Tonight at WWE Elimination Chamber, the Road to WrestleMania gets set in one of the most dangerous matches in WWE history. The main event features seven men looking to face WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the title. Braun Strowman, John Cena, Roman Reigns, The Miz, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Elias all look to walk into New Orleans with a shot at “The Beast” after tonight. Plus, WWE Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defends her title in the first ever women’s Elimination Chamber! All that and more tonight at Elimination Chamber!
Pre-Show Results: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson defeated The Miztourage.
We are LIVE from Las Vegas, Nev. Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and “The Coach” Jonathan Coachman have the call for this week.
Video package previews the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship.
Elimination Chamber for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Mickie James vs. Sasha Banks vs. Sonya Deville
Bayley starts with Sonya Deville. Deville with a takedown and front facelock. Bayley comes back with a drop toehold and a running bulldog before working Deville in the corners. Deville comes back with a shot to the midsection of Bayley to drop her. Deville and Bayley fight to send each other into the cage and stop by grabbing the cage, as Bayley catches herself on a catapult attempt. Deville tries a takedown attempt and gets run into the cage by Bayley for a nearfall. Deville dropped on the top turnbuckle and hit with a side suplex for a nearfall. Deville rolls to the outside to try and avoid an elbow drop off the top, but Bayley lands it outside for a nearfall.
Mandy Rose enters and Bayley snaps her off the second rope as soon as she gets out of her pod. Bayley tackling Absolution into the corners, but Deville takes Bayley outside with a takedown on the cage floor as Absolution team up on Bayley. Flying knee off the top from Rose gets a nearfall, but Absolution unable to put Bayley away.
Sasha Banks enters and takes out Absolution, bouncing Rose off the pod and cage after dropping Deville. Deville catches up and sends Banks into the cage. Banks bounces off the ropes and lands knees against the cage. Double knees from Banks inside gets a nearfall. Deville laid on the second turnbuckle and Rose gets headscissors into the turnbuckle by Banks. Banks with double knees to knock Deville to the mat for a nearfall. Deville kicks Banks in the corner, but walks into a double-team from Banks and Bayley outside against the cage. Double hip toss into the cage wall on Deville. Bayley sends Deville in and Rose tackles Bayley into the cage wall. Mandy lands a a wheelbarrow, but takes too much time to finish Banks and gets hit with a backstabber into the Bank Statement. Bayley tackles Deville to prevent the break of the submission.
Mandy Rose eliminated by submission by Sasha Banks.
Mickie James enters like a house of fire. James climbs the chamber and kicks Bayley off climbing after her. James to the top of her pod and hits a dive on Deville.
Sonya Deville eliminated by pinfall by Mickie James.
James gets hit with a backstabber and Bayley-to-Belly after getting the pin.
Mickie James eliminated by pinfall by Bayley.
Banks and Bayley wait it out for Alexa Bliss. Bliss tries to hold the pod close and climbs the cage wall to try and avoid Banks and Bayley. Bliss climbs to the top of another pod and Banks meets her. Bayley tries to climb it and Banks kicks her to the floor. Bliss crawls away and Banks follows, but Bayley sends Banks into the ring post and yells at Banks. Bliss blindsides Bayley with a forearm for a nearfall and works Bayley down in the ring as Banks is laid out. Bayley attacks Banks in the corner and hangs her in the tree of woe. Bliss meets them and Bliss superplexes Bayley down. Banks sits up in the corner and goes to the top. Frog Splash on Bayley gets a nearfall. Banks looks for double knees and Bayley moves out, but Banks with headscissors spikes her into the second turnbuckle. Banks up top and Bayley meets her for Bayley-to-Belly. Bliss sideswipes Bayley as she tries for a cover.
Bayley eliminated by pinfall by Alexa Bliss.
Bliss only gets a nearfall on Banks and goes up top. Twisted Bliss lands on the knees of Banks. Banks tries to kick Bliss against the cage, but gets caught in the cage and Bliss chop blocks her. Bliss up to the top of a pod and she lands Twisted Bliss on a standing Banks. Banks rolls through for the Bank Statement on the cage floor. She rolls back in and keeps the hold until Bliss fights up and runs her into the corner. Banks kicks out of the corner and goes up top. Banks looks to go to the pod, but gets shoved face-first into the pod and hit with a DDT off the top.
Winner by pinfall and STILL WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
No one held back here and the teaming up between the six was a nice touch. No spots were excessive enough to be botched and there were enough high spots and stories to make the first women’s chamber a home run.
Post-match, Bliss interviewed in the ring by Renee Young and she says this win means everything to her. Bliss says this is for every girl in the audience who dreams big and you can be anything you want to be. Bliss is looking out at everyone and says they will never accomplish their dreams. Bliss says she just proved there is no one better than her. The odds were against her and she still won, even though not a single person in the arena believed she could win. Bliss just proved there is only one true goddess in WWE.
