WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Kabuki Warriors VS Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell (Kickoff Show)
On the Kickoff Show of Elimination Chamber, home favourite Indi Hartwell teamed with “her mother” Candice LeRae to take on The Kabuki Warriors in a match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. This was a totally acceptable match, it was on the Kickoff Show so it was never going to be stellar, but the crowd were well behind Indi whilst Asuka and Kairi Sane are terrific in-ring competitors. It was also nice to see Candice LeRae on a big stage as she’s definitely earned it, but in the end, an assisted InSane Elbow was enough for The Kabuki Warriors to retain their Titles.
Grade: C+
Women’s World Championship Number 1 Contender’s Elimination Chamber Match
The first proper match of the night saw Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Naomi, Raquel Rodriguez, and Tiffany Stratton collide inside the Elimination Chamber where the winner would earn a Women’s World Championship opportunity at WrestleMania. This match started off with Becky Lynch and Naomi, and honestly, it was a little bit scrappy up until Tiffany Stratton came out of her pod. Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, and Bianca Belair all then followed before Naomi was the first woman to be eliminated courtesy of a roll-up from Stratton. Unfortunately for Tiffany (and the Australian crowd), The Center of the Universe was the next to go after Liv Morgan delivered a top rope ObLIVion before Bianca Belair eliminated Raquel Rodriguez with the K.O.D. We then got a decent little bit of action between Lynch, Belair, and Morgan which ultimately resulted in Morgan scoring the surprise pinfall victory over Bianca, only for Becky Lynch to drop Liv with the Manhandle Slam for the unfortunately predictable victory. There were some bits of this match that I really liked, but there were also some bits of this match that I didn’t like. I was very impressed (but not surprised) by the performances of both Tiffany Stratton and Raquel Rodriguez, but it was disappointing to see Lynch pick up the victory.
Grade: B-
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Judgment Day VS New Catch Republic
It was then time for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships to be defended as The Judgment Day took on the New Catch Republic. I thought this was also a good match, Finn Balor and Damian Priest are great as Champions whilst Pete Dunne and (especially) Tyler Bate are a lot of fun to watch. There were also a couple of decent near-falls for both teams and in the end, it was Balor who hit the Coup de Grace to get the victory for The Judgment Day. Also, this place was incredibly dark!
Grade: B-
The Grayson Waller Effect (Featuring Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Cody Rhodes)
Austin Theory welcomed out “The Arrogant Aussie” Grayson Waller as it was time for another edition of The Grayson Waller Effect, this time with special guests Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Cody Rhodes. Grayson was pretty popular with the crowd, as was Cody and Seth, whilst Theory was just there to get booed and ultimately beat up. After The American Nightmare challenged The Rock to a singles match, Theory got involved only for The World Heavyweight Champion to hit a Stomp as Waller just watched on. To be honest, this was pretty pointless, but I bet it was pretty awesome for the people there!
Grade: C+
World Heavyweight Championship Number 1 Contender’s Elimination Chamber Match
The 4th match of the night saw Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Logan Paul, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, and LA Knight clash inside of the Elimination Chamber for the right to face Seth “Freakin” Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. This contest started with Drew McIntyre and LA Knight and it was honestly quite slow and that continued even when the likes of Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley entered the fray. Randy Orton also started selling a back injury almost straight away before Logan Paul entered the match only to get attacked inside his own pod by KO. Lashley was then able to send both Owens and Paul through the pods before McIntyre dropped Bobby with 2 Claymores to eliminate The All Mighty. As the referees were helping Lashley out of the Chamber, AJ Styles arrived out of nowhere to attack LA Knight with a Steel Chair which ultimately resulted in The Megastar being eliminated by Drew McIntyre. Randy Orton was then able to eliminate Kevin Owens with an RKO before he did the same thing to Logan Paul after Paul spent too long putting on his brass knuckles. However, at the end of the match, Logan, who hadn’t left the Chamber yet, floored Orton with the One Lucky Punch before Drew crawled over and got the cover to pick up the victory and earn his way onto WrestleMania. I actually think this was the weakest match of the night, but weirdly enough, it also felt like the only contest that had any surprises. On a plus note, Drew McIntyre winning was definitely the right call.
Grade: C+
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley VS Nia Jax
And in the Main Event of this year’s Elimination Chamber, Australia’s own Rhea Ripley put her Women’s World Championship on the line against Sydney-born Nia Jax. I actually thought this was a pretty decent contest as Nia Jax looked good throughout whilst Rhea Ripley showcased her insane power plus her star power. At one point, Nia hit an elbow drop to send Rhea crashing through the announce table before Jax hit the ANialater for a (somewhat) close near-fall. Ripley was then able to fight back before she delivered a cool Superplex from the top rope which ultimately led to The Eradicator planting Nia Jax with the Riptide for the victory. I’m honestly glad this Main Evented, and I think Rhea and Nia did better than most people would’ve expected.
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