By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Elimination Chamber Hits
Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes vs. LA Knight vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams vs. Logan Paul in an Elimination Chamber: The call to have Orton win likely played a big part in how the match and overall show were received. There surely would have been predictability complaints had Rhodes won, especially after the favorites went over in the first three matches. The outside interference was disappointing for those who wanted a clean finish, but the live crowd reacted favorably to Seth Rollins’ return, and Drew McIntyre’s interference protected Cody while also setting up their WWE Championship match for Smackdown. Opening with Cody and Evans looked more fun on paper than it played out. I actually found myself checking the match time about halfway through their exchange because I was ready for the third entrant. Knight’s latest slip was rough. Every wrestler has rough moments at times, but he seems to have more than most. Even so, he’s one of the most over babyfaces in the company. It looked like Paul was given the eliminations originally planned for Bronson Reed. It was logical if they wanted to avoid making significant changes, and because Paul needed a boost now that he is suddenly the top healthy wrestler in the depleted Vision faction. Trick continues to be over huge with the live crowds.
CM Punk vs. Finn Balor for the World Heavyweight Championship: A good match that played to Punk’s receptive hometown fans. The Chicago Bulls’ entrance and Blackhawks’ gear were over big with the locals, yet they were also something that any sports fan could appreciate. The two things working against the match were predictability regarding the outcome and the lack of heat on the heel challenger. There wasn’t much that could be done about the predictability of this match, given that it was the last premium live event before WrestleMania, and there’s only so much heat they could put on Balor if he’s going to turn babyface soon. Are they working toward Dominik Mysterio vs. Balor for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania? Or perhaps even a Triple Threat involving JD McDonagh?
Rhea Ripley vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Kiana James in an Elimination Chamber match: The tag team title change on Smackdown made Ripley more of a favorite to win this match. Ripley and Iyo Sky are a good team, but I’m anxious to see both wrestlers back in the singles mix. While only time will tell whether they can produce a satisfying match, Ripley challenging Jade for the Women’s World Championship is a showdown of two dominant wrestlers, making it a perfect WrestleMania matchup on paper. James may have been stacked and pinned with Asuka, but she had a good outing. She wasn’t just there to take an early loss, and she was actually responsible for the first elimination when she pinned Bliss. The fact that James lasted sixteen minutes in this match shows that the creative forces are high on her. Stratton feels lukewarm at best. I’ve never understood why she was positioned as a babyface when her character screams heel. Asuka never felt like a threat to win, but she is a great veteran to have in these multi-person matches. Rodriguez was my long-shot pick. Winning the match would have done a lot more for her than Ripley, but far be it from me to criticize having Ripley in a marquee singles match on the biggest show of the year.
Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship: A soft Hit for a bout that exceeded my modest expectations due to it being Lee’s first singles match in over a decade. Lee did well considering that long layoff, and the company picked the right opponent for her. Lynch did the heavy lifting and get a solid match Lee. I suspect there will be a rematch at WrestleMania, though it will be interesting to see what both wrestlers move on to once this feud concludes.
WWE Elimination Chamber Misses
The mystery crate reveal: A very weak, very lousy introduction of Danhausen. I get a kick out of Danhausen in small doses, but they set up his debut for failure by raising fan expectations via the mystery crate gimmick approach. The company really need to hit home runs with his first few television appearances to wash away any bad feelings the fans have coming out of this rough debut. I could see his gimmick connecting with younger fans, but the key is whether they can avoid having it become a turnoff for adult fans.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
Ive lost faith in the company’s brain trust after how they handled Danhausen’s debut. Howeva, he does already have the #1 selling shirt in wwe. I dont understand it. He does 0 for me.
I skipped to the end of AJ-Becky. Even Jey and Ultimate Warrior would say AJ looked blown up.
It was AJ’s first one on one in years!Give her a break because Jey and Warrior are/were always blown up!
Re Rhea v Jade – if they give Rhea creative control of that match and Jade plays along I think that could be very good. Even if Rhea wins (and I think she will given that it would send her to Smackdown and separate her from Liv Morgan who is headed for face) it could be done so that Jade loses nothing – especially if they make a series out of it through to Backlash and Clash in Italy.
Or if they use that time to bring back Bianca Belair to screw over Jade and spin her off into that feud while Ripley goes a different direction as champ.