WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view from Australia will have an early start time for viewers in the United States.
It was announced this week that WWE is bringing Elimination Chamber to Perth, Australia in February 2024. The event is taking place from Optus Stadium on Saturday, February 24.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer confirmed that Elimination Chamber will air in prime time in Australia. That means the show will have an early morning start time in the US. Meltzer noted that it will likely begin at around 6 a.m. Eastern time/3 a.m. Pacific time for US viewers.
Meltzer wrote:
It will be a very early morning show, likely starting [on Peacock] about 6 a.m. Eastern and 3 a.m. Pacific on a Saturday morning. When UFC goes to Australia they run the show early morning in Australia so it’s at 10 p.m. Eastern in the U.S., but WWE confirmed to us the show will air in prime time Australia time. Peacock these days doesn’t care as much about live viewers of the WWE PPV shows. The number they are most concerned with is viewership over the first 24 hours as opposed to live. That early a time slot may hurt a little, but they already do that for the Saudi Arabia shows and even on PPV the Saudi shows do about the same as the B shows.
This is the first time WWE has been back to Australia since 2019. In 2018, WWE’s Super Show-Down PPV took place from Melbourne. That event also had an early start time for those in the US.
Elimination Chamber being held in Perth is the result of a deal between WWE and the Western Australian Government.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including an update on Jay Briscoe’s daughters, Elimination Chamber and RAW, Sami Zayn, all the latest news from the past several days and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including the finish of Elimination Chamber, Lance’s alternate booking to send Montreal home happy, Vince McMahon and the sale of WWE, the end of his time in WAR, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Dave’s thoughts having seen Elimination Chamber, Jon Moxley and OTT, AEW and NXT previews for the week, your full post-Chamber RAW report, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Dave’s Elimination Chamber thoughts
9:57: Mercedes Mone’s next opponent for IWGP Women’s title
11:38: Jon Moxley pulled from OTT event
16:56: AEW Dynamite and NXT previews
23:28: UFC notes, Ariel Helwani talks WWE & Tony Khan
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back to talk THE BANG BROS, Smackdown from Friday, Elimination Chamber including the main event, Nagata winning the Triple Crown and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Logan Paul has once again prevented Seth Rollins from picking up a big win.
Rollins was on the verge of winning the United States Championship at Elimination Chamber on Saturday night, but Paul interfered to cost him the match. After Paul attacked Rollins, Austin Theory hit A-Town Down on Rollins to retain the US title.
Theory, Rollins, Montez Ford, Damian Priest, Johnny Gargano, and Bronson Reed were the Elimination Chamber match participants. Ford had a strong performance in the match but was eliminated after being given a stomp onto the Chamber platform. When that happened, there was an angle where the Chamber door was opened so medical personnel could tend to Ford. That allowed Paul to enter the ring and attack Rollins. Paul gave Rollins a Buckshot Lariat and then laid him out with a stomp.
Paul also eliminated Rollins in January’s men’s Royal Rumble match. It’s expected that this is leading to Rollins vs. Paul taking place at WrestleMania 39.
I don’t really like Logan Paul. I’ll just say it, a lot of us don’t really like Logan Paul. I don’t like Logan Paul. I don’t really need him in my locker room, in my space. Guy’s ultra-talented as far as athletic ability is concerned. Snuck up on me at the Rumble and dumped me – fine, whatever. I took my eyes off the ball, that one’s on me. But don’t go bragging about it like you did something otherworldly. It’s probably the coolest thing Logan’s ever going to do in his life is throw me out of the Rumble.
I just advise him to stay in his lane, I guess is what I would say. Because he’s had what, three [or] four matches? And again, athletic freak, no doubt about it. But at the end of the day, he’s not a wrestler. He doesn’t want to be a wrestler. He just wants to be famous. He doesn’t care about the industry. He’s not a wrestler. And so I think best for him to just stay in his lane, whatever his lane is. I don’t know, like buying counterfeit Pokemon cards – if that’s your lane, stay in that lane. But don’t come knocking on my door because I will knock you out. And you don’t have your brother for backup because he’s about to get cooked by this dude coming up in a couple weeks or whatever and he’s not going to be around. So at some point we’re going to have to come face-to-face. And I just really don’t think he wants to – I don’t think he wants none, as they say.
Montreal hosts its first WWE pay-per-view since 2009 as Elimination Chamber takes place at the Bell Centre.
Hometown hero Sami Zayn will wrestle the biggest match of his career when he challenges Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in tonight’s main event. Zayn split from The Bloodline when he struck Reigns with a steel chair at the Royal Rumble last month.
Reigns has ordered The Usos not to show up in Montreal this weekend.
