Tag: WWE Elimination Chamber 2024

Daily Update: Elimination Chamber fallout, Kaisei Takechi, ratings notes

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

One of the traditional biggest issues of the year, the 2023 awards issue, is out now. Between the awards and news, this is one of the largest issues in our history.

  • 2023 Awards, votes in all categories, placings, comments on the awards as well as a listing of every award winner since 1980.
  • More coverage of stories going back to WWE’s past, including the Paul Roma interview, what Jim Powers said about the claim, what Vince said when he fired Mel Phillips and Terry Garvin, the Pat Patterson situation, another former ring crew member comes forward, Ashley Massaro, John Cena and Randy Orton.
  • Both AEW & WWE establish ratings firsts this past week in a positive way. How WWE did so in a week that originally looked difficult, and how AEW’s record came out of the blue.
  • A look at Elimination Chamber and Revolution, lineups, ticket sales and more.
  • Full coverage of UFC 298, title change, what’s next for the winners and all the business notes including some telling numbers.
  • Wanderlei Silva in UFC Hall of Fame and a look back at pro wrestlers in MMA that faced him during the glory days of Pride, records Silva still owns, why Silva wasn’t the same fighter in UFC and more.
  • A study of people who buy pro wrestling PPVs from buyers from AEW, WWE and TNA including the best and worst state for each and what that does or doesn’t say about the fan base.
  • Michael Oku vs. Will Ospreay tops an incredible RevPro High Stakes card as well as Ospreay’s farewell to the promotion.
  • Notes on the major FantasticaMania shows.
  • The most detailed look at the ratings, including demos, competition, placing for the night and week and comparisons to one year ago.
  • Stardom PPV notes.
  • New Japan & Stardom financial info and how the business is doing.
  • Third generation of one of the biggest legends in history
  • More on NWA deal with CW
  • More on the attempted TNA purchase by Scott D’Amore
  • Notes on the hiring of Jennifer Pepperman by AEW
  • More on the proposed Ric Flair movie
  • Forbidden Door update
  • Notes on timing and taping changes for upcoming weeks and AEW
  • More on the AEW deal with CMLL
  • Update on Vikingo injury
  • Advance ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE major shows
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • Update on a major celebrity talked about for Mania
  • WWE injury updates
  • More on how the WrestleMania main event angle came into play

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Sunday Update

We did our weekend show last night talking about Elimination Chamber, Collision, New Japan and MMA on a busy Saturday as well as the Observer Awards. Garrett and I did a full Observer Awards show Friday covering all the categories with our different thoughts, agreements, disagreements and explanations.

Coming off the Chamber show, those at WWE have confirmed both bouts, AJ Styles vs. LA Knight and Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton, that yesterday’s show appeared to set up. Both are right now listed for Mania.

People were raving about the pro wrestling debut of Kaisei Takechi, part of the Rampage from Exile Tribe, a subgroup of Exile Tribe, a J-Pop song and dance group. He worked the DDT show at Korakuen Hall and drew the company’s biggest Korakuen Hall crowd in years. I haven’t seen it but was told this was among the best celebrity debuts ever in wrestling. Takechi has a great physique, a good look and is a great athlete, noted for great looking dropkicks and hurricanranas. He teamed with Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata vs. Tetsuya Endo & Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada in the main event. Was told it was an excellent match going 20:19 and designed to make him look good. We were told by many both live and watching on streaming that the heat was incredible for him. (thanks to Gerard Di Trolio and others).

As far as weekend matches go, the stuff from Chamber and the Sammy Guevara vs. Powerhouse Hobbs match on Collision was the best stuff ‘ve seen so far. The DDT match and Suwama & Hideki Suzuki vs. Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi from All Japan and Daiki Inaba & Masa Kitamiya vs. Alpha Wolf & Dragon Bate from NOAH also got high praise to us.

We’ve got some ratings notes that because of holiday delays and such we didn’t get into the Observer this week. Dynamite on Wednesday at 0.29 and not only was first in cable, but TBS in the two hours beat every single television station except NBC for that period. It beat FOX outright (0.20), and both ABC and CBS did 0.28. Each beat Dynamite at times in the two hours, but not overall.

So from last week, Smackdown was the No. 1 network show of the week, Raw was the No. 1 show including network shows on Monday night, and NXT was third in cable in its time slot. So it was a huge week for wrestling on television overall.

