Match Results:
Kick-Off: Fatal Four-Way MatchWinner joined the WWE United States Championship match on the main card.John Morrison def. Elias, Mustafa Ali (with Mace, T-Bar, and Slapjack), and Ricochet
Elimination Chamber Match for an immediate WWE Universal Championship MatchDaniel Bryan def. Cesaro, Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, King Corbin, and Sami Zayn
Elimination Chamber Match for an immediate WWE Universal Championship Match
SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Entered | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King Corbin | 3 | Cesaro | Submission | 17:45 |
| 2 | Sami Zayn | 4 | Kevin Owens | Pinfall | 25:30 |
| 3 | Kevin Owens | 5 | Jey Uso | Pinfall | 26:50 |
| 4 | Cesaro | 2 | Jey Uso | Pinfall | 32:50 |
| 5 | Jey Uso | 6 | Daniel Bryan | Pinfall | 34:20 |
| Winner | Daniel Bryan | 1 | |||
Going into this match, I was all for Cesaro getting the win here and challenging Roman Reigns if he was going to get a proper title match later into the show. In hindsight, now that I have seen how they were going to lay all of this out, especially how they sent Roman out there to lay Daniel Bryan to waste after he survived the SmackDown Chamber match, then I was absolutely fine with Cesaro not getting the win. Anyone paying attention to my live tweets during the show last night could tell you that I was royally pissed off when he was eliminated though.
Cesaro and Daniel Bryan were killing it since they were the two men to start this match. I had absolutely NO problems with Baron Corbin being eliminated first and rightfully so. Sami Zayn's cowardly heel antics, while occasionally funny, are getting stale at this point. I thought he was going to lure Kevin Owens to his side of thinking (again) after he has failed repeatedly to put down the Tribal Chief.
A heel turn for Kevin Owens would be a logical course of action but at the same time, he's ran the well dry on that over the past few years. Alternatively, they could put him and Sami Zayn into a program for WrestleMania to rekindle that feud again since it's been a while since they have been at odds end.
My heart sank like a brick to see Cesaro get eliminated by Jey Uso, who has been doing great work as one of Roman Reigns' cronies over the past year. This singles push for him in the wake of his brother being injured was the breath of fresh air that his career needed. I understand that they are simultaneously building credibility for him as a singles competitor and adding drama to the end of this match with the heels possibly getting the upper hand, but I didn't think it should have been done to Cesaro's detriment. The dude is already getting scraps as is with this current push or sorts - something that is highly unlikely that would be happening if Daniel Bryan didn't have creative influence on the SmackDown! brand. That being said, I wasn't mad with Cesaro's loss here in hindsight from how they followed up Daniel Bryan's narrow victory.
Singles Match for the WWE Universal ChampionshipRoman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) def. Daniel Bryan by technical submission
Roman Reigns came out to defend his title immediately following the end result of the previous match, offering no breathing room for Daniel Bryan. Bryan managed to catch Roman out of the Spear with the Yes Lock, but there wasn't no moment of that hold where I thought he was actually going to make Roman submit. In my honest opinion, Roman Reigns shouldn't be losing that title until Summerslam - at the minimum.
So yeah that means Edge (who came out there to lay out Roman with a Spear following his successful title defense) should go to WrestleMania and lose. That should serve as a grim reminder that none of these Rumble winners are guaranteed to win the big one at WrestleMania while at the same time, continue the show of force of Roman Reigns' monumental title reign.
Triple Threat Match for the WWE United States ChampionshipRiddle def. Bobby Lashley (c) (with MVP) and Keith Lee John Morrison
Triple Threat Match for the WWE United States Championship
The first half of this match was simply a display of sheer force from "The Almighty" until Riddle and Morrison made the wise decision to work together in some capacity. I haven't seen Lashley look this dominant since his BDC (Beatdown Clan) run in IMPACT Wrestling when he was aligned with MVP in a similar manner as the Hurt Business there. The finish would come after Riddle took MVP's crutch and used it on Lashley, only to hit Morrison with his finish and steal the win from right underneath his nose.
After that result, it was made painfully clear that Morrison was in there to eat the pin for Lashley could lose the title without getting pinned. Believe what you want from the dirtsheets and rumors floating around online, but it seems like WWE has enough stock invested into Keith Lee that they didn't throw him into this match merely to get pinned for another loss that he doesn't need right now, especially after joining the roster not too long ago. I would like to believe that they have plans for Keith Lee to challenge for the US title at WrestleMania in some capacity since he's clearly not in the conversation for the WWE Championship.
This wasn't a bad match, but it merely felt like something that would be filling up time on your typical run of the mill episode of Monday Night Raw. I had to feel sorry for Morrison being regulated to mere filler here. Seeing him perform in this match makes me hope and wish that they have plans for him to have a singles run sooner more than later if the rumors of WWE signing his wife, Taya Valkyrie, to the company. Put those two together and let them paint the town red. I'm sure it would make for some good vignettes and segments. Hell... it can't get any worse, can it? Wait, wait, wait... lemme take that one back before someone on WWE Creative says, "Hold my beer..."
Tag Team Match for the WWE Women's Tag Team ChampionshipNia Jax and Shayna Baszler (c) def. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks
Tag Team Match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
During this entire match, I was hoping and praying that we didn't have to endure another Sasha Banks Women's Tag title reign just to give Bianca and Sasha something to fall out over for their inevitable WrestleMania feud to start. They would be merely recycling or rather rehashing the same storyline where Bayley turned on Sasha Banks to spark her own turn to babyface. I don't know what they are going to do to kickstart that feud as both women are at their best heel in my honest opinion, but Bianca is the one who has the babyface momentum behind her, so Sasha SHOULD be the heel going into their WrestleMania feud. If any hint/clue from her interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin should be taken away from that sitdown session, it's that Sasha Banks firmly believes that she's the best all-round athlete, performer, and wrestler in the entire WWE - whether it's male or female. That's no gimmick either - she really believes that. I'm not going to knock the woman for having confidence in herself and knowing her own worth, but I can't help thinking that I'm sure her colleagues are looking at this interview and thinking she's coming off extremely arrogant.
As for this match, it was what it was - an absolutely nothing filler of a match. Naomi and Lana have won the #1 contender spot over on Raw. Then you have the winners of the Women's Dusty Tag Team Classic, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzales, over on NXT who have a future title shot waiting for them too. I just couldn't fathom seeing Nia and Shayna lose to Sasha and Bianca here when they had such a great face-to-face encounter with Dakota and Raquel over on NXT last week.
As of this posting, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzales are set to challenge Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the titles on NXT next week (3/3/21), so we could see that title change then.
The ladies tried to make this match work, but ultimately, it just wasn't clicking - at least for me as a spectator. Then the finish was all kinds of stupid. If Reginald was going to cost Bianca and Sasha the match, then why didn't he just offer to manage them to the ring then just casually throw the champagne bottle in there as planned? That would have made a lot more sense than him just randomly showing up at the end of the match for the same spot.
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE ChampionshipDrew McIntyre (c) def. AJ Styles (with Omos), Jeff Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, and Sheamus
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship
Raw Elimination Chamber Match
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Entered | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Orton | 2 | Kofi Kingston | Pinfall | 8:55 |
| 2 | Kofi Kingston | 4 | Sheamus | Pinfall | 23:35 |
| 3 | Jeff Hardy | 1 | Drew McIntyre | Pinfall | 25:15 |
| 4 | Sheamus | 6 | AJ Styles | Pinfall | 30:15 |
| 5 | AJ Styles | 5 | Drew McIntyre | Pinfall | 31:10 |
| Winner | Drew McIntyre | 3 |
Now the second Elimination Chamber match I can't say that I was overly crazy about.
They definitely missed the boat on having Mustafa Ali (along with the rest of Retribution) attack Kofi Kingston during this match and take his spot. The story was RIGHT THERE and they failed to capitalized on it. I couldn't help but laugh at Kofi looking over his shoulder during his entrance like Edge was going to attack him and take his spot like a few years ago. Color me shocked as all hell that Kofi managed to eliminate Orton (out of nowhere) without any interference from Alexa Bliss nor The Fiend.
Kofi didn't even get a chance to pat himself on the back before Sheamus gave him a Brogue Kick so hard that Kofi had that Jamaican accent wrestling on ECW again.
I honestly don't even see why Jeff Hardy was even in this match. He was just THERE wasting a spot for this array of former World Champions. They could have given his spot to Ali if they wanted. When was the last time Jeff Hardy has done anything of merit in this company? At this stage of his career, he's just biding his time until his next court case and/or waiting until that contract expires for he can join his brother in AEW.
I have to admit that AJ Styles' entry into this match was a stroke of genius though. Omos tore off the plexiglass for he could exit the pod early following Orton's elimination and took advantage of the situation following Orton's barrage of RKOs on his way out. Unfortunately, it didn't result in any eliminations on AJ Styles behalf though.
Styles had a few rare botches on his behalf towards the end of this match though. He was trying to do the Springboard 450 Splash he occasionally alternates from doing with the Phenomenal Forearm from that position, but it seemed like he misjudged the distance from where Drew McIntyre and landed on him awkwardly. Styles would coarse-correct that maneuver with another attempt a few moves later, but it still wasn't that much better when he eliminated Sheamus.
Drew would retain the title after connecting with a simply beautiful Claymore Kick during Styles' Phenomenal Forearm and covering him for the 3-count. The Hurt Business' former United States Champion, Bobby Lashley, came out and made short work of Drew shortly thereafter, making way for the match that came up in an impromptu manner to close out this show.
Singles Match for the WWE ChampionshipThis was Miz's Money in the Bank cash-in match.The Miz def. Drew McIntyre (c)
Closing Thoughts:
(Still laughing) I can't believe that this is the image that WWE wanted to leave people with when this show came to a close...
At least Drew McIntyre kicked out of the first pin attempt until falling to the second to lose the title to The Miz (who has be booked like a complete loser for the better half of the past year), but shit man, this was the best idea that think tank at WWE HQ had in mind? "Oh let's put the title on The Miz for more buzz going into WrestleMania season!" Vince should be shot out of his chair just like Gorilla Grodd was in the video below.
To be fair though, The Miz is a company man, has multiple television projects outside of WWE and still somehow has maintained his mainstream appeal from his time on MTV's The Real World (It blows my mind that the Pluto TV app even reruns the episodes of Fear Factor that he was on while affiliated with that reality show prior to coming into wrestling...). So I could KINDA understand why they want to elevate him in a sense, especially if the endgame plan for him is a tag team match between himself and John Morrison against Bad Bunny and Damian Priest. I honestly would NOT put it past WWE to book a Bad Bunny versus The Miz match for the WWE Championship either in the meantime.
My problem is that Drew McIntyre was the guy who ultimately got robbed of his crowning achievement of winning the WWE Championship last year from Brock Lesnar was without a crowd of cheering fans, but instead in an empty warehouse. You would think that WWE would stay on the course of making him the guy to beat, much like Roman Reigns over on SmackDown, and keep him undefeated until they were able to get fans back into arenas in some capacity. First Drew got pinned by Randy Orton in a nothing match as part of their feud last year, only to win it right back a week later. Now The Miz beats him in another nothing match. I don't understand what they are doing with Drew McIntyre at this stage of the game. They had a great thing going between him and Roman Reigns last year in their build to Survivor Series, making you think that they were planting the seeds for Drew to take the title from the Tribal Chief at some point - preferably at WrestleMania. Edge's return nixed those plans (despite going for Roman Reigns after tonight's turn of events) and now, Drew is without a dancing partner. They had a promising contender in the making with Keith Lee when he got called up, but he's had so many starts and stops to his pushes in this company over the past few months that I have absolutely no idea if he's in their WrestleMania plans at all. Don't forget that WWE already already blew their loads on what could have been a WrestleMania worthy feud with Sheamus turning on Drew and challenging for the title on free television. After tonight, the obvious course of action should be Drew against Lashley at WrestleMania, but if either one of those guys wins the title back from The Miz at Fastlane or any show prior to that, then it's going to be a complete wash. Lashley hasn't been a World Champion in this company in like forever - and that's even if you want to even consider his ECW World title win in that conversation at all. One would think that he would be deserving of a lengthy title reign, but it seems like WWE wants to do some course correction and have Drew get his crowning moment again at this year's WrestleMania with the limited fans in attendance. From as highly protected and strongly booked that the Hurt Business, especially Bobby Lashley himself, have been portrayed on WWE programming that might be a costly mistake and Drew could wind up with the opposite reaction with fans back in the arena. I'm optimistic for that match-up, but at the same time, I want WWE to be mindful that they may not get that fairy tale ending of Drew being showered with cheers either.
One match that was left off of tonight's card was Asuka defending the RAW Women's Championship against Lacey Evans. That match was written off due to Lacey Evans' unexpected real life news of her pending pregnancy. As of this posting, WWE has completely ended the storyline between her, Ric Flair, and Charlotte Flair to boot. We were denied of how that match would have turned out. I would not have been surprised if by some fluke or miscommunication, Asuka would have lost the title to Lacey Evans, due to Charlotte Flair's interference and that would have caused the rift to dissolve their current partnership. Charlotte could have easily ended this filler feud with Lacey Evans at Fastlane, only to have her WrestleMania rematch with Asuka a month later.
Then there's something else to think about. Rhea Ripley has been confirmed to be joining the RAW brand, so I have to guess that Asuka's days as RAW Women's Champion are numbered. I'm guessing that she will drop the title to Charlotte Flair at Fastlane, only for Rhea Ripley to dethrone the Queen at WrestleMania in a rematch of their NXT Women's title match from last year. Alternatively, I think it would make for a fun match if they wanted to get a triple threat between Asuka, Charlotte Flair, and Rhea Ripley too. In Charlotte's case, there's a lot of ways they could go with this.
On the other end of the pond, I know Roman Reigns is breathing a sigh of relief now that Edge has selected him (as he SHOULD have to begin with) to face at WrestleMania for the Universal Championship. I will repeat myself too and say that Edge should be going to WrestleMania and losing that match too. I firmly believe that Roman Reigns shouldn't be losing to anyone - at least not until roughly Summerslam to the right opponent. At this point, let Goldberg fight Riddle or Big E at WrestleMania if he wants a payday for that show. He sure as hell doesn't need to be challenging for any World titles in 2021.
إرسال تعليق