This week, we found out the final entrant in the Elimination Chamber match as well as a spectacular musical performance from none other than Braun Strowman.
John Cena vs. The Miz
Loser enters the Elimination Chamber first
Winner: John Cena
Cena comes out to the ring and says that he needs to win in the Elimination Chamber because if he doesn’t, he won’t have a road to Wrestlemania. He is interrupted by the Miz, who claims that he does what Cena can’t do—that’s why he beat Roman Reigns. Cena suggests that they go one-on-one tonight, and the loser has to go in the Elimination Chamber first.
Any time both of these men get on the microphone, fans will be entertained, so putting them together in the ring was obviously exciting to watch. However, adding the stipulation of the loser being the first to enter in the chamber doesn’t make much sense. The best part about the Elimination Chamber is the concept of not knowing who’s coming in next. Fans sit on the edge of their seats as the lights in the cages flicker back and forth, and the crowd erupts with every entrant. Some of the excitement is definitely taken away if we know who’s coming in when. I hope they don’t reveal the order of every entrant before the PPV.
Straight out the gate, Miz unsuccessfully tries to capitalize and get the pin. He goes for a Skull Crushing Finale, which is also evaded by Cena. Cena traps Miz in an STF, but Miz makes it to the ropes to release the hold. After some back and forth, John goes for an AA but is countered by a successful Skull Crushing Finale. Cena, however, kicks out, and delivers an AA, which Miz kicks out of as well.
Miz attempts to go for a Skull Crushing Finale off the top rope, but Cena counters it with an AA off the top rope, earning him the victory. It’s not a surprise that Cena went over, but it wasn’t that bad in this case, because Miz could easily regain any heat he may have lost by losing this match.
Gallows and Anderson vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder)
Winner: The Revival
After a promo backstage about how “knowing every tag team since 1902” makes the Revival nerds (not tag team specialists), Dash and Dawson attack Anderson and Gallows as they come out to the ring. This just fires the Good Brothers up, and they get the advantage early on in the match. After a distraction by Wilder, Dawson takes control over Gallows. The Revival hammer into Gallows’ knee, keeping Gallows in the corner and isolated from Anderson.
Karl Anderson gets the hot tag, and Dash Wilder is helpless without his partner in his corner. When Dawson pops back up onto the apron, Anderson tries to combat the double team but Wilder tags Dawson in and together, they utilize their finisher, the Shatter Machine, and get the win.
This match was pretty entertaining to watch, and it was crucial for Dash and Dawson to win, so it was good that the match ended in their favor. Both teams came out looking strong, and either of them could be good competition for the tag team championships.
Kurt Angle addresses Jason Jordan’s injury
Angle announces that Jordan will unfortunately miss Wrestlemania. He then gives a stern talking to to the audience as a father, saying they should be ashamed of themselves if they find joy in his injury. He’s interrupted by Rollins, who says he wants to earn an opportunity to face Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Angle asks the fans if Seth deserves the opportunity to make it into the Elimination Chamber, and the crowd responds with an overwhelming yes.
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks
Winner: Bayley
As these two best friends meet, Sasha seemingly finds pleasure as she beats Bayley up. Just as Corey Graves has been speculating over the past several weeks, Sasha shows no remorse in harming her BFF if it means she gets more opportunities. She displays more heel-ish tendencies throughout the entire bout, laughing and yelling in Bayley’s face.
Sasha controls the first few minutes of the match, but after taking Sasha’s punishment, she unloads on her friend with punches. The women go back and forth several times when Sasha locks in the Bank Statement, and Bayley makes it to the rope to break it. Sasha climbs to the top rope, and Bayley jumps up and grabs her for a Bayley to Belly—securing the victory in her hometown.
The two friends meet in the center of the ring for a stare down, and fans are on the edge of their seats to see if Sasha is finally going to turn when Bayley shoves Sasha out of the way as Nia Jax jumps into the ring. Jax attacks both Bayley and Sasha, and when Charly Caruso asks her why she did it, she claims that she disposed of the two women who brought Asuka to her limit, and she’s the only one who can break Asuka’s streak.
This was another fantastic match from these two women, and it only helps them both. As of now, they’re still friends, but it’s clear that Sasha is slowly turning heel. The longer they draw this feud out, the better, and this could easily become a show-stealing Wrestlemania bout. By having Bayley look out for Banks and take more of the damage from Nia Jax, Sasha is just going to look worse when she turns on her.