WWE Raw Tag Team Championships: The Bar (c) vs. Titus Worldwide (w/Dana Brooke)
The Bar attacks Apollo in the corner and sends Titus O’Neil out, but Titus Worldwide comes back with clotheslines to send The Bar out. Apollo with a dive off the top to take out The Bar and the match becomes official inside with O’Neil and Cesaro. Slam from O’Neil and Apollo with a dive off the top for a nearfall. Apollo tossed into the barricade by the Bar’s corner and Crews isolated by The Bar. Double clothesline as Sheamus comes in and a knee drop gets a nearfall. Cesaro in and Crews hits a back bodydrop to get away, but Sheamus gets in to stop the tag. Cesaro back in and he gets sent out, but Sheamus again makes the save with a front facelock. Apollo gets fingertips away and Sheamus releases to knock O’Neil off the apron. Sheamus looks for the Celtic Cross and Apollo rolls for a nearfall. Sheamus sidestepped in the corner and he runs into the ring post. O’Neil gets the hot tag and comes in like a house of fire on Cesaro. Sheamus knocked off the apron with a big boot and a big boot on Cesaro gets a nearfall. Cesaro slips out of of a slam from O’Neil and leapfrogs him for a sneak tag to Sheamus. Cesaro clotheslined out and Sheamus knocks him down. Sheamus slips as he tries to get up top and plays to the crowd that he didn’t get tripped up, coming down into a Clash of the Titus for a nearfall broken by Cesaro.
Crews in and he sends The Bar out for a flip dive. Standing moonsault lands on the knee of Sheamus and Sheamus with a nearfall. Cesaro gets slipped a sneak tag and they land a springboard double-team Death Valley Driver and elbow drop.
Winners by pinfall and STILL WWE Raw Tag Team Champions: The Bar
Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
Decent tag match, but standard fare as it goes and the crowd was a little down after the great women’s Elimination Chamber.
Video package recaps the set-up to Asuka and Nia Jax and Jax stomps an Asuka mask backstage.
Nia Jax vs. Asuka
Asuka lands dropkicks and gets Jax into the corner before she gets pulled down by her hair. Jax tosses Asuka across the ring, but Asuka pulls down the top rope to send Jax out. Hip attack misses and Jax lands a knee to the back. Jax with a surfboard stomp into the mat. Body block and elbow drop from Jax gets a nearfall. Asuka rolls up on Jax for a kneebar, but Jax just lifts her up and runs her into the corner. Jax locks in a torture rack, but Asuka falls out and locks in a guillotine. Jax counters out into a jackhammer. Asuka creates separations and lands roundhouse kicks to the chest. Jax catches her for a Samoan Drop, but a leg drop misses and Asuka lands a shining wizard for a nearfall. Asuka with a spinning backfist and a head kick for a nearfall. Asuka with another and she goes up top, but Jax meets her. Superplex blocked and Asuka goes for a powerbomb, but gets dropped. Jax looks for a Banzai Drop, but misses. Jax splashes onto the legs of Asuka and runs into the ring post on her shoulder. Flying armbar from Asuka and Jax rolls over. Asuka picked up by her hair and run into the corner by Jax. Jax tells Asuka she is going to WrestleMania and tries a powerbomb, but Asuka with a hurricanrana out.
Winner by pinfall: Asuka
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The finish was a bit botched, but Jax looked as powerful as could be and it was a well-worked match around the limitations inherent. The crowd was hot as it went on and it developed to be an outright good match.
Jax lays Asuka out from behind after the match and tosses Asuka. Asuka shoved into the ring post and tackled through the timekeeper’s barricade.
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss watches on backstage and she tells Renee Young she knows that Nia Jax isn’t happy with the way the match ended, but she is happy with what happened to Asuka after and no one is ready for Alexa.
Charly Caruso asks Roman Reigns about what Paul Heyman said about Brock Lesnar leaving WrestleMania WWE Universal Champion no matter who wins the Elimination Chamber. Reigns asks if it looks like he is the kind of guy who cares about what Heyman says and he says this is a spoiler alert, not a prediction. He will win the Elimination Chamber and win the WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania.
Video package recaps the rivalry between Bray Wyatt and “Woken” Matt Hardy.
