WWE wrestler Madcap Moss has been cleared for action after passing a series of medical tests following a scary looking bump on his neck at last Saturday’s Elimination Chamber.
Fightful first reported that his test results showed no damage while PWInsider reported that Moss was cleared.
From the latter’s report, Moss had to undergo various tests that included X-rays and passed them all.
Moss fell directly on top of his head on an Alabama Slam in his falls count anywhere match against Drew McIntyre at Saturday’s Chamber event in Saudi Arabia.
The 32-year-old Moss was able to finish the match and reportedly insisted he was ok after going backstage, apologizing to Vince McMahon, McIntyre and producers afterward.
All three men should be on Friday’s SmackDown and it’s expected that McIntyre will face Moss’ running mate Happy Corbin at WrestleMania 38.
The former Riddick Moss missed a year of action from 2020 through 2021 due to a torn ACL, aligning with Corbin upon his return
The reason for former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley’s quick exit from Saturday’s Elimination Chamber was reportedly due to a shoulder injury that might require surgery.
Lashley never got into the men’s Chamber match as he was taken out quickly after Seth Rollins buckle bombed Austin Theory into Lashley’s pod. In storyline, it was explained as “concussion protocol.”
Brock Lesnar won the match to reclaim the WWE title, setting up a title vs. title match against Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38.
Former WWE writer and Ringer podcaster Kazeem Famuyide reported the injury Saturday, saying Lashley was hurt in his Royal Rumble match against Lesnar that saw him win the title. Lashley hadn’t wrestled since that match.
PWInsider confirmed the report and added that Lashley is due to visit famed sports doctor Dr. James Andrews this week.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez did not confirm the injury on Wrestling Observer Radio, but did speculate that the amount of landing Lashley did on his shoulder in the Lesnar match in addition to his absence added up.
Depending on the severity of the injury and whether surgery is required, Lashley could be out of action for several months. That would take him out of next month’s WrestleMania and longer.
WWE returns to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for this year’s Elimination Chamber event.
Two matches will be held inside the chamber. One will feature Bobby Lashley defending the WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Austin Theory, Riddle, and AJ Styles. Lesnar has made it a point to win the WWE Championship so he could go to WrestleMania and face Roman Reigns with both titles on the line.
The second chamber match will be for the right to face Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, or Lita depending on who leaves as champion tonight in their match, at WrestleMania. Participants include Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H., and the returning Alexa Bliss.
Another key title match will have Roman Reigns defending the WWE Universal Championship against Goldberg in a match that was originally supposed to take place at WrestleMania 36 back in 2020. Reigns has promised to “Goldberg Goldberg”, while Goldberg has stated that Reigns is next.
Other matches scheduled include The Usos vs. The Viking Raiders for the SmackDown Tag Team titles, Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss, Ronda Rousey (with one arm tied behind her back) and Naomi vs. Charlotte Flair and Sonya Deville, and Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz.
Live coverage begins at 11 a.m. Eastern time.
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In a pre-show interview, Natalya picked Liv Morgan as her choice to win the women’s Elimination Chamber match.
Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz
This was fine as far as a match goes. The heel/babyface dynamic was way off with the babyfaces having the person at ringside advantage, but this is hardly new. Besides, this isn’t a company that particularly cares about heel/babyface dynamics.
Miz jumped Mysterio immediately at the bell. Mysterio made a comeback and went for a 619, but Miz bailed to the outside. Mysterio hit a sliding dive to the outside, splashing Miz. Mysterio went to jump off the turnbuckle, but Miz crotched him to regain control. Announcers wondered why Maryse wasn’t around. I think I know why.
After Miz confronted Dominik at ringside, Dominik struck him, allowing Mysterio to get a two count. Michael Cole said that Miz “deserved it ” because he took a swipe at Dominik. Mysterio made a comeback and sent Miz into the ringpost. Mysterio connected with a seated senton and a crossbody. Mysterio went for a sunset flip but Miz cut Mysterio off with a DDT. Mysterio blocked a skull crushing finale attempt and connected with the 619. He went for a splash, but Miz escaped to the outside.