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair will find out her WrestleMania challenger tonight. Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, Nikki Cross, Natalya, and Carmella are competing in an Elimination Chamber match for the right to challenge Belair at WrestleMania.
The United States Championship will be on the line in tonight’s other Elimination Chamber match. Austin Theory defends against Seth Rollins, Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed, Montez Ford, and Damian Priest.
Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley will look to settle their rivalry as they face off one-on-one for the third time ever. Plus, Edge & Beth Phoenix will be out for revenge as they take on Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley.
Elimination Chamber streams live on Peacock/WWE Network starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The pre-show begins at 7 p.m.
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Show Report —
Kayla Braxton, Wade Barrett, Kevin Patrick, and Peter Rosenberg were the pre-show panelists. It was the usual assortment of video packages and talking-head segments. Ariel Helwani joined for the final few minutes to talk about Montreal.
RAW Women’s Championship #1 Contender Elimination Chamber match: Asuka defeated Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya, Carmella, & Nikki Cross [19:25]
This was not good. The final four eliminations all happened within two minutes and there were, like, two high spots. Felt more like a slow-paced six-pack challenge than a brutal Elimination Chamber. Maybe Nikki was supposed to be in the final two but got injured? At least Asuka was the correct winner.
The winner faces Bianca Belair for the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39.
Natalya and Liv Morgan were the first two competitors. Liv got the advantage early on, sending Natalya into the chamber wall, but Natalya avoided a running attack as Liv ran face-first into a pod. Raquel was next in, taking down Natalya with a clothesline. She stacked both opponents up in the corner and splashed them.
There was a spot where Raquel had both opponents caught, but Natalya maneuvered out with a sunset bomb into the fence. An inadvertent double-team facebuster on Raquel allowed Natalya to cover for two.
Next in was Nikki, and she got her customary run-wild sequence. She eventually climbed a pod and dove onto all three opponents with a crossbody. Carmella followed but immediately locked herself back in her pod. Raquel took care of that problem by busting Nikki through the plexiglass wall, then covering to eliminate Nikki.
Liv hit a sunset bomb off the top of a pod (out of nowhere) and Carmella covered for a good near fall. Asuka was the final entrant and she went right after Carmella before facing off with Raquel. She locked Raquel in an octopus hold, but Liv flew in with a missile dropkick for two.
Carmella stopped Liv from hitting Oblivion on Natalya, allowing the latter to lock on the Sharpshooter. She wouldn’t tap, so Asuka barred Liv’s arm and she passed out for the elimination. Natalya went for the Sharpshooter on Raquel, but Carmella cut her off with a superkick for the three count. A series of kicks allowed both Asuka and Carmella to eliminate Raquel — three eliminations in about a minute.
Asuka and Carmella were the final two and they traded cradles before Asuka applied an arm submission for the win.
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Bobby Lashley defeated Brock Lesnar via disqualification [4:38]
This was awesome until the laughably bad finish.
Lesnar immediately drove Lashley into the corner and tossed him with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Lashley fired back with two Spears and went for the Hurt Lock, which Brock blocked and turned into an F5 for a close near fall. A second F5 got two more. Lashley escaped a third F5 attempt and Speared Lesnar a third time.
Lashley applied the Hurt Lock. The crowd was completely behind Lesnar as he fought to escape. Lesnar then just kicked his foot back for the low blow disqualification.
– After the match, Lesnar hit the official with an F5 and smashed Lashley with another one. He put a stamp on things by F5ing Lashley through the announcer’s table. He then put the referee through the carnage with a final F5.
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Ariel Helwani and Georges St-Pierre were shown in the crowd. Michael Cole referred to Helwani as “unbiased.”
I enjoyed this a lot. Both acts are hot, and Edge is a pro at sports entertainment drama-style matches. Beth was really good considering it’s been over a decade since she’s been a regular active wrestler.
This was typical mixed-tag rules — men vs. men, women vs. women. Beth had some sweet Bull Nakano makeup on. Edge out-maneuvered Bálor at the start. Beth and Rhea tagged in and had a nice power battle. Out on the floor, Beth whipped Rhea into the steel steps. Interference from Dominik allowed Rhea to trip Beth up on the top turnbuckle. Edge chased Dominik up the ramp but he quickly returned.
Beth started a comeback with a DDT, but just as she was about to make a tag, Bálor pulled Edge off the apron and hit a Final Cut on the floor. Beth came back with a superplex and finally reached Edge for the tag. Edge ran wild on Bálor, locking on an Edgecator as Beth did the same on Rhea. Dominik tossed Rhea brass knuckles and she subsequently struck Edge. Bálor covered, and Beth was supposed to break up the pin, but she came in a little late for an awkward near fall.
