WWE TLC 2016 match times stats breakdown

WWE's TLC 2016 lasted for 2 hours 43 minutes and 7 seconds (2h 43m 07s). Here is a breakdown of the timing for every single second of the show, in chronological order.

The matches are in bold. The "pre-match" segments include video packages, entrances, ring introductions, and any verbal promos that occur right before a match officially begins. The "post-match" segments include any celebrations, replays, angles, attacks, or promos that occur right after a match is finished.

Start	End	Description	Duration
0m 00s	0m 21s	Then, Now, Forever	0m 21s
0m 21s	2m 35s	Video hyping TLC 2016	2m 14s
2m 35s	3m 20s	Opening pyro	0m 45s
3m 20s	7m 30s	Pre-match for Slater & Rhyno vs Orton & Wyatt	4m 10s
7m 30s	13m 24s	Slater & Rhyno vs Orton & Wyatt	5m 54s
13m 24s	15m 43s	Post-match for Slater & Rhyno vs Orton & Wyatt	2m 19s
15m 43s	16m 47s	Commercial for WWE Network	1m 04s
16m 47s	19m 59s	Backstage Ambrose/Styles promos	3m 12s
19m 59s	22m 24s	Pre-match for Nikki Bella vs Carmella	2m 25s
22m 24s	30m 21s	Nikki Bella vs Carmella	7m 57s
30m 21s	32m 27s	Post-match for Nikki Bella vs Carmella	2m 06s
32m 27s	32m 44s	Commercial for WWE Supercard	0m 17s
32m 44s	33m 46s	Kay Jewelers video (part 1)	1m 02s
33m 46s	34m 09s	Filler commentary	0m 23s
34m 09s	43m 09s	Pre-match for The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler	9m 00s
43m 09s	1h 08m 06s	The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler	24m 57s
1h 08m 06s	1h 11m 39s	Post-match for The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler	3m 33s
1h 11m 39s	1h 12m 22s	Commercial for Tribute to the Troops	0m 43s
1h 12m 22s	1h 12m 48s	Phillips talks about Dallas; Plug for theme song	0m 26s
1h 12m 48s	1h 17m 26s	Pre-match for Kalisto vs Baron Corbin	4m 38s
1h 17m 26s	1h 30m 20s	Kalisto vs Baron Corbin	12m 54s
1h 30m 20s	1h 33m 06s	Post-match for Kalisto vs Baron Corbin	2m 46s
1h 33m 06s	1h 33m 22s	Commercial for WWE Supercard	0m 16s
1h 33m 22s	1h 34m 32s	Backstage Natalya interview	1m 10s
1h 34m 32s	1h 35m 22s	Hype for Roadblock and Royal Rumble 2017	0m 50s
1h 35m 22s	1h 41m 46s	Pre-match for Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss	6m 24s
1h 41m 46s	1h 56m 53s	Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss	15m 07s
1h 56m 53s	1h 59m 08s	Post-match for Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss	2m 15s
1h 59m 08s	2h 00m 04s	Kay Jewelers video (part 2)	0m 56s
2h 00m 04s	2h 00m 45s	Hype for 205 Live	0m 41s
2h 00m 45s	2h 01m 23s	Cena is hosting SNL	0m 38s
2h 01m 23s	2h 09m 47s	Pre-match for AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose	8m 24s
2h 09m 47s	2h 40m 49s	AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose	31m 02s
2h 40m 49s	2h 43m 07s	Post-match for AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose	2m 18s

Match Times

The 6 matches combined for a total time of 1h 37m 51s. This means that 60.0% of the show was devoted to bell-to-bell action. This is the 6th highest percentage in this category out of the 51 WWE pay-per-view (PPV) events in my data set, which begins with Royal Rumble 2013. Out of the 41 three-hour events in my data set, the total match time of 1h 37m 51s ranks 16th highest.

Here is the sorted list of match times for TLC 2016. This also includes where each match time ranks out of all 364 matches in my data set.

• 31m 02s: AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose (10th longest out of 364 matches)
• 24m 57s: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler (27th)
• 15m 07s: Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss (126th)
• 12m 54s: Kalisto vs Baron Corbin (168th)
• 7m 57s: Nikki Bella vs Carmella (275th)
• 5m 54s: Slater and Rhyno vs Orton and Wyatt (326th)

This was only the 4th time out of 51 events where the first two matches were the shortest two matches of the night.  This also happened at Royal Rumble 2013, SummerSlam 2014, and Clash of Champions 2016.

Becky Lynch versus Alexa Bliss is the second-longest one-on-one women's match in my data set, trailing only Sasha Banks versus Charlotte Flair from Hell in a Cell 2016.

Orton's match was the second-shortest tag team championship match in my data set, trailing only New Day versus Prime Time Players from Money in the Bank 2015.

Ambrose's match was the second-longest one-on-one match in my data set, trailing only Ambrose versus Rollins from Money in the Bank 2015.

American Alpha has received no match time on the main card of all three SmackDown-only PPVs.