“Woken” Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt
Wyatt cuts the lights and appears in the ring, but Hardy is gone and his coat is left in the ring. Hardy on the microphone somewhere and he chants that Wyatt will fade away and classify himself as obsolete. Hardy says tonight, they will delete as Wyatt looks behind the announce table and in the crowd. Hardy comes off the steps with an axhandle smash and lands punches inside. Hardy kicks away and lands a side Russian legsweep. Wyatt hangs upside down out of the corner and Hardy cheers for him. Wyatt almost runs into a Twist of Fate, but Hardy goes for a DDT instead for a nearfall. Wyatt comes back with a running back elbow and works Hardy down. Wyatt drops him and locks in the rear chinlock.
The crowd seems more enthralled by a beach ball as Wyatt and Hardy fight on the apron and Wyatt drops him on the apron. The crowd chants that they want beach balls as Wyatt works Hardy outside. Uranage on the steps blocked, but Hardy runs into a clothesline from Wyatt. Wyatt works him down inside. Hardy comes back with a tornado DDT and starts the comeback as the crowd starts doing the wave. Side Effect from Hardy gets a nearfall and he lands an elbow to the back of the neck. Hardy pretends to control the crowd doing the wave to his credit, but Wyatt with a uranage and senton for a nearfall. Wyatt with ground and pound and the crowd chants “Rusev Day.” Wyatt misses a senton off the second turnbuckle, but comes back with a corner splash. Sister Abigail blocked and Hardy lands a Twist of Fate.
Winner by pinfall: Matt Hardy
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
No fault of the workers here, as it was what it was for a 2018 Matt Hardy match. They lost all control of the crowd and the announcers further buried the match, with Corey Graves commenting how quiet it got at one point and them having to play dumb about the beach ball and the wave. Hardy has been zapped of all interesting facets of the “Woken” character and the sooner this feud is done, the better.
Video package for “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey.
WWE Raw General Manager Kurt Angle makes his way out for Rousey’s contract signing. The Authority make their way out and Stephanie McMahon says they make history tonight by signing one of the greatest athletes today. Triple H says there might be no greater signing athlete since an Olympic gold medalist like Kurt Angle. Triple H lists Rousey’s credentials and brings out Rousey. Rousey says she is not often speechless and starts crying as the crowd chants her name. Rousey says she wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Triple H comes in and says that Rousey didn’t want any perks. Rousey says she doesn’t want to be treated any different and Triple H says she will get what she wanted, a match at WrestleMania. She prepares to sign the contract and Kurt Angle looks dejected. Rousey asks what Angle has to say and Angle says Triple H and Stephanie wanted to have her under their thumb for what she did to them at WrestleMania. Angle asks what it is Triple H said and said “three years and we own the bit…” Triple H cuts him off and tells him to shut up, then tells the crowd Angle hasn’t been feeling well and was in the hospital for the flu. Triple H says he is going to take him to the doctor and walks him off.
Stephanie starts saying how ready they are to have her and Angle cuts off again from the ramp. He says didn’t Stephanie say how Rousey was a has-been and even she could take her. Rousey walks Stephanie down and Triple H has to separate the two, but Rousey gets in Triple H’s face. Triple H walks Stephanie away from the ring and comes back to Rousey, who she puts through a table. Stephanie slaps Rousey and asks who she thinks she is. Stephanie walks away and Rousey signs the contract.
While the visual of Rousey putting HHH through the table was impressive, Rousey was really raw on the microphone to say the least, stumbling over her words and sounding rather incoherent. Angle, Steph, and HHH managed to salvage the segment at a bare minimum and it is clear that Rousey will have to be someone worked around rather than worked with for the time being on the microphone. The big rub at the end will get her some leeway and the crowd is hot for her, but it is definitely a project as this segment showed.
Video package for the Elimination Chamber.
Elias performs and says it is weird performing in the Chamber, but they are in Las Vegas so they are probably used to seeing someone they love behind bars.
WWE Universal Championship Number One Contender’s Elimination Chamber: Braun Strowman vs. Elias vs. Finn Bálor vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz
Rollins, Balor, and Miz start. Miz asks Rollins if he wants to go after Balor and Rollins laughs at him. Miz then asks Balor if he wants to go after Rollins and throws him a “Too Sweet.” Balor laughs him off and Rollins and Balor send him out. Balor rolls Rollins for a nearfall and they feel each other out while knocking Miz against the cage. Miz with a sunset flip on Balor, but Balor lands a dropkick. Balor in control until Rollins lands a knee to the midsection. Rollins with a springboard forearm and Falcon Arrow on Miz for a nearfall as Balor is outside. Stomp misses and Rollins kicks out of the corner. Double blockbuster on Balor and Miz for nearfalls.
