Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler VS Natalya and Shotzi, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus VS The Viking Raiders
After a recap package showcasing what happened with the Bloodline on last week’s show, the opening match of the night saw Natalya and Shotzi team up to try and take down Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler. I was really impressed with Shotzi in this match, it was one of her best performances in a long time. She hit a bunch of crazy-looking moves, but unfortunately, she was the one who tapped out to the armbar. In terms of the other competitors, Natalya felt like she was just there because WWE were in Canada, Shayna Baszler wasn’t nearly highlighted enough and the crowd booed every time Ronda Rousey got in the ring. Rousey and Baszler winning was the right call though.
Grade: C
We got part one of the story between Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn. This was great. Hit Row then came out and started doing some crappy rap song before they were interrupted by Bray Wyatt’s music. Wyatt and Uncle Howdy appeared on the apron before they laid the “jobbers” out. The interesting part of this segment came afterwards as Bray Wyatt made it clear that he was coming for the winner of the Brock Lesnar-Bobby Lashley match. That adds a really interesting layer to that match tomorrow and it now makes sense why it’s happening at the Chamber. Madcap Moss then said that he was going to once again prove the doubters by beating Gunther tonight. This felt more like a heel promo than a babyface. BT Sport’s Ariel Helwaini was then in the crowd and he was hyping up Sami Zayn. I liked this, it reminded me of when Pat McAfee used to go into the crowd at NXT.
It was then time for a tag team match as Drew McIntyre and Sheamus took on the Viking Raiders. I thought all four men did a good job in this match and I was particularly impressed with some of the near-falls as it genuinely felt like the match was over. However, the ending saw Drew McIntyre pick up the win after he delivered the Claymore Kick to Erik. I really don’t understand this decision, the Raiders are meant to be a genuine threat to tag team gold, but they’ve now lost twice to a make-shift tag team. It’s critical now that the Raiders go on a huge unbeaten run.
Grade: C+ (because of the result)
Asuka VS Liv Morgan, Gunther VS Madcap Moss: Intercontinental Championship
We got part 2 of the story of Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn and again, it was great. I just need super, over-the-top, dramatic music to be added for tonight. Rey Mysterio was then being interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton and he talked about how cool it felt to share a moment with Santos Escobar last week. Karrion Kross then walked in and talked about how he wanted to have kids, but changed his mind after seeing how bad Mysterio was at it. He then continued to trash-talk Rey before he brilliantly said “that’s just Scarlett’s opinion”. Kross is a good promo. We then got a match between Asuka and Liv Morgan, but everything was happening outside the ring. Carmella was on commentary and she wasn’t falling for the commentary tactics of Wade Barrett before Raquel Rodriguez came out after comments made by Mella about her. Nikki Cross then appeared and started to cause utter chaos on the announce table and when we came back from the break, Natalya was standing at ringside. Back in the ring, Asuka was able to pick up the win with her new finisher. After the match, everyone took each other out until Raquel Rodriguez picked Liv Morgan up. Both Morgan and Asuka dropped Raquel to the outside before the two stood face-to-face under the Elimination Chamber.
Grade: C
Ariel Helwaini was back in the crowd and he looked like he was having a great time before it was time for Gunther to put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Madcap Moss. Before the match, the Ring General made it clear that Moss had no chance of beating him and he was right. In terms of the match, I thought it was pretty decent. Gunther is on a level that not many have reached in years at the moment whilst Madcap continues to prove that he can deliver when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, Gunther kicked out of the Punchline and it wasn’t made into a big deal until afterwards. The reason for this is because Moss has barely hit the move since Triple H took over creative. Also, the crowd were cheering Gunther and booing Moss which was strange. The Ring General picked up the win with the Powerbomb.
Grade: B-
Sami Zayn returns home
Sami Zayn made his entrance to a gigantic pop which was made even better with the return of his old, NXT theme song. He then preceded to stand in the ring for a good few minutes as the whole arena chanted “Ole, Ole, Ole” and “Sami, Sami”. They even started swearing at Roman Reigns again and he wasn’t even there! Zayn then made it clear that this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for everyone involved and Roman Reigns is defending his titles tomorrow against Sami Zayn and the entire city of Montreal. He even spoke in French so it felt even more real than before. This was short and Sami didn’t say much. That’s why it was perfect. On the build-up to WrestleMania last year, he was doing red carpet premiers in a feud with Johnny Knoxville. Two year’s ago, he was doing red carpet premiers with Logan Paul for his new conspiracy theory documentary. It’s quite unbelievable how he is grown into the biggest babyface WWE have had in a long time. Also, the fact that he hasn’t crossed paths with Roman Reigns for two weeks just makes tomorrow’s face-to-face moment feel even more special. If Sami Zayn does beat Roman Reigns tomorrow (it’s a big if), it could well be one of, if not the biggest pop in WWE history.
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