TLC 2016 rounded up to reach the 60.0% match time threshold, which is an infrequent occurrence for WWE PPVs. But it turns out that TLC is usually among the best-performing WWE PPVs for match time percentage.  Here is the list of the 10 events in my data set with the highest match time percentages:

• 64.6%: Royal Rumble 2016
• 64.5%: Royal Rumble 2015
• 61.7%: Royal Rumble 2013
• 61.7%: TLC 2014
• 60.8%: Royal Rumble 2014
• 60.0%: TLC 2016
• 59.4%: TLC 2013
• 59.1%: Elimination Chamber 2015
• 58.8%: Money in the Bank 2016
• 58.2%: Money in the Bank 2013

Pre-match Segments

The pre-match segments combined for a total time of 35m 01s, which is 21.5% of the show. This is the 36th highest percentage in this category out of the 51 events in my data set. Out of the 41 three-hour events in my data set, the total pre-match segment time of 35m 01s ranks 29th highest.

Here is the sorted list of pre-match segment time for all 6 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median pre-match segment time in my data set is 5m 19s and the average time is 5m 55s.

• 9m 00s: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler
• 8m 24s: AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose
• 6m 24s: Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss
• 4m 38s: Kalisto vs Baron Corbin
• 4m 10s: Slater and Rhyno vs Orton and Wyatt
• 2m 25s: Nikki Bella vs Carmella

Four matches received the special treatment of a dedicated video package right before superstar entrances. The videos hyping Ziggler's match (2m 57s), Kalisto's match (1m 59s), Becky's match (2m 57s), and Ambrose's match (3m 41s) combined to take up 11m 34s of the pre-match segment time.

The pre-match segment for Ziggler's match included a 1m 37s backstage segment that included an argument between Daniel Bryan and the Miz.

Post-match Segments

The post-match segments combined for a total time of 15m 17s, which is 9.4% of the show. This is the 25th highest percentage in this category out of the 51 events in my data set. Out of the 41 three-hour events in my data set, the total post-match segment time of 15m 17s ranks 24th highest.

Here is the sorted list of the post-match segment time for all 6 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median post-match segment time in my data set is 1m 59s and the average time is 2m 26s.

• 3m 33s: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler
• 2m 46s: Kalisto vs Baron Corbin
• 2m 19s: Slater and Rhyno vs Orton and Wyatt
• 2m 18s: AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose
• 2m 15s: Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss
• 2m 06s: Nikki Bella vs Carmella

Every single one of these post-match segments rank above the 1m 59s median time for all 364 post-match segments in my data set.  In several cases this was due to some post-match mic time for one of the wrestlers.

Miscellaneous Segments

That leaves about 9.2% (14m 58s) of the show for everything else. This is the 46th highest percentage in this category out of the 51 events in my data set. Out of the 41 three-hour events in my data set, the total miscellaneous segment time of 14m 58s ranks 40th highest.

Most of these miscellaneous segments are crammed into the time after one post-match segment ends and before the next pre-match segment begins. TLC 2016 included 6 different blocks of miscellaneous segments. Here is how long each block lasted, in chronological order:

• Block 1: 3m 20s (Then Now Forever; Opening video and pyro)
• Block 2: 4m 16s (Ad for WWE Network; Backstage Ambrose/Styles promos)
• Block 3: 1m 42s (Ad for WWE Supercard; Kay Jewelers video)
• Block 4: 1m 09s (Ad for Tribute to the Troops; Plug for PPV theme song)
• Block 5: 2m 16s (Ads for WWE Supercard & Royal Rumble 2017; Natalya backstage)
• Block 6: 2m 15s (Kay Jewelers video; Ad for 205 Live; Cena hosting SNL)

Summary

Here is a listing of how much total show time was allocated for each match when you add up all 3 components: pre-match time, match time, and post-match time. This list also includes where each total time ranks among the 364 entries in my data set.

• 41m 44s: AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose (17th longest out of 364 entries)
• 37m 30s: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler (30th)
• 23m 46s: Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss (133rd)
• 20m 18s: Kalisto vs Baron Corbin (176th)
• 12m 28s: Nikki Bella vs Carmella (290th)
• 12m 23s: Slater and Rhyno vs Orton and Wyatt (292nd)

Now here is a look at the "Match Time Percentage" for each match. For any given match, this percentage shows how the match time compares to the combined pre-match and post-match segment time. For some context, it's good to know that the median result here since 2013 is 62.9%.

(Here's an example calculation: an entry with a match time of 6m 00s, pre-match time of 3m 00s, and a post-match time of 1m 00s has a score of 60.0%, because the match time of 6m 00s is 60% of the total sum of 10m 00s for all three components.)

• 74.4%: AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose
• 66.5%: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler
• 63.8%: Nikki Bella vs Carmella
• 63.6%: Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss
• 63.5%: Kalisto vs Baron Corbin
• 47.6%: Slater and Rhyno vs Orton and Wyatt

_________________________________________

TLC 2016 was the third SmackDown-only PPV of the new era.  All three PPVs finished with a total show time under 2h 45m 00s, and they all rank among the four shortest PPVs in my data set.  In the case of TLC 2016, 60% of the show time was allocated to action in the ring.  This extra match time was taken away from the pre-match and miscellaneous segments, and it's hard to complain about that.

Final Results for TLC 2016

Match - 60.0% - 1h 37m 51s

Pre-match - 21.5% - 35m 01s

Post-match - 9.4% - 15m 17s

Miscellaneous - 9.2% - 14m 58s