By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Pro Wrestling Boom Live returns today at 1CT/2ET. Reality TV star Jonny Fairplay and I will be taking your pro wrestling calls at PWAudio.net or via 773-897-6321.
WWE Elimination Chamber Hits
Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton vs. Bobby Lashley vs. LA Knight vs. Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul in an Elimination Chamber match for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL: An excellent Chamber match. Orton did a masterful job of selling his back injury after performing the Draping DDT outside the ring. It all led to his great RKO out of nowhere spot on McIntyre. I didn’t notice that Paul was still inside the Chamber, so it was a true surprise when he knocked out Orton with the brass knuckles punch. It was also perfect for the McIntyre character to take advantage of the situation by stealing the pin. I also liked the intensity that Owens showed while waiting to get his hands on Paul. Everyone had a moment to shine and the right person went over.
Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair vs. Liv Morgan vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Raquel Rodriguez in an Elimination Chamber match for a shot at the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania XL: Lynch won the match as expected and will now face Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania. But the breakout star of the match was Stratton, who was booked to shine and make the most of the opportunity. I really liked the way they did back-to-back eliminations at the end. There would not have been any real mystery once it was down to Lynch and Morgan, so there was no reason to prolong the match.
Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax for the Women’s World Championship: It was great to see this match slotted as the main event. Ripley was a mega star with her home country fans and it was really cool to see her headline a stadium show. It also makes it easier to go with two men’s matches as the headliners of the two nights of WrestleMania if they choose to do so. The creative forces did an excellent job of building up Jax as a monster in the weeks leading up to the match by having her destroy Ripley repeatedly along with wiping out the Elimination Chamber entrants on the go-home edition of Raw. The actual match was pretty basic in terms of quality, but it didn’t seem like the fans in attendance minded one bit. I also loved the shots of Ripley’s family members taking it all in from the front row.
Damian Priest and Finn Balor vs. “New Catch Republic” Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles: Both teams worked hard and Dominik Mysterio’s interference added some major heat. It also allowed Bate and Dunne to look good in that it was presented as if they would have won the tag team titles had it not been for Dom’s interference. It will be interesting to see if they actually build up a team in short order for a tag title match or if they go with a big multi-team match to get everyone on the show at WrestleMania.
The Grayson Waller Effect with Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes: The Aussie fans were given a bit of star power with the injured World Heavyweight Champion and perhaps the future WWE Universal Champion appearing in a talkshow segment hosted by one of their own. Waller playing it straight as opposed to turning on the Aussie crowd was a nice approach, and Austin Theory did a good job as the human punching bag. Rollins declaring that he’s on the verge of being medically cleared was great news, and I’m curious to see what comes out of Cody challenging The Rock to a singles match.
Asuka and Kairi Sane vs. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles: A soft Hit. I selfishly wanted to give this a Miss simply for making me wake up 30 minutes earlier than I intended, but I obviously couldn’t hold that against the match. The action was solid and it was fun to see Hartwell work in front of her home country fans in what turned out to be a decent pre-show match.
WWE Elimination Chamber Misses
None: The only thing working against this show was predictability, which is typically the case this close to WrestleMania. That said, I’m happy they didn’t go for shock value at the expense of setting up the right card for WrestleMania. It was also a testament to the quality of the show that the outcome of every match felt predictable and yet the overall event was still so entertaining. The venue looked great on television and the Aussie fans were energetic and fun throughout the night.
Hit for the broadcast team as well.Giving out the
stats for the chamber matches made it feel more like a sporting event which is a bonus to me.Unfortunetly I did see Logan laying there so him costing Orton was predictable for me,but it was still a great match on a great show.
You’ll never hear the word “sweet” when it comes to Ripley’s character, but hey – seeing her celebrate with her family at the end was sweet. It made her more human and gave her depth. All that said, she and Becky will have an AMAZING WM match.
No “Miss” for the shadows in the men’s match? Yer getting soft, Jason 🙂