The First-Ever TLC Match Was Nu Metal AF

When thinking of nu metal, many will think of professional wrestling. The adrenaline-fueled Attitude Era of the late Nineties and early Aughts conjure up memories of flashbulbs, body slams, and moves that one absolutely should not try at home, but most likely did. One of the highlights of this time was the tag team boom, as the WWF had legendary teams such as the APA, the New Age Outlaws, and a trio that would go on to redefine the art form through a series of spectacular stunt shows aided by three very different objects. The precursors to the first-ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match were at No Mercy 1999 and WrestleMania 2000. At the former, The Hardy Boyz and E&C competed in a tag team ladder match that catapulted them into the history books. The debut of the Dudley Boyz around the same time was a shade of things to come, and the 2000 Royal Rumble saw them face The Hardy Boyz in a tables match to open the show. This then led to the Triangle Ladder Match for the WWF Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania, which saw Edge and Christian use a table bridged across ladders to retrieve the belts and win their first of seven titles together. The three teams would feud throughout the spring and summer of 2000, with each team becoming known for their signature weapons: The Dudley Boyz had the tables, The Hardy Boyz had the ladders, and Edge & Christian had the chairs. As such, on the August 14th edition of RAW, then-Commissioner Mick Foley announced that the three teams would compete in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (oh my!) match at SummerSlam. Matches like these are a huge risk, As commentator Jim Ross put it on his Grilling JR podcast, the potential for injury is a very real one, with all of the stunts planned and all of the props, to say nothing of adrenaline in the moment and a raucous crowd showing their appreciation. “The precedent of a TLC match with three teams had not been perfected, had not been overplayed, it was new. So trying to imagine beforehand what these guys were going to do in this match was next to impossible. Because, quite frankly, they overachieved to the most amazing levels that I can remember ever. It was a match that was new, fresh, we had three teams that were very talented, very hungry, they realized that they were in a position on a major show to be extraordinary and make lasting memories. None of us realized that this TLC match was going to spawn a brand. Cuz what do you base it on? Are they willing to take too much risk, where the risk/reward factor is out of proportion. The one thing, as the head of talent relations and managing these guys, paying these guys, doing their contracts, is that you don't wanna lose them. They’re not gonna make you money if they're on the injured reserve list. So my concern was, “I hope that they come out of this son of a bitch healthy.” Oh, and did I mention that D-Von Dudley is, by his own admission, afraid of heights? And the entire crux of a TLC match is to climb a ladder and grab the belts hanging from the rafters? At least he didn't take the massive spill that his storyline half-brother did from atop a ladder through four tables (well, three of the four, he missed going through the bottom of one stack, physics be damned). Somehow, the most actually damaging move was from Edge, who speared Team Xtreme's Lita on the floor, with her head unfortunately colliding with a grounded ladder. In the closing spot of the affair, D-Von did end up falling from the hanging loop after a series of kicks from Jeff Hardy, with whom he was hanging from the apparatus after the ladder went out from under them. Jeff was not long for the air after, as a ladder shot sent him falling back to the ring before Edge & Christian climbed the ladder and regained possession of their WWF Tag Team Championship. The first TLC match was potentially the biggest highlight of the entire SummerSlam 2000 card, Shane McMahon's literal fall from grace notwithstanding. And considering Kurt Angle was actually concussed in an accident on the announce table during the main event, somehow the match with the most shenanigans had the least legitimate injury when all was said and done. What makes this match nu metal beyond its timestamp is the mishmash of styles, the spectacle of it all, and the carnage it left behind. At the end of the day, this could have (and perhaps should have) gone all sorts of wrong, but it ended up changing the face of tag team wrestling, not to mention professional wrestling as a whole. It is fondly remembered by many, written off as a glorified stunt show by purists and boomers, and aged surprisingly well, and if that can't also be said for nu metal, then what the hell are we really on about? It was a glorious shitshow and we love it. Send tweet. This year marks 25 years since this watershed match happened, in one of the most revered years in all of wrestling history. At this year's show, there is a six-way tag team TLC match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, with champions Wyatt Sicks defending against Fraxiom, Motor City Machine Guns, #DIY, The Street Profits, and Andrade & Rey Fenix. It will no doubt be a spectacle, especially given what three of the above six teams did in a similar match on the SmackDown! following this year's WrestleMania in April, but as much potential as there is in this, there is an incredible amount to live up to.