We did get prelim notes on Collision and SmackDown, and both will be down from last week. Even though Elimination Chamber took place at a different time than Collision, we’ve seen the days of major WWE events, even when not head-to-head, hurt Collision numbers because once you’ve watched three plus hours of wrestling on a day, for a lot of people, that’s all the wrestling you want to see that day.

We’re looking for your thoughts on Elimination Chamber and both New Japan shows in Sapporo, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

Regarding Google searches for the weekend, Elimination Chamber got 200,000 searches which is normal for a WWE non-big four show which indicates usual interest. It was in the Friday listing at No. 2. The UFC show was No. 5 yesterday with 100,000. The PFL vs,. Bellator event was No. 15 with 20,000 searches.

Expect more UFC and WWE crossover going forward. For example, besides Michael Chandler on Raw, Tai Tuivasa of UFC was shown on the WWE show in Australia and Rey Mysterio was shown on the UFC show in Mexico City. Both groups are working together more and more now.

The new season on A&E starts tonight with WWE Rivals at 8 p.m. on HHH vs. The Rock with Freddie Prinze Jr., Johnny Gargano, John Layfield and Kevin Owens interviewed. At 9 p.m. is WWE Biography on Randy Orton.

A note from the show last night when talking about the history of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum and how Sting’s sellout of the show this week will be his first Greensboro Coliseum sellout in the main event of his career, WCW never ran the building as they ran Winston-Salem. After Crockett Promotions sold, there were no shows in the building until WWE started running it in 1997 with Steve Austin and it was an exclusive WWF arena during the late 90s. (thanks to Bruce Buchanan).

Results are elsewhere on the site but Magnus and Rugido from CMLL wrestled last night in Springfield, MO for the Rampage show for this coming Friday. Rugido faces Claudio Castagnoli and Magnus faces Matt Sydal, plus Riho returns against Trish Adora. Was told there was a lot of good action for next week’s show.(thanks to Paul Dziuba)

Nic Nemeth defends the IWGP Global title on the 3/8 TNA Sacrifice show. He also wanted to defend against Hiroshi Tanahashi, even though Tanahashi is coming off the quick loss to Matt Riddle on Friday and suffered an ankle injury in that match. Nemeth said he was taking that title everywhere. Nemeth appears to be facing Steve Maclin based on TNA TV results from yesterday.

There was an angle at yesterday’s New Japan show where Jack Perry sent in a tape to challenge Shota Umino, who then accepted. I had figured that match for the Chicago show but that hasn’t been officially announced.

From last night’s show, it was Brandon Royval who beat Brandon Moreno via split decision, not the other way around. Royval is not likely to face Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title. Judge Michael Bell gave Royal rounds two through four. Judge Junichiro Kamiyo gave Moreno rounds one, two, three and five and had him up 49-46. Chris Lee was the deciding judge who gave Royal rounds one, two and four. The only rounds the judges were in unison were four for Royval and five for Moreno. 74 percent of the media scores were for Royval.

There was a crazy fight in the stands at yesterday’s UFC show in Mexico City. The issue was a fight started, it went a long time and no security was there breaking it up. Dana White said, “I mean, that never happens, literally never happens. It happened here in Mexico City. The crazy thing about that fight, when that fight broke out, it felt like it kept going forever. So I ran over there and I was watching it. Nobody stopped it. I was waiting for security to come in, and they just let them go until it was over.” He said he didn’t think it was a bad look for the UFC, that it happened and it was over.

UFC has officially announced UFC 303 on 6/29 in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena, which is a date everyone has known for months. They also announced UFC 306 for 9/14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which I believe will be the first sports event in that arena. I believe it’s the most expensive arena in the country to book. Dana White had talked about running the building during Mexican Independence Day weekend for some time.

Grayson Waller did an interview with Fox Sports Australia.

Bodyslam Wrestling from yesterday in Copenhagen, Denmark before 500 fans: Peter Olisander b Michael Fynne, RandersPagne won over Sinners Cult, Toby Zane & Buster and Tank to become top contenders for the Bodyslam tag titles, Carlos Zamora b Pete Phoenix, Aliss Ink (who recently worked for Stardom) b Safire Reed to keep the Bodyslam singles and women’s title Sunshine Machine b Easy Loverz to keep the Bodyslam tag titles, Ender Kara b Jordan Oliver in 36:04 to keep the Big Japan jr. title (thanks to Kristian Buus Nielsen)

Raquel Rodriguez competed at WWE Elimination Chamber despite MCAS flare-up

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Despite her mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) flaring up, Raquel Rodriguez competed at WWE Elimination Chamber.

