Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) Match

A Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, often abbreviated as a TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match originated within World Wrestling Entertainment, but can be seen under different variations in other wrestling promotions.

While a regular ladder match is already no-disqualification, and the use of tables, chairs, and other weapons are just as legal as ladders are (such as at Wrestlemania 2000, when a table was used, and the 2001 Royal Rumble, when a chair was used, just to name a few), TLC matches actually encourage their use.

The TLC match is a variation of a ladder match, which is modified to include two other weapons, tables and chairs. The TLC match usually pits three or more tag teams against each other, or more recently used for one-on-one matches. The goal is to acquire the item (usually championship belts) which starts the match suspended above the ring. A TLC match can be seen as a more complicated ladder match, where tables and chairs, along with ladders, can also be used as legal foreign objects. This, compared to the relative ages of the wrestlers involved, gives the match an atmosphere similar to that of a hardcore match.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

WWE created and adapted the matches to make it known today as a TLC match. The idea of the TLC match in WWE had its origins in a tag-team ladder match for the managerial services of Terri Runnels between Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz at No Mercy 1999, with audiences giving all four wrestlers a standing ovation at the end of the match. The move catapulted both tag teams to the top of the tag team world. The following months had the Hardy Boyz face the Dudley Boyz in a tag-team Tables match, which had similar success.