With TLC 2019 coming up this Sunday night, the go-home show of Monday Night Raw and our best guess of what will happen on Friday Night SmackDown have given us an indication of what talent is booked for the pay-per-view and who is not currently scheduled. Of course, the card is always subject to change and WWE may end up making alterations to this lineup, but at the moment, the men and women in this breakdown are not currently advertised as being part of this event.
In some cases, this may be justified, or even a purposeful plan to set up a surprise. In other cases, it may be ridiculous. That is up to you to decide as we take a look at which superstars aren’t being promoted for this show.
From the Raw Men’s Division
— Akira Tozawa: Lately, Tozawa has been positioned as Raw’s resident jobber. Anyone with jobber status is an instant obvious lack of inclusion on any card, as they’re just not high enough on the hierarchy for WWE to care to put them on the lineup.
— Andrade / Humberto Carrillo: So these two are in a feud now for…some reason. But they wrestled on Raw and there’s no point in having them wrestle again here.
— The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) / Kevin Owens / Seth Rollins: I figured Rollins and Owens would be a definite match for this card. However, with Rollins and AOP attacking Owens and him being carted away in an ambulance, that was their way of writing in an excuse for not putting it on this card.
— Cedric Alexander: Too low on the totem pole and with him only wrestling on Main Event lately, I wonder if he’s in the dog house or something.
— Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder: Another victim of jobberitis.
— Drew McIntyre: Every time it seems as though McIntyre is getting a push, WWE reverts back to not doing anything substantial with him a few weeks later. Now, McIntyre is back to winning squash matches and there’s no need to put that on this card.
— EC3: EC3 has been out with a concussion.
— Eric Young: Another victim of jobberitis.
— Erick Rowan: For at least a little while longer, it seems Rowan will just be fighting enhancement talent.
— The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy): Matt Hardy seems to be on Raw recently, but Jeff Hardy is still dealing with his injury and legal problems.
— Mojo Rawley: Another victim of jobberitis.
— No Way Jose: Another victim of jobberitis.
— The O.C. (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) / Randy Orton / Rey Mysterio / The Viking Raiders: WWE hinted that Anderson and Gallows could fight for the tag titles, which would put them in a match against The Viking Raiders. As far as Styles, Orton and Mysterio, they’re involved with each other as Styles is feuding with both. Since there hasn’t been any crossover between Orton and Mysterio, that defeats the purpose of a Triple Threat. It also seems as though Drew McIntyre and Ricochet aren’t involved anymore, either. Very strange. It’s as if WWE doesn’t quite know what to go with, but they know they have a list of people they want to interact.
— Ricochet: “Creative has nothing for you” it seems. Ouch.
— R-Truth: Since the draft, not even the 24/7 Championship has been focused on as much.
— Samoa Joe: Joe is still out of action with a broken thumb.
— Shelton Benjamin: Too low on the totem pole.
— The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford): X
— Titus O’Neil: These days, O’Neil pops up once in a while, but isn’t quite active in any in-ring capacity.
— The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso): Ever since Jimmy Uso’s arrest, The Usos have been pushed aside with no timetable for their return.
From the Raw Women’s Division
— The IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce): These two haven’t done anything in a while. Creative must have nothing for them.
— Liv Morgan: The makeover is coming soon…but not soon enough for TLC.
— Naomi: While The Usos are in some sort of leave of absence, Naomi seems to be in the same boat alongside them.
— Natalya: Again, creative has nothing. Natalya has been doing zilch.
— Nia Jax: Jax will remain out with her knee injuries for the coming months and isn’t expected to return to action until 2020.
— Ronda Rousey: Rousey is still inactive due to her broken hand and her wishes to start a family. It is unknown when or if she’ll be returning.
— Ruby Riott: Riott’s shoulder injury will keep her on the shelf for the next few months.
— Sarah Logan: Unless she’s wrestling on Main Event or house shows, she’s not doing anything these days.
— Zelina Vega: No Andrade on this card, no Zelina Vega, as always.
From the SmackDown Men’s Division
— Apollo Crews: Another victim of jobberitis.
— The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel): More victims of jobberitis.
— Big Show: While technically still listed as a member of the SmackDown roster, Big Show is much more of an ambassador than an active wrestler.
— Braun Strowman: Supposedly, Strowman is dealing with some nagging injuries.
— Brock Lesnar: Lesnar working in December after doing as much as he’s done?? PLEASE. Give me a break. This was never, ever going to happen.
— Cesaro: Cesaro doesn’t seem to be a priority in WWE pretty much ever, sadly.
— The Colons (Epico Colon & Primo Colon): These two haven’t done anything in WWE in a year.
— Daniel Bryan: He’s been missing since The Fiend attacked him.
— Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode: Rumor has it, the original plan was for these two to wrestle for the tag titles. For whatever reason, WWE opted to go against that and give The Revival another shot. I’m fully expecting Roode and Ziggler to interfere in the Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin match, though.
— Drew Gulak: Overlooked and underrated, as always. Gulak is low on the totem pole, even though he shouldn’t be.
— Elias: He and Drake Maverick are feuding in a non-wrestling way.
— Heath Slater: Another victim of jobberitis.
— Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight): Tucker and Otis had a shot at earning a tag title opportunity against The New Day, but lost to The Revival. That’s a perfect explanation for why they’re not on this card.
— Jinder Mahal: Mahal suffered a ruptured patellar tendon injury in a match against Ali on June 15th and will be out several months.
— Lars Sullivan: The Freak will be out of action until 2020 due to a knee injury.
— The Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik, Kalisto, & Lince Dorado): This team also lost its chance to face The New Day at TLC when The Revival won the Fatal 4-Way.
— Mustafa Ali / Shorty G: These two also had a chance to fight for the tag titles, but came up short.
— Sami Zayn / Shinsuke Nakamura: WWE might set up some sort of quick Intercontinental Championship feud for Nakamura where Zayn can accompany him, but that’s very, very last minute booking if that’s the case. I doubt that will happen.
— Sheamus: The Celtic Warrior has yet to make his return, but it’s coming soon.
From the SmackDown Women’s Division
— Alexa Bliss / Nikki Cross / Fire and Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville): These two teams seem to be in a feud right now. If this were a SmackDown-only event back when they used to split those, a tag team match would probably be on the card. Now, though, it’s just not a big enough deal.
— Bayley / Lacey Evans / Sasha Banks: So it’s odd that Evans seems to be feuding more with Banks than Bayley, considering how Bayley doesn’t have a No. 1 contender and should totally be defending her title, as this event isn’t overloaded. It’s almost as if WWE has nothing in mind of what to do and are stretching things out…
— Carmella: Creative has nothing? How about putting her in a feud with Bayley over the title?
— Dana Brooke: Unless there’s a backstage segment with Elias and Drake Maverick, I doubt Dana will be on this show.
— Ember Moon: Achilles injury.
— Mickie James: James is out of action with a knee injury that has her on the shelf for 7-9 months.
— Tamina Snuka: Tamina never really has anything to do, ever. I’m not surprised and by now, you shouldn’t be, either.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