John Cena enters with Rollins left standing. They get in each other’s faces and Rollins shoves him. Cena challenges him to do it again and he does and Cena with the shoulder tackles. Side slam connects, but Five Knuckle Shuffle blocked. Cena with another side slam and one on Miz for a Ten Knuckle Shuffle. Balor in with nearfalls, but he runs into a Rollins superkick. Rollins with forearms in the corners and Cena in with Balor and Rollins on his shoulders. Double AA blocked and Miz catches Rollins with a neckbreaker and backbreaker combo for a nearfall. Cena and Balor pair off while Rollins and Miz do. They are up in the corners and Rollins and Cena land superplexes to put all four down as the clock winds down.
Roman Reigns enters like a house of fire and him and Rollins are left standing. They face off and Miz runs them into each other. DDT on Rollins for a Miz nearfall. Miz with Yes Kicks for all four men down, but Reigns with clotheslines on him. Balor jumps Reigns from behind and sends Rollins out to the cage floor. Reigns flying clothesline on Balor gets a nearfall. Reigns comes back with a one-armed powerbomb on Balor for a nearfall and powerbombs on Cena and Miz get nearfalls. Reigns tells Braun Strowman to get ready and calls for a Superman Punch, but waits as the clock winds.
Braun Strowman enters and sends Reigns and Rollins into the cage walls. Cena and Balor dropped and Miz moves out to the cage wall to avoid Strowman. Rollins and Cena work together on Strowman and try a suplex, but Strowman suplexes them. Balor used as a battering ram on Reigns and he stares Miz down. Miz climbs to the top of a pod, but Strowman catches up with him and bounces him off the glass at the top of the cage before tossing Miz onto the field below in the ring. Strowman comes back down and clubs Miz down. Strowman clubs the rest of the field down and lands a Powerslam on Miz.
The Miz eliminated by pinfall by Braun Strowman.
Elias enters and holds the pod closed. Reigns, Cena, Rollins, and Balor team up on Strowman and beat him down to the ground. Reigns calls for a powerbomb and the Shield Bomb lands. All four cover and Strowman kicks out. Strowman kicks out of an AA at one and a Spear at two. Stomp from Rollins lands and Coup de Grace lands on the cage floor. Cena gets Reigns with an AA inside and Rollins with a superkick. Balor and Rollins take each other out and Elias finally comes out of the pod for four nearfalls. Elias with an elbow drop on Rollins for a nearfall and gets him in an electric chair. Reigns gets Elias on his shoulders and lands a powerbomb for a nearfall. Strowman is back and walks up behind Elias. Elias sends him into the ring post and tries to get him up for a powerbomb, but he falls flat. Powerslam on Elias.
Elias eliminated by pinfall by Braun Strowman.
Strowman looks for a Powerslam on Reigns, but Reigns gets out after Balor lands a dropkick and Strowman sent reeling. Cena comes off the top, but Strowman catches him for a Powerslam.
John Cena eliminated by pinfall by Braun Strowman.
Strowman asks who wants these hands and lands punches on Rollins and Reigns. Balor gets up and lands punches and kicks out of the corner. Balor up top, but he gets pulled down for a Powerslam. Balor gets out and lands dropkicks into the corner twice. Coup de Grace to the back of Strowman gets a nearfall. Balor with a forearm on Rollins, but Rollins comes back with an enzuigiri. Balor with a Pele Kick and he gets a 1916 on Rollins. Balor gets Reigns down and lands Coup de Grace, but Strowman comes up and lands a Powerslam.
Finn Balor eliminated by pinfall by Braun Strowman.
The Shield work on Strowman outside by sending him into the cage. Rollins sends Reigns into the cage and lands a springboard forearm. Stomp misses, Superman Punch blocked by a thrust kick and a buckle bomb lands for Rollins. Reigns rebounds into a Superman Punch and both down as Strowman recovers. The Shield meet Strowman outside and Reigns with a Samoan Drop on the cage floor. Rollins with a Frog Splash off the pod for a nearfall on Strowman. The Shield Bomb blocked by Strowman dropkicking Reigns outside. Rollins with two superkicks and a Stomp attempt caught by a Powerslam.
Seth Rollins eliminated by pinfall by Braun Strowman.
Reigns with uppercuts, but he gets run outside by Strowman. Reigns snaps him on the top rope and splashes him against the cage. Strowman charges Reigns and runs through the pod glass. Reigns with a Superman Punch outside and he lands another inside. Spear attempt caught and Strowman gets him up, but Reigns out. Reigns popped up into a Superman Punch and he lands two Spears.
Winner by pinfall: Roman Reigns
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Good match and it picked up a bit as Strowman looked for eliminations and the field looked to eliminate him. Crowd was not into it for stretches and the winner obviously didn’t do it any favors, but Reigns and Strowman came out looking like winners here.
Post-match, Strowman lands two Powerslams and sends Reigns through a pod to close the show.
Overall, the Chamber matches were the only can’t miss matches, but not too bad of a show with some hot and some cold spots and we now know the path to WrestleMania.
