley. She cut a lengthy promo about what she thought of Sky then the camera panned down, showing that she had taken Sky's real boyfriend, Shawn Spencer, hostage and had him tied up somewhere. Sky jumped off the ladder and ran backstage to look for Shawn, but realized it was all a plan and bolted back to the ring, where Shandi was up and nearly had the title in her grasp. Sky managed to deliver a springboard dropkick, sending Shandi onto the remains of the ladder that was broken earlier on. It was enough to allow Sky to grab his title to retain. Bear and Tiger started to come out but Sky was already running backstage to find Shawn and Meagan. He couldn't find them, and the show closed with Sky sitting on a bench, head in his hands, sobbing.
Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match for the RTX World Championship:
Chris Sky (c) defeated Shandi Essick:
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| Chris's new Nikki Sixx-inspired gear |
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| Shandi's entrance for the TLC match |