Rodriguez was one of the participants in the women’s Elimination Chamber match in Australia on Saturday. Becky Lynch won the match and will challenge Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 40.

In an Instagram post after the event, Rodriguez revealed that her MCAS flared up on the flight to Perth. Rodriguez’s face turned swollen and pink, but she was still able to compete as scheduled. Rodriguez expressed her appreciation for WWE’s medical team. She also thanked her family and friends for checking in on her:

If you had told me that on the long flight to Perth Australia for the first time it was gonna blow my face up and turn me the same color as my pink satin pillow case (might have been the makeup on Monday too) I would have still jumped on that flight! Maybe my trip didn’t go as planned but I’m still learning this new body of mine. A big part of being a female Wrestler for WWE is getting to sit in that makeup chair with our amazing makeup team who I love so much and getting to get dolled up. It’s part of being a girl. It’s part of feeling fully the part. At the end of the night, I’m proud I went out there Alicia Keys style. Even if this trip didn’t go as planned I am still grateful that I was blessed to be in Elimination Chamber in Perth Australia with 5 other talented women! And I got to hug a koala bear so it was a win for me thank you so much to the lovely Vanessa of @lymphaticmassageperth for seeing me last minute 3 times to help me feel my best for the chamber. Your grace, kindness and knowledge was a Godsend

Thank you to @westozwildlife for the hugs and animal love! A big thank you to the entire WWE medical team! And so much love to my family & friends for the late and early phone calls, prayers and constantly checking on me los amo! On to a long flight home

Before returning on Raw this past Monday, Rodriguez had been out of action since December due to MCAS. Rodriguez won a battle royal on Raw to become the final participant to qualify for the women’s Elimination Chamber match.

Rodriguez noted after her return that she had finally gotten some answers about what caused the MCAS, but it’s going to be a while until she can get the condition fully under control.

MCAS “is a condition that causes mast cells to release an inappropriate amount of chemicals into your body. This causes allergy symptoms and a wide range of other symptoms.”

Lynch, Rodriguez, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Naomi, and Tiffany Stratton were the six wrestlers who took part in the women’s Elimination Chamber match.

Rhea Ripley thanks Australia after WWE Elimination Chamber homecoming

Posted on by Joseph Currier

At Elimination Chamber in Australia on Saturday, Rhea Ripley had a successful homecoming.

Ripley retained her Women’s World Championship by defeating Nia Jax in the main event of Elimination Chamber. After delivering a superplex near the end of the match, Ripley lifted up Jax and hit Riptide to get the victory.

Ripley’s family, including her mother, father, and sister, were in the front row for the main event. It was said on commentary that Ripley had 13 family members there.

After the show ended, Ripley sent out a tweet thanking Australia:

Paul “Triple H” Levesque also made a post praising Ripley, calling her a main event superstar anywhere in the world:

Ripley’s Judgment Day stablemate Dominik Mysterio wrote:

The Women’s World Championship match for WrestleMania 40 is now set following Elimination Chamber. It will be Ripley vs. Becky Lynch for the title at WrestleMania. Lynch defeated Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, Raquel Rodriguez, Tiffany Stratton, and Naomi in the women’s Elimination Chamber match on Saturday.

In an emotional post-show interview, Ripley reflected on her Elimination Chamber homecoming. Ripley also addressed her upcoming match against Lynch. Ripley called facing Lynch at WrestleMania a “bucket list moment.”

Cody Rhodes issues challenge to The Rock at WWE Elimination Chamber

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Cody Rhodes has laid out a challenge to The Rock ahead of WrestleMania 40.

During Elimination Chamber on Saturday, Rhodes and Seth Rollins appeared together on the Grayson Waller Effect. Rhodes declared that he wants to face The Rock one-on-one. Rollins said he admires Rhodes’ challenge, but there’s no such thing as one-on-one when it comes to The Bloodline. Rollins promised that he’ll have Rhodes’ back.

Rhodes: Rock, you indeed slapped me across the face. And at WrestleMania 40 I am wrestling Roman Reigns in the main event. But until then, I am wide open. So let’s make it official: Rock, I want to wrestle you one-on-one, anytime, any place.

Rollins: What do you say, Perth? I think it’s time we cut the head off the snake once and for all. Cody, I admire your challenge to The Rock. But when it comes to The Bloodline, you know, the entire world knows, there is no such thing as one-on-one. So if and when The Rock decides to take you up on that challenge, just know you won’t be fighting that battle alone.

