TLC : Tables , Ladders & Chairs 2013 TLC : Tables , Ladders & Chairs 2013 was a professional wrestling pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by WWE that took place on December 15 , 2013 . It was held at the Toyota Center in Houston , Texas . It was the 5th annual event . Background . Tables , Ladders & Chairs featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre - existing scripted feuds , plots , and storylines that developed on WWE ' s television programs . Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches . The main rivalry heading into TLC featured the World Heavyweight Champion , John Cena and the WWE Champion , Randy Orton , over who is the proverbial " face of the WWE " . Ever since SummerSlam in August , Orton had been engaged in a feud with Daniel Bryan over the WWE Championship , and owing to his alliance with The Authority ( Triple H and Stephanie McMahon ) , finally settled his rivalry with Bryan at the Hell in a Cell event , defeating him in a Hell in a Cell Match to win the WWE title for the eighth time . However , over time , The Authority started showing doubt over Orton ' s ability to win matches on his own accord . To prove he still was their chosen " face of the WWE " , Orton was made to defend his championship against the anti - Authority Big Show at Survivor Series in November , who Orton defeated to retain his title , but only after Big Show was distracted by Triple H and McMahon . Concurrently , Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio at Survivor Series to retain his World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch from the Hell in a Cell event , where Cena returned from an elbow injury seemingly before schedule , yet still defeated Del Rio to win the title for the third time . After Orton ' s victory at Survivor Series , Cena came down to the ring with his title , and celebrated with the crowd as The Authority looked on , much to Orton ' s chagrin . The next night , on the November 25 episode of " Raw " , after another confrontation between the two world champions , Triple H announced that Orton will face Cena in a Tables , Ladders , and Chairs Match with both the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship on the line , at the TLC pay - per - view , with the winner becoming the " Champion of Champions " . At the event , it was announced that the new champion would be called the " WWE World Heavyweight Champion " . Since late October , both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan had been assaulted by the eerie Wyatt Family ( Bray Wyatt , Luke Harper , and Erick Rowan ) , which led to a Tag Team Match at Survivor Series in November with Punk and Bryan going up against - and defeating - Harper and Rowan . The next night , on the November 25 episode of " Raw " , Bryan was ( kayfabe ) " abducted " by the Wyatt Family , while Punk was ambushed by The Shield , another notorious three - man faction consisting of Dean Ambrose , Seth Rollins , and Roman Reigns . On the December 2 episode of " Raw " , Punk tried tracing back the reason for the attack on him to Triple H , believing he called for Punk to be taken out for the latter ' s rebellious comments against The Authority . After these allegations were rebuked by Triple H ' s wife , Stephanie McMahon , WWE ' s ( kayfabe ) " Director of Operations " , Kane , also came out to support The Authority , and after being insulted by Punk , announced a three - on - one Handicap Match at the TLC event , pitting Punk against all three members of The Shield . Also , on the same night , after defeating Erick Rowan , Bryan too was put in a three - on - one handicap match by Kane - much like Punk - to face all three members of the Wyatt Family at the TLC pay - per - view . Another championship match at the TLC pay - per - view saw AJ Lee defending the WWE Divas Championship against Natalya . At Survivor Series , Natalya , along with Nikki Bella , were the " Survivors " after making AJ submit in a seven - on - seven Survivor Series elimination match between the " True Divas " and the Total Divas . On the December 2 episode of " Raw " , Natalya pinned AJ , to secure a victory for her team in a six - Diva tag team match . After this string of non - title wins , Natalya was officially announced to challenge AJ for the Divas Championship at the TLC event . Also , on the December 2 edition of " Raw " , Damien Sandow defeated Dolph Ziggler to earn the right to face Big E . Langston for the latter ' s WWE Intercontinental Championship at the TLC event . Also , on the December 13 episode of " SmackDown " , it was announced that Cody Rhodes and Goldust will defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Real Americans ( Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro ) , Ryback and Curtis Axel , and Big Show and Rey Mysterio in a Fatal Four - Way Tag Team Match at the pay - per - view . The TLC " Kickoff Preshow " featured Fandango squaring off against Dolph Ziggler . This match was announced at the 2013 Slammy Awards edition of " Raw " on December 9 , 2013 .