Raw Women’s Championship Number 1 Contenders Elimination Chamber Match: Liv Morgan VS Raquel Rodriguez VS Asuka VS Carmella VS Nikki Cross VS Natalya
The opening match of the night saw Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka, Carmella, Nikki Cross and Natalya battle inside the Elimination Chamber for the chance to face Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. I thought every woman in this match did their job well and it was a good opening to the show. Liv Morgan and Natalya started the matchup before Raquel Rodriguez entered at number 3. Nikki Cross was the next woman to come out and she brought out her crazy brand of offense which included jumping off of Carmella’s pod and onto her competitors. Carmella then came out, but she made it pretty clear that she wanted nothing to do with any of them before Raquel and Nikki went crashing through a pod. Rodriguez took advantage of this by eliminating Cross. Asuka was the final entrant in the match and she beat everybody up before Liv Morgan hit this stupendous sunset flip powerbomb onto Raquel for a near-fall. Carmella then delivered a Superkick to Morgan which saw Liv fall right into the Sharpshooter. Morgan wasn’t going to tap, but she ended up passing out after Asuka applied her submission to her as well. Nattie then locked in the Sharpshooter on Asuka, but a Superkick from Carmella saw her eliminated before Mella and Asuka worked together to eliminate Raquel Rodriguez meaning one of the Empress or the Princess of Staten Island were heading to WrestleMania. That person was Asuka as she locked in the submission, forcing Mella to tap out. Asuka winning was definitely the right call and everyone brought something to this match which is all you can really ask for.
Grade: B
Bobby Lashley VS Brock Lesnar
Bobby Lashley battled Brock Lesnar to see who is the best BL in WWE (spoiler, it’s Becky Lynch). These two went blow for blow in a short match that saw all the big moves hit. Lashley hit 3 Spears, Brock hit 2 F5’s, Lashley applied the Hurt Lock and Brock hit German Suplexes. However, the ending was quite surprising as when Bobby locked in the Hurt Lock on Brock, the Beast hit a low blow onto the All Mighty, forcing the disqualification. Brock then continued to beat up Bobby Lashley (which included an F5 through the announce table) as well as the referee for calling that decision. It’s a bit weird and disappointing to have the end of this 12-month-plus storyline end with a DQ. However, Bobby Lashley shouldn’t be losing this match and if you remember back to SmackDown, Bray Wyatt said that he will face “the man who walks out alive”. If WWE now does Lesnar-Wyatt at WrestleMania, this finish was really clever.
Grade: B-
Edge and Beth Phoenix VS Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley
Edge and Beth Phoenix teamed up to take on Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley in what has to be the end of this feud. I thought this was a good match that showed how talented everybody involved is. Edge is a megastar, Finn Balor is such a good in-ring worker whilst Beth Phoenix and Rhea Ripley are proper powerhouses. Also, Dominik Mysterio kept getting involved and the crowd were swearing at him so far play to him as he’s been excellent as a heel. The best spot of the match was definitely when Rhea and Beth Powerbombed their opposite male opponents. However, there were two things I didn’t like about this match. The first thing was a pretty poor mistake by Beth Phoenix which looked really messy and the second thing was the fact that Edge got the win. For this storyline to have gone on as long as it did and not have Rhea pick up the big win over Phoenix is actually really disappointing.