The Rock wasn’t at Elimination Chamber. He’ll be on SmackDown next Friday (March 1) to respond to the challenge. It will be Rock’s first appearance since officially joining The Bloodline last week. Rock called himself and Roman Reigns the most dominant duo in sports and entertainment.

Rhodes and Rollins’ appearance on the Grayson Waller Effect ended with them laying out Austin Theory as Grayson Waller watched on.

During the segment, Rollins announced that he’s “just days away” from being cleared to return to the ring. Rollins suffered a torn MCL and partially torn meniscus while facing Jinder Mahal on Raw last month.

Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship has been made official for WrestleMania 40. Rollins will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre.

WrestleMania 40 is a two-night event that’s taking place on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7.

CM Punk comments on missing WWE Elimination Chamber

Posted on by Joseph Currier

If it wasn’t for his triceps injury, CM Punk would have been in Australia on Saturday competing at Elimination Chamber.

Punk had been announced for Elimination Chamber and was planned to be one of the participants in the men’s Elimination Chamber match. Punk was supposed to win the match, setting him up as Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight Championship challenger for WrestleMania 40.

But Punk suffered a torn triceps in the Royal Rumble and will likely be out of action for 6-8 months. Punk has vowed that his comeback will be the greatest of all time.

On his Instagram stories, Punk commented on having to miss Elimination Chamber. Punk said it was a rough day mentally. He wishes he was in Australia performing for the fans. Punk told the fans to enjoy the show and that he appreciates them:

Had a rough day mentally today. My heart and spirit are in Perth. Just a hard day staying positive and nobody wishes I was there performing for the fans more than me. Enjoy the show, appreciate you all.

Rollins’ WrestleMania challenger will now be Drew McIntyre. McIntyre defeated Randy Orton, Logan Paul, Kevin Owens, LA Knight, and Bobby Lashley in the men’s Elimination Chamber match on Saturday.

WWE has set up a Punk vs. McIntyre feud for when Punk is able to return to the ring. While Punk was addressing his injury last month, McIntyre attacked Punk and targeted his triceps.

Bronson Reed explains not being at WWE Elimination Chamber

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With Elimination Chamber being held in Australia, the event includes big moments for some hometown stars.

Rhea Ripley will have one of the highlights of her career as she defends the Women’s World Championship against Nia Jax in her home country. Grayson Waller is hosting a Grayson Waller Effect segment with Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins. And Indi Hartwell was involved in a Women’s Tag Team title match on the pre-show.

But Bronson Reed is one Australian wrestler not featured. Reed was left off the card after losing an Elimination Chamber qualifying match to Bobby Lashley.

In a social media post during Saturday’s event, Reed explained that he was originally supposed to be on Elimination Chamber, but plans changed. Reed revealed that his wife has given birth to their first child:

FULL DISCLOSURE:

Originally, I was set to be at #WWEChamber 

It would have been an incredible moment. Unfortunately, plans changed.

But everything happens for a reason. My wife and I have had our baby early, I was supposed to miss the PLE to make sure I’m here for my family.

Thank you for all your support. To all my friends and family who have reached out.

To @TripleH for guiding me.

Now I’m not just BIG … I AM BIG, POPPA!

Paul “Triple H” Levesque responded to Reed by congratulating him:

Congratulations @BRONSONISHERE. Family is everything and fatherhood is amazing. I am proud of you for not only your work, but for the journey you’re now embarking on. Enjoy every moment.

You’re exactly where you needed to be!

Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Lashley, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, and Logan Paul are the competitors in Saturday’s men’s Elimination Chamber match. The winner receives a World Heavyweight Championship shot against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40.

Pirates impacted WWE’s travel plans for Elimination Chamber cage

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s travel plans for Elimination Chamber were impacted by real-life pirates.

While speaking at WWE’s Elimination Chamber press event, Michael Cole revealed that it took more than a month for the Elimination Chamber cage to get to Perth, Australia. The structure was supposed to be shipped through the Suez Canal in Egypt, but that couldn’t happen due to pirates. The cage was instead sent to Miami, shipped by truck to Los Angeles, sent to Sydney, Australia on a ship, and arrived in Perth on a train from Sydney.

Cole: A structure which took over a month to get here. Originally, it was supposed to ship through the Suez Canal, but pirates made sure that didn’t happen. So it was sent to Miami. It was then shipped by truck to Los Angeles, put on a ship to Sydney, sent on a train over here to Perth. And now the Elimination Chamber is being constructed as we speak right behind us in the stadium here in Perth.