Mickie James and Alexa Bliss vs. Absolution (Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville)
Winner: Absolution
Before the match starts, Alexa confronts Mickie backstage and tells her that she needs her help to get rid of the “newbies”, saying that if they win the championship, they’ll just keep it between the two of them and not allow anyone else an opportunity, and James unwillingly accepts it.
Early on, Rose and Deville work well as a team with double teams and frequent tags. They keep Mickie on their side of the ring, but Mickie eventually escapes and gives Rose a backbreaker. When Mickie is about to make the tag to Bliss, Deville eliminates her from the apron, allowing Rose to capitalize and get the victory. Sonya and Mandy beat up Mickie James until Alexa breaks it up and Absolution retreats to backstage.
For now, it seems like Alexa Bliss is in limbo as they wait to start her feud for Wrestlemania. Asuka may or may not go to Smackdown for Charlotte’s title, so WWE is likely biding her time until they figure out what to do with her. However, it makes Absolution look strong as they win and attack James post-match, only adding to their dominance across the red brand.
Strowman’s Bass vs. Elias’ Guitar
Elias comes out to the ring and performs his “Elimination Chamber Blues”. While Elias is finishing his song, Jojo introduces Braun Strowman, who’s sitting on the stage. Strowman brings out a large bass and sings a tune about how Elias is going to lose and “get these hands”. Since he broke the bass before he started singing, she swings it over his shoulder and takes it down to ringside with him.
The men agree to put their instruments down when entering the ring, but when they start to fight and Elias pulls his guitar out, Strowman pummels him. Elias crawls up the ramp and Braun picks up the bass, slamming it into Elias’ back.
Strowman really is a jack of all trades—even when he’s in funny segments, he’s incredibly scary. He’s a lovable monster and surely knows how to get fans excited.
Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus
Winner: Roman Reigns
Throughout the match, Cesaro looms near Reigns, distracting him and allowing Sheamus to gain advantage a couple times. Sheamus delivers a rolling senton onto Roman’s ribs, leading to an attack on his opponent’s midsection. Roman rallies and fights back a few times, countering a Brogue Kick with a Superman Punch, but Sheamus kicks out.
While the ref is distracted, Cesaro goes to attack Reigns outside the ring but is countered as Reigns sends him over the barricade. Sheamus comes out of the ring and the action continues, and Sheamus blocks an attempted Drive By by Reigns. Reigns spears Sheamus and wins the match.
This seemed like a filler match—these three men should’ve been on the episode, but aren’t a part of much more than a lingering Shield/Bar rivalry. Nevertheless, it was a good match for the two, and they both looked pretty good coming out of it.
Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy vs. Seth Rollins vs. Apollo Crews vs. Finn Balor
Winner enters the Elimination Chamber
Winner: N/A
The match kicks off and each man gets a moment to have the advantage. Apollo Crews gets some good offense in, with moonsaults and standing Shooting Star Presses. In the past couple weeks, Crews has been improving both in the ring and on the mic.
Hardy and Wyatt clash in the center of the ring, but Rollins interrupts Matt’s attempt at a Twist of Fate. On a roll, Rollins gives out 3 suicide dives before attacking Crews back in the ring.
Balor attacks Bray Wyatt, but before he can hit the Coup De Grace, Rollins jumps onto the top rope. Balor recovers and breaks up Matt Hardy’s pin on Wyatt by hitting Hardy with a Coup De Grace.
The bout ends when Balor and Rollins tag team and throw Bray Wyatt and Apollo Crews off the top rope, and Seth and Finn both get a 3 count on Wyatt. They both celebrate, and everyone is confused as the show goes off the air. It is later announced that both Rollins and Balor will be in the Elimination Chamber match.
While the match was pretty good and allowed each participant to show off their skills, the result doesn’t make much sense. Both Balor and Rollins deserve to be in the Elimination Chamber for sure, but making the match a 7-man match complicates the pay per view as the women’s match has 6 participants. They’ve never done a 7-man Chamber match before—will they leave a cage open for the women’s match? Do they have to design a whole new cage? It probably would’ve been easier if Rollins and/or Balor were in Cena’s spot.
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