Powell’s WWE Elimination Chamber Hit List: John Cena turns on Cody Rhodes, Elimination Chamber matches, Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn in an unsanctioned match

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE Elimination Chamber Hits

John Cena turns on Cody Rhodes: It finally happened. After years of hoping for a Cena heel turn, he did so at a time when many of us had given up on the idea of it happening. After all, the guy is in the midst of a retirement tour. Cena is still getting strong reactions from the crowd, and surely would have made a lot of money selling merchandise related to his retirement from the ring. It’s a bold move and that’s something to respect. Regardless of how successful this heel turn is, Cena took a chance at a time when he didn’t need to. As someone who wanted to see Cody vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania, the idea of Cody defending against babyface Cena felt underwhelming. Cena’s heel turn changes everything. I’m anxious to hear Cena’s explanation. I want to see how Cena interacts with The Rock’s Final Boss persona. I am looking forward to seeing how everyone from Cody Rhodes to CM Punk to Roman Reigns to even R-Truth reacts to Cena’s turn. This was a game changing moment for WrestleMania 41 and the remainder of Cena’s run.

John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Logan Paul vs. Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins in an Elimination Chamber match for a shot the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41: A very good Chamber match. They didn’t get particularly innovative, as it feels like there’s probably not a lot of new ground to cover inside the Cell structure. But everyone worked hard and they seemed to set the table for multiple WrestleMania matches. Cena stealing the pin after the eliminated Rollins stuck around long enough to hit Punk with a Stomp was the first hint that something could be up. This gave Punk an out for losing, added more friction to his feud with Rollins, and planted seeds for an eventual Cena vs. Punk match.

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn in an unsanctioned match: Owens and Zayn set the bar high by making it seem like this would be their most violent match yet. Thankfully, they did not made good on that hype, but they came close enough that the masses seem to come away more than satisfied. When barbwire is used as much as it was in this match, there really should be blood. I assume that was the plan, but the need for Cody to bleed at the end of the night probably eliminated any chance of Owens and Zayn being able to incorporate it into their match. The return of Randy Orton was expected and welcome. This sets up the obvious Orton vs. Owens match for WrestleMania, but the big question now is what Zayn will do on the biggest event of the year.

Bianca Belair Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley vs. Naomi vs. Roxanne Perez in an Elimination Chamber match for a shot at the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 41: The Jade Cargill return got the show off to a hot start. It will be very interesting to see how Belair reacts to this and whether her character was in cahoots with Naomi. Although several wrestlers performed well, Morgan’s work really stood out. She was the MVP of the match and seems to have found her groove in the ring and as a character. Ultimately, the right person went over in terms of setting up the most attractive Women’s World Championship match for WrestleMania.

Tiffany Stratton and Trish Stratus vs. Nia Jax and Candice LeRae: More of an in the middle than a Hit or a Miss. It was nice to see Trish wrestle on a stadium show in her hometown. The match was fine for what it was and seemingly put an end to Stratton’s feud with Jax and LeRae.

WWE Elimination Chamber Misses

None: Elimination Chamber was a good show that left me more excited about the build toward WrestleMania. There are six weeks of television between now and the company’s premier event. It will be interesting to see how the creative team handles the challenge of filling that time with good content while trying to avoid having the build to the key matches peak prematurely.