Grade: C+ (mainly due to the result)
United States Championship Elimination Chamber Match: Austin Theory VS Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS Johnny Gargano VS Damian Priest VS Bronson Reed VS Montez Ford
Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Johnny Gargano, Damian Priest, Bronson Reed and Montez Ford all entered the Elimination Chamber match hoping to take the United States Championship off of Austin Theory. The match started with Seth Rollins and Johnny Gargano and in the wrestling world, these two are both very special to me. The crowd were singing the Visionary’s song whilst also chanting “Johnny Wrestling” and it got even better as Austin Theory entered the match next. Both Rollins and Gargano have been mentors to Austin at different points of his career so this was cool and there was a great moment where both Johnny and Seth beat up Theory inside his pod. Theory also tried to remind “Papa John” of what they had, but that didn’t work and Damian Priest then entered at number 4. Bronson Reed was the next man to enter and he literally destroyed everyone before Montez Ford entered meaning everyone was now in the match. Montez hit a ridiculous dive from the top of the cage at one point and Bronson Reed was the first man to be eliminated after he was hit by the One Final Beat by Johnny Gargano, the Stomp by Seth “Freakin” Rollins and the Frog Splash from Montez Ford. Johnny Wrestling then went on a tare by taking everyone out, but unfortunately for him, Damian Priest caught him in the Razor’s Edge and eliminated the former NXT Triple Crown Champion. Priest didn’t last too much longer though as he was eliminated after Montez Ford hit an awesome blockbuster. The crowd were fully behind Ford as he went to the top rope, but as he went for his Frog Splash, Austin Theory got the knees up and Seth Rollins hit the Stomp (on the outside steel) meaning Montez was eliminated. Rollins and Theory were the final two men left standing, but whilst they were trying to fight, lots of medical personnel and referees came out to help Montez Ford who was still knocked out from Rollins’ Stomp. The opening of the Chamber door allowed Logan Paul to run out and hit Seth Rollins with a Buck-Shot Lariat before he STOMPED him in an amazing moment. Austin Theory then delivered the A-Town Down to the fallen Visionary to pick up the win and retain his United States Championship. This was awesome! Johnny Gargano showcased why NXT fans called him one of the best wrestlers in the world, Damian Priest proved that he is a hell of a performer, Bronson Reed needed three men to eliminate him which shows you just how dominant the Aussie is whilst Montez Ford just hits the most amazing and ridiculous moves. They also did a great job at furthering the Rollins-Paul feud and Austin Theory proved why he really is the Now.
Grade: A-
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns VS Sami Zayn
The main event of Elimination Chamber saw one of the most highly anticipated matches for a very long time as Roman Reigns walked in knowing he was going to have to beat more than just Sami Zayn to remain as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. This already started off great as Reigns came out first to massive boos whilst Sami Zayn got one of the biggest reactions I have ever heard. The two just stood in the ring for the first few minutes of the match before Reigns took over and trash-talked everybody, including Sami’s wife! Both men hit their big moves and Zayn nearly picked up the win after hitting the Helluva Kick. The first big turning point of the match came when Zayn thought he’d won the match only to realise that the referee had been taken out. Jimmy Uso then arrived and wrecked Zayn with a barrage of Superkicks before he delivered an Uso Splash. However, when the referee got back into the ring, Zayn was just able to kickout. Sami then delivered a big boot to send Jimmy crashing to the outside, but this allowed Roman Reigns to deliver a huge Spear. However, Sami once again kicked out and the crowd went wild. Another big turning point occurred as another referee was taken out leaving Roman Reigns standing inside the ring, holding a steel chair. As he went to hit Sami with the chair, Jey Uso appeared and stopped him. Reigns then gave the chair to Jey Uso, but it was clear that the Right Hand Man didn’t want to do this and it got even better as Roman Reigns started to push his cousin around. When it looked like Jey was finally about to snap, Sami went for the Spear, but Reigns dodged out of the way and Zayn tore Jey in half. Roman then delivered a Spear to the former Honorary Uce to get the victory and retain his position in the main event of this year’s WrestleMania. After the match, Jimmy Uso continued to beat down Sami Zayn before Kevin Owens’ music hit and he dropped both Reigns and Uso before he sent Jimmy crashing through the announce table. He then let Sami Zayn hit the Helluva Kick onto Roman Reigns before he walked off and the show ended with Sami Zayn being clapped by everyone in attendance. The aftermath was done to send the crowd happy so I won’t talk about that, but the match itself was amazing. In fact, the storytelling was amazing. Roman Reigns felt like the Greatest Of All Time in this environment whilst Sami Zayn showcased why he deserves to be champion one day. When the show ended, for the first time in Roman’s entire title reign, I was a little bit disappointed that he won. The reason for that is this storyline has been perfect and Roman losing the belt to Cody Rhodes is never going to be as good as Roman losing the belt to Sami Zayn. However, I’ve thought about this and I’ve realised that the most important part of this storyline isn’t Roman losing to Sami, it’s Roman losing because of Jey. Yes, I don’t think Cody Rhodes beating Roman Reigns in the Main Event of WrestleMania 39 is particularly exciting, but this entire Roman Reigns 900+ days title reign has been about him and Main Event Jey Uso. That’s why if Jey Uso costs Roman Reigns the titles at WrestleMania, that’s what I’m going to be talking about, not the person who beat him. That’s storytelling told to perfection.
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