Corey Graves: Did you say pirates, Cole?

Cole: Yes, pirates in the Suez Canal.

Graves: We had to endure actual piracy to get here to Perth.

Two Elimination Chamber matches are taking place at Saturday’s premium live event. The men’s winner earns a WrestleMania 40 title shot against World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. The women’s winner will challenge for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania.

Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, and Logan Paul are the men’s Chamber participants.

Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Tiffany Stratton, Naomi, and Raquel Rodriguez are the women’s participants.

Rhea Ripley currently holds the Women’s World Championship and is defending the title against Nia Jax at Elimination Chamber.

Elimination Chamber streams live on Peacock starting at 5 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday (February 24). The event is taking place from Optus Stadium in Perth.

Women’s Tag title match announced for WWE Elimination Chamber pre-show

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A Women’s Tag Team title match has been announced for Saturday’s WWE Elimination Chamber Kickoff show. 

WWE revealed during Thursday night’s Elimination Chamber press event that The Kabuki Warriors will defend the Women’s Tag Team Championship against Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae on the Kickoff pre-show. 

The pre-show begins at 4 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, February 24 and will stream on Peacock and WWE’s YouTube and social media channels. 

The main card begins at 5 a.m. Eastern time on Peacock/WWE Network. 

The updated card for Elimination Chamber: 

  • Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defends against Nia Jax
  • Elimination Chamber match to determine World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins’ WrestleMania 40 challenger (Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton vs. Bobby Lashley vs. LA Knight vs. Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul)
  • Elimination Chamber match to determine Women’s World Championship challenger for WrestleMania 40 (Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair vs. Liv Morgan vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Raquel Rodriguez)
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) defend against New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate)
  • The Grayson Waller Effect with Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
  • Kickoff show: Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) defend against Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae

Raquel Rodriguez returns, qualifies for WWE Elimination Chamber

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Raquel Rodriguez is back, and will be competing on Saturday.

Rodriguez entered the last chance battle royal held on Raw, eliminating Chelsea Green to qualify for the final spot in the Elimination Chamber match that takes place this Saturday in Perth, Australia. The finish of the match had Rodriguez throw Zoey Stark out of the ring, celebrating but not yet realizing Green had not been eliminated. Green then attempted to throw Rodriguez out, but Rodriguez countered and threw Green over the top rope to win.

Other participants in the Elimination Chamber match include Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Naomi, and Tiffany Stratton.

Back in January, Rodriguez revealed she had been out of action due to mast cell activation syndrome.

“Basically, I was red, swollen, there was a lot happening in this area physically,” she said at the time, motioning around her face. “It kept me from doing the things that I love like traveling, going to the gym and wrestling. I also didn’t want to be on camera, I didn’t want to look in the mirror.”

Rodriguez last wrestled on December 3, losing to Nia Jax at a house show.

WWE Elimination Chamber update: Men’s lineup set, one spot left in women’s match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

– We now know the full lineup for this year’s men’s Elimination Chamber match.

Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, and Logan Paul will face off in the men’s Elimination Chamber match in Perth, Australia on Saturday, February 24. The winner earns a title shot against World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40.

Owens and Paul were the last two wrestlers to qualify, defeating Dominik Mysterio and The Miz in their respective matches on SmackDown tonight.

– Tiffany Stratton and Naomi also qualified for Elimination Chamber tonight. Stratton defeated Zelina Vega in her qualifying match, while Naomi won a qualifier against Alba Fyre.

Naomi was originally supposed to face Shotzi in the qualifier, but Shotzi had to be pulled after suffering a knee injury during an NXT taping earlier this week.

Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Stratton, and Naomi have qualified for the women’s Elimination Chamber match. There’s only one spot remaining. A last-chance battle royal on Raw this coming Monday is set to determine the final participant.

The women’s Chamber winner will challenge for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 40. Rhea Ripley, who currently holds the title, is defending against Nia Jax at Elimination Chamber.

Elimination Chamber takes place from Optus Stadium in Perth on February 24 and will stream live on Peacock/WWE Network starting at 5 a.m. Eastern time.

Here’s the updated card for the event:

  • Elimination Chamber match to determine World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins’ WrestleMania 40 challenger (Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton vs. Bobby Lashley vs. LA Knight vs. Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul)
  • Elimination Chamber match to determine Women’s World Championship challenger for WrestleMania 40 (Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair vs. Liv Morgan vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. one wrestler to be determined)
  • Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defends against Nia Jax
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) defend against Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate
  • The Grayson Waller Effect with Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

Three wrestlers qualify for WWE Elimination Chamber

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Three more wrestlers have qualified for the Elimination Chamber.

