WWE TLC in chaos as Roman Reigns forced to miss The Shield reunion as Kurt Angle makes ring return

WWE TLC hits our screens on the WWE Network this weekend as the company looks to make the best of a serious illness in the camp.

The likes of Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt – heavily promoted for the show going into the weekend – have been wiped out by what is reported to be viral meningitis.

It means Reigns will miss out on the reformation of The Shield at TLC while Wyatt’s absence means he must step out of his match with Finn Balor.

Instead, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle is to wrestle in WWE for the first time in 11 years as he takes Reigns’ place to team with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to answer the challenge of The Miz and his Miztourage, Braun Strowman and Kane – the latter also returning after a lengthy absence.

AJ Styles, meanwhile, has been drafted in from Smackdown Live for a random meeting with Balor in Wyatt’s absence. Though thrown together at the last, there’s no doubt that these two can deliver.

Elsewhere there’s little surprise that the rest of the card looks a little sparse, but there’s plenty of buzz around the arrival of former NXT Women’s Champion Asuka on the main roster as he prepares to meet Emma on her debut.

Current Raw Women’s Champ Alexa Bliss – who told The Independent this week she’s keeping a close eye on the Empress of Tomorrow – defends her crown against Mickie James who bids to climb to the top step of the women’s game for the seventh time in her storied career.

Alicia Fox tackles Sasha Banks in a match that has been slotted in to the event’s pre-show, while the lack of depth in the show overall has actually resulted in good news for WWE’s Cruiserweight division who have two matches on the main portion of TLC. Champion Kalisto defends against Enzo Amore who looks to avenge his recent dethroning, while the pairing of The Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher meet Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann in tag team action.

WWE TLC is live this Sunday night (Monday morning for us Brits) on WWE Network. For more details visit wwe.com.