Bálor climbed the ropes, but Beth tossed Dominik into the ropes, knocking Bálor down. Both women got involved, powerbombing their male opponents. After a double clothesline, everyone was down. Rhea set Beth up for another con-chair-to, referencing their match last year, but Beth escaped and hit the Glam Slam. Back in the ring, Edge hit Edgecution and took out Dominik with a suicide dive. Bálor countered a Spear attempt into a sling blade.
Edge fired up with a Spear, then a Shatter Machine gave Edge and Beth the win.
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Roman Reigns was backstage with Paul Heyman drinking some C4 energy. Heyman put him over before the main event, encouraging him not to worry about the Montreal crowd.
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WWE United States Championship Elimination Chamber match: Austin Theory (c) defeated Seth “FREAKIN” Rollins, Johnny Gargano, Damian Priest, Bronson Reed, & Montez Ford [31:59]
Great chamber. Tons of hard-hitting action and violent spots — and everyone got to shine. The added bonus of Logan Paul, who’s just a natural at pro wrestling, made this really memorable too.
Rollins and Gargano kicked things off with a technical exchange. Rollins teased an early Pedigree, but Gargano escaped and landed a spear through the ropes. Theory was the next man in, and he used the chamber to beat down both opponents. Rollins and Gargano recovered and ping-ponged Theory back and forth with strikes. Theory tried to rekindle an alliance with his former compatriot in The Way, but Gargano wasn’t having it. Theory tried to lock himself in his pod, but Rollins and Gargano trapped him inside and beat him up.
Priest came in next, running wild on everyone. A raised flatliner on Gargano got two, then a Killswitch on Rollins got two more. Priest hit his step-up “dive” on Theory, which looked like it really hurt, then kicks on all opponents concluded a nice run of offense. Rollins cut Priest off with a superplex into a falcon arrow for two.
Reed entered the match and of course took out everyone. He hit a double Samoan Drop on both Rollins and Gargano, then bounced Priest off the pod — it looked like it was supposed to break. Reed then landed a diving shoulder tackle on Theory. The last man in was Ford, who stopped Reed’s run of offense and planted Theory with a spinebuster. He went for a People’s Elbow, but Reed leveled him with a lariat.
There was a crazy spot where Gargano was on Reed’s shoulders. Rollins landed a diving clothesline, which turned Gargano into a reverse hurricanrana on Reed, to which Ford covered for two. Ford climbed the wall to escape Priest, then continued to climb until he was hanging upside down until falling onto the rest of the competitors — quite similar to what Lince Dorado did a few years ago.
Ford, Rollins, and Gargano all hit their finishers on Reed to pin him for the first elimination. Rollins countered a slingshot by climbing the chamber, and he and Gargano ended up on top of a pod together. Rollins beat Gargano down, then put him in powerbomb position, leading to a wild moment where Gargano countered into a hurricanrana, sending Rollins flying off the pod into the pile.
Gargano landed superkicks on everyone, then hit a One Final Beat on Theory on the outside. Priest cut him off and hit the Razor’s Edge for the elimination. Rollins and Ford cut Priest off with a doomsday blockbuster (just like the Street Profits would hit) for another elimination.
Rollins and Ford traded strikes in the center of the ring. Ford wiped out both opponents with dives. He went for the frog splash, but Theory got his knees up, Rollins hit the stomp, and Theory covered to eliminate Ford.
They called officials in to check on Ford after the stomp. He was helped out of the chamber, but it was a work — Rollins hit Theory with the Pedigree, but the opening allowed Logan Paul to run in and hit Rollins with a Buckshot lariat and a stomp. Theory hit A-Town Down for the win.
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WWE Undisputed World Championship: Roman Reigns (w/ Paul Heyman) defeated Sami Zayn [32:10]
Positives: Incredible environment and atmosphere. Everyone played their parts perfectly for what they were going for. Post-match was great too. Negatives: The match just wasn’t that good. It was every Roman match you’ve seen over the past three years, with the exact same ending we’ve come to expect. Until they do something different and interesting, nothing will change. We’ll see at WrestleMania.
Crowd was absolutely electric for the entrances and ring introductions. After about four minutes, they finally locked up. Roman got the better of a couple early exchanges before Sami baited Roman to the floor and landed a tope con giro. Sami rained down strikes in the corner and landed a diving elbow, but he only got one. Roman cut Sami off with a right hand.
Roman dominated for a long heat segment. He jawed with Sami’s family at ringside. Eventually, 14 minutes in, Sami avoided a clothesline and hit one of his own. He took the fight to Roman on the outside. Back in, Sami climbed the ropes, but Roman popped up and cut him off. Sami fought back and hit a sunset bomb for two.
Sami went for the Blue Thunder Bomb, but Roman blocked it and hit a Rock Bottom for two. Sami countered a Superman Punch into an exploder into the corner. He went for the Helluva Kick, but Roman popped up into a Superman Punch for a good near fall.
Roman went for the Spear, but Sami cradled for two and hit another corner exploder. Sami cocked the fist and hit a Superman Punch followed by the Helluva Kick for an awesome near fall. Roman ducked out of the ring to avoid another Helluva Kick. On the outside, Roman stopped a Sami dive with a punch.
Sami avoided a Spear, sending Roman through the barricade. He then hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for another close near fall. Roman drove Sami into the official, so when Sami came back and nailed another Helluva Kick, the referee couldn’t count.
Jimmy Uso ran out and hit Sami with repeated superkicks plus an Uso splash. A second official ran out and counted a pin, but Sami kicked out at the last second. Sami took out Jimmy, but Roman landed a Spear for yet another great near fall.
Roman talked down to Sami, baiting him into a hard slap. Sami avoided a Superman Punch which hit an official for a second ref bump. Heyman handed Roman a chair, but Jey Uso appeared and stood in between Roman and Sami. Roman demanded that Jey use the chair on Sami, but he wouldn’t do it. Sami popped up and went for a Spear, but Roman moved out of the way and Sami inadvertently Speared Jey. Roman repeatedly whacked Sami with the chair and Speared him for the win.
– After the match, Kevin Owens ran out and attacked the Bloodline. He Pop-up Powerbombed Jimmy through the announce table and grabbed a chair. Owens moved toward Roman, but Heyman annoyed him with punches, so Owens sent him packing with a Stunner. Sami hit a Helluva Kick on Roman.
Dave Meltzer and I are back for a new Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter as well as the story of Vince McMahon’s asking price for WWE.
Rocky Romero then joins to talk about New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Battle in the Valley show in San Jose.
He also talked about the following:
His match with Volador Jr. and his strategy to sell the match and feud
What skills his job outside of the ring entails
Wrestling in many different companies and countries
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the Jay Briscoe funeral, Royal Rumble huge business as WWE rises in popularity, WrestleMania and Elimination Chamber line-ups, New Japan USA, the RAW report and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Jay Briscoe funeral
9:13: Royal Rumble was a huge success
15:29: Elimination Chamber, WrestleMania lineup
17:48: Notes on Royal Rumble press conference, Laura Sanko to do UFC color commentary, NJPW changing Strong format, AEW/DAZN
28:30: NXT, AEW previews
31:36: A&E announces WWE content schedule, Bellator airing on CBS this weekend
WWE has started to reveal its plans for February’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
It was announced today that a United States Championship match will take place inside of the Elimination Chamber at the Chamber PPV, which is being held in Montreal on Saturday, February 18. Austin Theory is the current United States Champion.
Qualifying matches for the Elimination Chamber bout will begin on Raw tonight. Seth Rollins vs. Chad Gable and Baron Corbin vs. Johnny Gargano are the qualifiers that are taking place on tonight’s show. The winners will become the first confirmed participants to join Theory in the US title Elimination Chamber match.
Theory won the United States title at Survivor Series last November, defeating Rollins and Bobby Lashley in a triple threat match.
This is the first match that’s been made official for the Elimination Chamber PPV. There’s also expected to be a women’s Elimination Chamber bout.
In Sunday’s Daily Update, Dave Meltzer reported that Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn is “now as confirmed as it can be” for the Elimination Chamber PPV. Reigns retained his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble. Following the match, there was a significant angle where Zayn split from The Bloodline.
WWE is bringing the Elimination Chamber to Montreal in 2023.
It was announced today that next year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Saturday, February 18, 2023. The Bell Centre will also host SmackDown the night before the PPV.
Combo tickets for Elimination Chamber and SmackDown will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, November 18. Individual tickets are set to go on sale on Friday, December 2 at 10 a.m. Eastern.
This will be the first WWE PPV to be held in Montreal since Breaking Point 2009. It’s the first PPV to take place in Canada since SummerSlam 2019, which was held in Toronto.
Elimination Chamber 2022 also took place outside of the United States. That PPV was held in Jeddah as one of WWE’s two Saudi Arabia events for this year.
As has become an annual tradition, Elimination Chamber will help set the stage for WrestleMania 39.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including Elimination Chamber, WrestleMania, RAW, NXT 2.0 tonight, the line-up for the women’s Dusty, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including WWE Elimination Chamber and the road to WrestleMania, AAA and Impact shows this weekend, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards notes, ratings, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Bobby Lashley reportedly injured, Madcap Moss update
6:16: Elimination Chamber recap
37:58: News notes on Tony Khan working on something big, Sammy Guevara suffers scratched cornea, Kairi Sane returns to Stardom
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.