Bobby Lashley and LA Knight won matches to advance to the men’s Elimination Chamber match on Monday’s Raw, while Liv Morgan advanced to the women’s Chamber match ahead of the February 24 premium live event in Perth, Australia.

Lashley was the first to qualify, defeating Bronson Reed. Morgan made her Raw in-ring return by defeating Zoey Stark. Knight followed up with a victory over Ivar.

Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton qualified on SmackDown Friday to enter the men’s chamber. Becky Lynch qualified on last week’s Raw, while Bianca Belair qualified on SmackDown. The winner of the men’s Chamber match will square off against World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40, while the women’s Chamber winner will face Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley.

This coming Friday’s SmackDown will feature Shotzi vs. Tiffany Stratton and Naomi vs. Zelina Vega to fill in two more Elimination Chamber spots, with the final spot being determined in a battle royal on next week’s Raw. For the men, The Miz will face Logan Paul and Dominik Mysterio will square off against Kevin Owens on SmackDown to fill the final two spots.

Three wrestlers qualify for WWE Elimination Chamber matches

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Three wrestlers qualified for WWE Elimination Chamber matches during Friday’s SmackDown episode, plus six more qualifying matches have been announced.

Drew McIntyre & Randy Orton became the first two qualifiers for the men’s Chamber match with wins on Friday’s SmackDown. McIntyre defeated AJ Styles, while Orton defeated Sami Zayn. SmackDown opened with the announcement that the winner of the men’s Chamber match will challenge Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40 on April 6 or April 7. 

Bianca Belair also won a qualifying match on SmackDown, defeating Michin. Belair now joins Becky Lynch as the second competitor to qualify for the women’s Chamber match. The winner of that bout will challenge for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Six additional qualifying matches are also set for Monday’s Raw and next Friday’s SmackDown. 

On Raw, LA Knight will face Ivar in one qualifying match, while Bobby Lashley faces Bronson Reed in the other. 

Next Friday’s SmackDown will have two women’s qualifiers and two men’s, with Naomi vs. Zelina Vega, & Tiffany Stratton vs. Shotzi on the women’s side, and Logan Paul vs. The Miz, & Kevin Owens vs. Dominik Mysterio on the men’s.

Tag Team title match official for WWE Elimination Chamber

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate are heading to Australia for a clash against The Judgment Day.

Damian Priest & Finn Balor will defend their Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles against Dunne & Bate at Elimination Chamber in Perth on Saturday, February 24. Dunne & Bate earned the title shot with a victory over DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) on SmackDown tonight.

WWE began a mini-tournament last week to determine Judgment Day’s Elimination Chamber challengers. Dunne & Bate and DIY both won fatal four-way matches to advance to tonight’s number one contender’s bout. 

After Bate took out Ciampa with a dive to the outside, Dunne hit the Bitter End on Gargano and pinned him to get the victory.

Dunne & Bate reunited when Bate was called up to the SmackDown roster last month. Shortly after that, Dunne had his name changed from Butch back to Pete Dunne.

The updated Elimination Chamber card is listed below:

  • Elimination Chamber match to determine World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins’ WrestleMania 40 challenger (Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton vs. four wrestlers to be determined)
  • Elimination Chamber match to determine Women’s World Championship challenger for WrestleMania 40 (Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair vs. four wrestlers to be determined)
  • Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defends against Nia Jax
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) defend against Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate

Seth Rollins to face Elimination Chamber winner at WWE WrestleMania 40

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE has officially announced how Seth Rollins’ opponent in the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 40 will be decided. 

In a segment kicking off Friday’s SmackDown, Raw GM Adam Pearce and SmackDown GM Nick Aldis appeared alongside Paul “Triple H” Levesque and revealed that a men’s Elimination Chamber match will take place at the February 24 Elimination Chamber even in Australia, with the winner going on to challenge Rollins for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania 40 set for April 6 & April 7. 

12 wrestlers were announced for six qualifying matches to be held on WWE programming between now and Elimination Chamber, with the first two set for Friday’s Smackdown. 

The 12 wrestlers —

  • Randy Orton
  • Bronson Reed
  • Kevin Owens
  • Logan Paul
  • AJ Styles
  • The Miz
  • Bobby Lashley
  • