Elimination Chamber is in the rearview mirror. It’s time to get back on the Road to WrestleMania.
Sami Zan comes out to a raucous reception that goes on for some time. He definitely does not look like he lost last night, aside from not having the gold. The monologue is good and stops only for Kevin Owens to be introduced. Zayn says thank you to KO, along with that he’s sorry.
Zayn declares he’s in line with KO to take The Bloodline down. He notes that neither could do it alone, but that they can do it together. KO spits some venom at Zayn and walks out on him, saying Jey Uso will help him take down the Bloodline, but he’s going it on his own. Well done.
Zayn is shown exiting the arena but is blindsided by Baron Corbin. O…k…
After the break, Corbin rips into Sami, who charges the ring and takes out Corbin emphatically. A ref then appears in the ring…
Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin
Zayn decimates Corbin early until Corbin lures Zayn in and takes over in the corner. Back and forth leads to Corbin hitting a Choke Backbreaker for two before we go into another commercial.
Back from break, Corbin has Zayn in the Canadian Backbreaker (oooh edgy) but Zayn wriggles out and comes back with a pair of middle rope elbows to the standing Corbin. Lucha Tornado DDT then gets two. Corbin bails and eats a Tope con Hilo.
Corbin counters a Helluva Kick attempt with a Lariat and continues the beating soon after. Deep Six gets two. Beating continues until a Helluva Kick out of nowhere. Decent match, but the end was inevitable.
Winner: Sami Zayn
We head backstage for a sit down interview with Rhea Ripley and Dom. Rhea says her and Beth Phoenix aren’t over, but she’s looking past Beth and straight at WrestleMania. Byron Saxton tries to ask again and Dom pipes in and I’m done with this segment.
We head into setup for the United States Championship Match between Edge and Austin Theory, including Cathy Kelley interviewing the latter. Theory starts to pipe up about John Cena’s pending return, teasing the much talked about bout between the two at ‘Mania.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Mustafa Ali
The quiet rivalry finally comes to close (potentially).
Ziggler gets a couple near falls and early strikes to start.
Really, this appears to be about who deserves what in the ring, but we all know this is really about who has the smoothest hair.
For all these two have appeared together, the chemistry between the two is just off.
Spike DDT by Ziggler gets two. A bit later, Ziggler tries a Famouser, but Ali escapes and gets the duke via roll-up.
Meh.
Winner: Mustafa Ali
Backstage, Kelley tries to talk with The Miz but he’s occupied by Maryse and a mystery gift which we’ll learn about next week. The conversation then transitions into a promo against Seth Rollins who Miz faces later tonight.
Back in the arena after the break, Cody Rhodes comes out for his oratory. Before he can start, Paul Heyman appears on the Tron. Heyman controls the back and forth and lays down some harsh realities about being champ. Cody kinda just blows him off and stays focused on his mission.
Asuka vs. Nikki Cross
Match can’t get started before Bianca Belair comes out.
Cross starts out on top but whiffs on a cross body, and Asuka takes over in a big way. A missed kick that hits the ring post (damn good effect by the way) turns things around for Cross, who hits Bottom’s Out on the apron.
Back from a break and Asuka tees off on Cross. Triple Germans get two. Super DDT gets two.
Cross gets a couple momentary moves in, including a Fireman’s Carry into a Michinoku Driver for two. Soon after, Asuka gets back on the offence and Asuka gets her Rings of Saturn variant for the duke while Cross has a sick smile the entire way through. Good character work.
Winner: Asuka
Post match Belair struts into the ring. Mixed reaction from our nation’s capital. Asuka then drools blue liquid. Asuka may be the heel in the match but she’s definitely the crowd favourite.
Backstage, Kelley catches up with Carmella who seems to seek revenge on Asuka. Kelley then rushes to catch up with Seth Rollins as he arrives. He talks about vengeance against Logan Paul before turning his attention to Miz..
Backstage, MVP cuts into Brock Lesnar with Omos by his size. Omos challenges Lesnar for ‘Mania. Okay… that’s not what what anyone was expecting, or hoping for.
The Miz vs. Seth Rollins
The two head to the outside quickly. Miz gets two as we head into a commercial.
Back from break, Rollins has the ADV but Miz turns things around. Back and forth progresses until both men are down after a hard flying clothesline from Rollins. Rollins paintbrushes Miz soon after and really turns up the heat overall. What I like is that Rollins keeps the heat on and doesn’t go for meaningless pin attempts.
Miz tries a Jacknife cover and gets two, Rollins reverses into his own pin attempt for two. Miz prevents a rope attempt and hits an assisted Codebreaker for two. One desperate fan chants “Time Balls” as Miz goes for the SCF. Reversal sequence ends with Miz hitting the American Dragon Knee in a VERY nice callback moment, and gets a close two. It Kicks are reversed with a spinning hammer, then forearms from Rollins before the deathblow to the neck and a Stomp.
A second Stomp is hit a few seconds later, but Rollins still doesn’t go for the pin as the bloodthirsty Ottawans ask for another one. Ref gets in between but Rollins hits for a third time and Eddie Orango stops the match and gives the match to Rollins.
This one started slow but got very strong out of the break.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Backstage, Carmella gets the match she wants against Asuka from Adam Pearce. Pearce then gets a call from Chelsea Green which goes nowhere. The camera then pans over to Alpha Academy practice their posing until Bronson Reed steps into the picture.
Ding Dong Hello is next with Damage Control as the interviewees. Becky Lynch interrupts the fun and says she wants the tag belts. Bayley claims she has no friends to tag with, which proves just how short memory she has. True enough, Lita comes out and gets a good chant as the pair of redheads enter the ring. The two challenge Damage CTRL for the tag gold and Bayley accepts on their behalf. I guess this is how we get to Ronda and Shayna challenging at ‘Mania.
Back somewhere, Byron Saxton talks to Candice LeRae about Johnny Gargano (rather than her), when Nikki Cross wanders through injured. Candice cuts her off and asks why Nikki has been stalking her. She whispers something inaudibly, but Candice tells Saxton that Cross is upset because all her friends are gone. Hmm… SAniTy coming back? LeRae closes by saying that Gargano will soon be back.
Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed
Reed dominates and has the faceoff with Otis on the outside. That match is definitely inevitable.
Gable gets the Ankle Lock at one point and gets an offensive flurry but Reed turns it around quickly. Gable gets a Diving Headbutt as he regains the advantage momentarily. We cut to Otis on the floor being distracted by Maxxine.
Gable gets a crazy German on Reed, is distracted by what’s happening on the outside allowing Reed to attack and hit a snapback Powerslam. Tsunami finishes it off soon after.
Winner: Bronson Reed
Elias is out next and starts to cut a heelish promo and lays out an open challenge for ‘Mania. Bobby Lashley answers the call. He quickly disposes of Elias and begins cutting into Brock Lesnar and the rest of the Raw lockeroom.
Edge vs. Austin Theory (United States Championship Match)
Edge takes things outside quickly with some harsh moves. Back in the ring he gets two heading into the break.
Back from the break Edge has the competitive advantage still but Theory turns the tide. Samoan Drop gets two. Resthold time for looong time. action turns up again, with Theory hitting a rolling front dropkick for two… going into another commercial break. Really? We need to talk about this again?
Any sort of momentum as a viewer has been killed by having two commercial breaks in what feels like five minutes. My interest level has dropped unfortunately.
More back and forth. Edge hits a dangerous cross-body to the back of Theory (or more specifically the back of Theory’s head. ouch.)
Edge-o-Matic gets two. More action, until Theory goes for another Rolling Front Dropkick but Edge counters into a sit-out Powerbomb.
Theory jumps over a Spear attempt, then gets the Crippler Crossface. Theory gets his foot on the ropes to get the break.
Theory uses the ropes to get a cheap pin but the ref no sells. More attempts lead to the Edgecution by Edge for two.
Later, Finn Balor tries to distract to get the win for Theory, which doesn’t happen. He then physically interjects (while the Ref’s attention is elsewhere) to ensure that Theory gets the duke with A-Town Down.
Winner: Austin Theory
Blech.
Balor continues the assault after the match ends. He gets some truly heated shots in while wearing a kerchief around his neck for some unknown reason. Three Coup de Gras on Edge closes the show.
Mixed bag tonight. Some great action but Judgement Day continuing to haunt Edge just feels so tired.
Until next time, stay classy.