Miz took a chair as he tried to enter the ring, but Mysterio hit a splash to the outside. Dominik tried to take the chair away from Miz, but Miz threw himself into the steps and pretended like he had been hit. Dominik argued with the referee but was thrown out. Miz took advantage of the situation by trying to lay out Mysterio with the skull crushing finale, but Mysterio countered with a victory roll for the win.
After the match, Miz attacked Dominik. The Mysterio proceeded to lay out Miz, hitting a double 619. Both Dominik and Rey laid out Miz with a frog splash.
Roman Reigns defeated Goldberg to retain the WWE Universal Championship
This was very short, maybe five minutes at most. Anything longer I don’t think would have been that good. Exactly the kind of match you book with Goldberg in 2022.
The two locked up. Reigns sent Goldberg to the outside and tried to send Goldberg into the barricade, but Goldberg countered and threw Reigns into the barricade instead. Reigns attacked Goldberg in the ring but Goldberg fired back with a spear. Reigns cut off a jackhammer attempt and hit a uranage. Reigns connected with a superman punch, they’re already going for finishes.
Reigns went for a spear, but Goldberg countered with his own spear. Reigns again blocked the jackhammer and latched on the guillotine. Goldberg tried to fight out of it by using the corner but Reigns stayed on. Goldberg passed out and that was it.
Bianca Belair defeated Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, and Rhea Ripley in an Elimination Chamber match.
This felt pretty quick for an Elimination Chamber match, going for pinfalls pretty early into the match. It was fine, and the crowd was into it, but they kept it pretty simple.
Everyone was still mostly covered, but were not wearing t-shirts unlike previous times women wrestled in Saudi Arabia.
Morgan and Nikki started things off. Nikki slammed Morgan into the padding on the outside but Morgan fired back and threw Nikki into a nearby pod. Nikki then threw Morgan into the chain link fence. Doudrop entered first and acted like she wanted to team with Nikki, but instead laid her out and splashed her into the chainlink fence, then did the same to Morgan, also taking her out with a running senton.
Doudrop hit the ringpost when trying to charge into Nikki, leaving Nikki by herself when Ripley entered the ring next. Doudrop tried to attack Ripley but Ripley laid her out. Both Ripley and Nikki tried climbing the cage, with Ripley slamming Nikki’s head into the fence. Nikki fell, sending her crashing into Morgan and Doudrop. Ripley took her back into the ring and pinned Nikki following the riptide.
Alexa Bliss entered the ring next. Morgan took her out, but Doudrop pushed her off the post and into a pod. Doudrop took out Ripley but Morgan fired back with a sunset flip, pinning Doudrop.
Belair entered the ring last as she and Ripley took out Bliss and Morgan. Once they hit stereo suplexes on both, they went back and forth until Morgan hit a double codebreaker. Bliss took out Morgan and hit the twisted bliss to eliminate Morgan. Ripley went with the Riptide on Belair, but Bliss got involved, and Belair hit the KOD on Ripley to eliminate her, leaving it down to Belair and Bliss.
The two went back near the chain link fence, where Belair powerbombed Bliss into the fence. Belair missed a 450 splash. Bliss went for a DDT, but Belair managed to avoid it twice. After some near falls, Bliss told Belair to give up. Belair responded by hitting the KOD on Bliss and pinning her to win the match.
Ronda Rousey and Naomi defeated Sonya Deville and Charlotte
Just kinda there. Naomi did some cool spots, Ronda looked fine despite having one arm tied. Not much to write home about.
Rousey came out wearing a gi. Michael Cole on commentary said it was the same gi she wore when she won the bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Deville immediately revealed that her arm had recovered. Rousey’s arm was not tied behind her back but was tied to her side, I guess. Naomi was tagged in but Deville cut her off by pushing her into the turnbuckle as Naomi attempted a bulldog. Naomi countered and tagged in Rousey who quickly took down Deville. Charlotte interfered and drove Rousey into the turnbuckle, giving her team the advantage.
Both Deville and Charlotte kept Rousey in the corner. Rousey tried to fight out, but Charlotte remained in control. Rousey finally freed herself and made the hot tag to Naomi, who took Charlotte to the outside and hit a corkscrew plancha to the outside. Naomi took Charlotte back to the ring but Charlotte cut off Naomi with a powerbomb. Charlotte put on the figure eight, but Rousey broke it up.
Rousey tagged back in and took out Deville with the Piper’s Pit samoan drop, then latched on the armbar. Charlotte doesn’t bother helping out Deville as she quickly submitted.
Drew McIntyre defeated Riddick Moss in a falls count anywhere match
This was fine. It was largely designed to get you to want to see McIntyre vs. Corbin, probably at WrestleMania. Moss landing on his neck was scary and I have zero idea how the match wasn’t stopped, it looked that awful.
Corbin immediately jumped McIntyre at the bell. McIntyre chased Corbin out the arena and cut off Moss, who tried to jump him from behind. Corbin came back and the two with a double suplex. Moss hit a fallaway slam on the ramp.
McIntyre cut off Moss in the ring, and hit a Alabama Slam. Moss landed right on his head and it looked AWFUL. Moss somehow got up and continued the match. McIntyre threw him into the announce table, but Corbin came back with a chair. Both Corbin and Moss threw McIntyre into the barricade. McIntyre cut off Moss and connected with a giant superplex.
McIntyre hit the future shock DDT as Corbin entered the ring to interfere again. McIntyre took out his sword, which scared off Corbin. Still carrying his sword, McIntyre drilled Moss with the claymore kick for the win.
Miz in a backstage promo said that he was outnumbered in his pre-show match earlier tonight against Rey Mysterio. He said he would find a tag team partner, excusing himself to make a phone call.
They showed the WWE superstars having fun in Jeddah, because Saudi Arabia is a fun place to visit if you forget about the government ordering someone dismembered or the various human rights violations.
Becky Lynch defeated Lita to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
Not much of anything early, but this picked up near the end with some good near falls. Overall, a good match.
Back and forth early. Lita teased the twist of fate but Lynch cut her off and pummled her with punches. Lynch hit a legdrop and applied a sleeper. Lita fought out of it and hit a monkey flip. Lynch took Lita to the apron and legdropped Lita again for a nearfall. Lynch hit an exploder and went for a second, but Lita dropped Lynch with a DDT.
Lita and Lynch traded punches as Lita connected with a crossbody off the middle rope. They traded nearfalls. There was a weird spot where Lynch got up, then suddenly just fell as Lita went for a sleeper. Lynch went to the top rope, but Lita took her out with a headscissors takedown and hit the twist of fate for a nearfall. Lita went for the moonsault, but Lynch cut her off and hit the disarmher, then the manhandle slam, but Lita put her foot on the ropes.
Lynch repeatedly slammed Lita’s face onto the mat. She went for a moonsault, but Lita missed. Lita hit the twist of fate again, then the moonsault, but Lynch kicked out again. Lita went to grab Lynch, but Lynch hit a second manhandle slam, pinning Lita.
They confirmed the Raw Women’s Championship match being Becky Lynch defending against Bianca Belair.
After Lynch left, Lita’s music played again as she posed for the crowd.
The Usos jumped The Viking Raiders as they were coming down to the ring for their match. They suplexed Ivar onto Erik. So there’s no SmackDown Tag Team title match. Great build, great match. Great segment. Totally worth flying over for this! I totally believe the Viking Raiders can win these titles from the Usos.
Brock Lesnar defeated Bobby Lashley, Austin Theory, Riddle, AJ Styles, and Seth Rollins in an Elimination Chamber match to win the WWE Championship
This was a match designed to put over Brock Lesnar as a demigod who no one could even touch, save for maybe Bobby Lashley who was taken out of the match in minutes. It served it’s purpose, but boy it sure does suck to not be named Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns around here!
Seth Rollins and Austin Theory started things off. Theory hit a back suplex and a fisherman’s suplex but Rollins kicked out. Rollins connected with superkicks and threw Theory into the pod area where he buckle bombed Theory into Bobby Lashley’s pod, taking out both Lashley and Theory. Announcers pushed Lashley might have hit his head on a steel beam.
Riddle is the first to enter as he went after Rollins, hitting an exploder and a running senton. WWE officials were checking on Lashley as Riddle and Rollins went to the top rope. Rollins hit a reverse suplex. Lashley was taken out of the chamber as AJ Styles entered the ring.
Styles remained in control as he went to do something with Riddle on the top rope, but Rollins fought him. This eventually turned into a tower of doom spot, with Theory taking out Styles and Rollins, but Riddle connected with the floating bro. Riddle started to do Randy Orton’s mannerisms. Bobby Lashley was supposed to enter next, but they confirmed that Lashley was put under “concussion protocol” and would not return to the match. Lesnar kicked out of his pod, not waiting for his time to enter and immediately pinned Rollins and Riddle with F5’s in quick fashion. And as I finished typing that, AJ Styles was pinned.
Lesnar then set his sights on Theory, who ran around the ring and tried to escape. But it was no use, as Lesnar caught up to him and quickly took him out. Theory low blowed Lesnar, giving him an opportunity to land a dropkick and a DDT. Lesnar kicked out of the DDT attempt as Theory climbed up the cage to try and escape. But Lesnar climbed up and grabbed him as they landed on top of a pod. Lesnar then grabbed Theory and threw him off the pod with an F5. That looked insane. Lesnar eventually pinned Theory to win the WWE Championship again.
The announcers quickly announced that it would be a champion vs. champion match at WrestleMania, but didn’t specifically say both titles would be on the line. The show went off the air with Lesnar celebrating amidst a large fireworks display.
This was an alright show, nothing was bad. But there are probably better things to do on a Saturday than watch this. There’s nothing really worth watching that won’t be covered Monday or Friday.
A face-to-face between Goldberg and Roman Reigns is set for next week’s SmackDown.
The two will meet on a show that will air just one day prior to Elimination Chamber on February 19. Both had sit down interviews on tonight’s show with Michael Cole talking about the upcoming match.
Roman Reigns dismissed Goldberg’s run in WCW, saying that everyone would be winning in WCW if he were in it because they would still be in business. He ended his portion of the sit down interview saying that he would “Goldberg Goldberg”.
Goldberg said he did listen to a few people say that perhaps this is one return too many. But he said that he didn’t care what they said, as he is coming back, this time to stay. He promised to beat Reigns at the Elimination Chamber, and would move on to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.
Already announced for next Friday’s SmackDown, which will be taped following tonight’s SmackDown in New Orleans, is Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship.
In an interview with Ring The Belle, WWE Hall of Famer Lita explained why she’s wrestling in Saudi Arabia despite previously criticizing WWE’s relationship with the country.
Lita will challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19. Lita told Ring the Belle that women now being able to wrestle in Saudi Arabia, along with positive experiences she’s heard from other talent, made wrestling there an opportunity she wanted to take.
So I will say I was outspoken on the early relationship between WWE and Saudi. ‘Oh, they say they want women to wrestle over there, but like, I don’t know if I believe it. There’s no women on this card.’ There’s women on the card [now] — and I’ve talked to the women personally that have been over there. And they’re like, ‘It’s unbelievable. There are women crying, never thinking they would get to see two women be so strong in the ring.’ They’re like, ‘It’s really powerful. You’re gonna enjoy that.’ And so, sure, do they have a long way to go? Do we as a society have a long way to go? Absolutely, but you’ve got to take the opportunities when they’re there.
Lita had said in a 2018 interview with WrestleZone that she thought WWE’s relationship with the Saudi government was a “direct conflict of interest” with the promotion’s efforts to push forward women’s wrestling.
“I understand that they are a business, a global business and they are always looking to expand their global presence. However, I do feel this was a direct conflict of interest with them maintaining any integrity or truth to the fact that they say they would like to push forward women, their roles and their reputations in this business as anything resembling equal to a male,” Lita said in the May 2018 interview.
“Make the money, that’s fine, but don’t try to cover it up. Don’t say, ‘No, we are doing this because in the future we would like to help progress their culture forward!’ No, you want the money, you’re a business and businesses make money. That’s okay. From my perspective over here, I don’t own your business so that’s your call. From a PR perspective don’t say you are doing it because, ‘We want to help progress that culture forward.’ No, it’s a direct conflict of interest, in my opinion.”
This year’s Elimination Chamber will be WWE’s seventh event in Saudi Arabia since the company’s 10-year deal with the Saudi government began in 2018. WWE’s first women’s match in Saudi Arabia took place in October 2019.
Lynch vs. Lita was set up for the Elimination Chamber when Lita confronted Lynch on the post-Royal Rumble episode of Raw. Lita was also an entrant in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match.
Lita told Ring The Belle that she was initially supposed to go home after the Royal Rumble, but WWE asked her if she wanted to wrestle Lynch.
Lita was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.
Lita’s full interview with Ring The Belle can be seen below:
A second Elimination Chamber match has been added to this month’s pay-per-view.
WWE has announced that Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Doudrop, and Nikki A.S.H. will compete in an Elimination Chamber match at the Saturday, February 19 Elimination Chamber PPV. There’s also a silhouetted sixth participant included on the graphic for the match whose identity has yet to be revealed.
The winner of the Chamber match will challenge for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 38 this April. Becky Lynch currently holds the title and is defending it against Lita at the Elimination Chamber.
Morgan and Doudrop have both unsuccessfully challenged for Lynch’s title in recent weeks. Doudrop got her title shot at the Royal Rumble by defeating Morgan and Belair in a number one contender’s match. During that triple threat match, Lynch interfered to prevent Belair from winning.
This year’s Elimination Chamber PPV is taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Here’s the updated card for the show:
Elimination Chamber match: WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defends against Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Austin Theory, Riddle, and AJ Styles
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Goldberg
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defends against Lita
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) defend against The Viking Raiders (Ivar & Erik)
Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss
Elimination Chamber match: Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair vs. Liv Morgan vs. Doudrop vs. Nikki A.S.H. vs. ? (winner will challenge for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania)
A singles match between Drew McIntyre and Madcap Moss has been made for Elimination Chamber.
The match was added following an in-ring segment that took place tonight on SmackDown. McIntyre cut a promo about making his return at the Royal Rumble after being taken out by Moss and Happy Corbin at Day 1. Corbin came out and pointed out that while McIntyre somehow eliminated both him and Moss from the Rumble, he still ultimately lost to Brock Lensar. Moss tried to sneak attack McIntyre from behind during Corbin’s promo, but McIntyre used his sword to hold back Moss.
McIntyre demanded Moss to tell him a joke. After Moss told the joke, McIntyre laid Moss out and told Corbin that he was next, and would make his life a living hell. Later during the show, a match between the two was confirmed for Elimination Chamber on February 19 at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia.
Moss and McIntyre previously had a match at Day 1, where McIntyre won. However, McIntyre was jumped backstage by Moss and Corbin, with the duo attacking McIntyre with a stage prop. It was reported at the time that McIntyre was written off so he could undergo medical tests for ongoing neck issues.
Goldberg returned to WWE on SmackDown tonight, immediately setting up a WWE Universal title match for Elimination Chamber.
SmackDown opened with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman celebrating their accomplishments at the Royal Rumble, namely costing Brock Lesnar the WWE Championship. Goldberg came out and said that he acknowledged Reigns, but after pausing, said that he acknowledged him as his next victim. Goldberg told Reigns he wanted the Universal Championship match for Elimination Chamber on February 19. That match was confirmed later in the show.
A match between Reigns and Goldberg was originally scheduled for WrestleMania 36 back in 2020. However, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reigns opted not to compete at that year’s show. Braun Strowman and Goldberg faced for the Universal title instead, with Strowman winning.
Goldberg has not competed in a match since last year’s SummerSlam, when he was unable to continue against Bobby Lashley after Lashley attacked Goldberg’s knee.
This year’s Elimination Chamber event will take place in Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Super Dome. Matches already announced include Becky Lynch vs. Lita for the Raw Women’s Championship, The Usos vs. The Viking Raiders for the SmackDown Tag Team titles, and the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship that includes Lashley, Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Austin Theory, Riddle, and AJ Styles.
Bill Goldberg’s final match under his current WWE contract will be against Universal Champion Roman Reigns at this month’s Elimination Chamber, according to a report.
Fightful reported the news on Thursday, saying the working plan had been for Goldberg to be part of the Chamber event in Saudi Arabia with the most recent plans calling for the Reigns match.
Dave Meltzer has not been able to confirm the match as of yet, but did say Goldberg was planned for the show.
The two were originally supposed to square off at 2020’s WrestleMania 36 for Goldberg’s then-Universal title. Reigns withdrew from the match due to wanting to stay home with his young children during the pandemic and Braun Strowman took his place.
Ronda Rousey returned to the show, teasing that she would reveal her WrestleMania opponent after winning Saturday’s women’s Royal Rumble match. Instead, Rousey hit Lynch with a judo thrown and told her that she will reveal whether she will challenge Lynch or SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair on Friday’s SmackDown episode.
After Rousey left Lynch laying, Lita’s music hit, and the WWE Hall of Famer entered, wearing Becky Lynch merchandise.
She said that while Rousey may not be ready to challenge Lynch, Lita was always up for a challenge, then challenged Lynch. After initially begging off, Lynch agreed to the match for Saudi Arabia.
An elimination chamber match for the WWE Championship was also announced on tonight’s show. Here is the lineup so far:
WWE Elimination Chamber, Saturday, February 12, 12 p.m. Eastern time —
WWE Championship elimination chamber match: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. AJ Styles vs. Riddle vs. Austin Theory
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lita
The full list of participants for the upcoming WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match has been set.
Bobby Lashley will enter the Elimination Chamber to defend his WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar, Austin Theory, Riddle, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles.
Lesnar was added to the Elimination Chamber match during the opening segment of tonight’s Raw. Lesnar challenged Lashley to a title match for tonight, but Lashley bailed, leading Adam Pearce to add Lesnar into the Elimination Chamber. Rollins announced his entry later in the show, and Theory, Riddle, and Styles won qualifying matches.
After Rollins declared his entry for the Chamber match on the Kevin Owens Show, Theory faced Owens in a qualifying match. Theory picked up the win after crotching Owens in the middle rope and pinning him with the ATL.
Riddle defeated Otis to advance into the Chamber match, while Styles defeated Rey Mysterio.
This year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, the final WWE PPV prior to the two nights of WrestleMania in April, will take place in Saudi Arabia. It will be held at the Jeddah Super Dome on Saturday, February 19.
Brock Lesnar will challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38 this April. The two-night event is being held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.
WWE hasn’t announced which night Reigns vs. Lesnar will be taking place on, but Dave Meltzer has reported that it’s scheduled to headline night two.
Lesnar was the winner of Saturday’s men’s Royal Rumble match. He entered the Rumble after Reigns cost him the WWE Championship earlier in the show. Bobby Lashley pinned Lesnar to win the title after involvement by Reigns and Paul Heyman. Heyman betrayed Lesnar by giving Reigns the WWE title belt to use as a weapon.
In the opening segment of tonight’s Raw, Lesnar made his WrestleMania decision official. But Lesnar still wanted his rematch for the WWE Championship. After Lashley refused to face Lesnar tonight, it was announced that Lesnar will be part of the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship at February’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Lashley will defend his title against Lesnar and four other challengers.
Lesnar vowed that he would win the WWE Championship and that it would be title vs. title when he faces Reigns at WrestleMania.
The Elimination Chamber is taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19.
New WWE Champion Bobby Lashley’s first title defense will take place inside of the Elimination Chamber.
An Elimination Chamber match with Lashley defending his WWE Championship has been made official for WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19. WWE has yet to confirm any of Lashley’s five challengers for the match.
Lashley became WWE Champion by defeating Brock Lesnar at Saturday’s Royal Rumble. Lashley defeated Lesnar after interference by Roman Reigns.
When there was a referee bump during the Lesnar vs. Lashley match, Reigns ran into the ring and speared Lesnar. Paul Heyman then betrayed Lesnar by giving Reigns the WWE Championship belt to use as a weapon. After Reigns laid out Lesnar with the title belt, Lashley pinned him to win the championship.
This is the second WWE Championship reign of Lashley’s career. He previously held the title from March 2021 to September 2021.
The Elimination Chamber PPV will begin at noon Eastern time on February 19. It’s the final WWE PPV before WrestleMania 38.
The build to Elimination Chamber will kick off on tonight’s Royal Rumble fallout edition of Raw. Lesnar, who won the men’s Royal Rumble match on Saturday, will be on the show to reveal which title he’s going to challenge for at WrestleMania. Lesnar is expected to face Reigns for the Universal Championship.
After his return to action in the men’s WWE Royal Rumble match Saturday, Shane McMahon is booked for both the Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania 38, according to our Dave Meltzer.
It’s unknown who those matches will be against. Meltzer said in Sunday’s daily update that McMahon “has a match on the books but it was said to have not been finalized a few days ago which is evidently why they did no angle with him (at the Rumble).”
The 52-year-old entered the Rumble at number 28 and was eliminated by eventual winner Brock Lesnar. McMahon was last seen in the ring at WrestleMania 37, losing in a steel cage match to Braun Strowman. That was his first match since October 2019 when he lost a career vs. career ladder match against Kevin Owens.
The Elimination Chamber is set for Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19th, and it will be McMahon’s fourth appearance in a match there dating back to 2018. He appeared in the Greatest Royal Rumble and won the World Cup final over Dolph Ziggler in two events that year and defeated Roman Reigns in 2019.
It will be his sixth WrestleMania match dating back to 2001.
WWE has officially confirmed next month’s return to Saudi Arabia.
This year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19. The show will be held at the Jeddah Super Dome, which is “the world’s largest pillarless superdome.”
“The General Entertainment Authority, in cooperation with WWE, has announced that the Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event will be held at the world’s largest pillarless superdome in Jeddah, on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. More details of the event will be announced in the coming weeks,” WWE wrote.
“The Elimination Chamber show complements the commitment of the General Entertainment Authority to provide the most famous international events and entertainment shows. This show was preceded by several previous partnerships with WWE to present international shows in the kingdom, which achieved remarkable local and international success, including the recent WWE Crown Jewel show in Riyadh Season 2021 and WWE Super ShowDown in the previous Riyadh Season in early 2020.”
Elimination Chamber will be WWE’s only PPV between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 38. There will be no WWE PPV in March.
The show taking place on a Saturday is a departure from recent Saudi events, which have been held on Thursdays.
This will be the seventh WWE event to be held in Saudi Arabia since the company’s 10-year deal with the Saudi government began in 2018. It’s the second time WWE has been back to Saudi Arabia since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Here’s WWE’s updated PPV schedule for the rest of the year:
Saturday, January 29: Royal Rumble at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri
Saturday, February 19: Elimination Chamber at Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3: WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas
Sunday, May 8: Pay-per-view at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island
Sunday, June 5: Pay-per-view at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
Saturday, July 2: Money In The Bank at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday, July 30: SummerSlam at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee
Sunday, September 4: Pay-per-view at TBD location
October: TBA Saudi PPV
Saturday, November 26: Survivor Series at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
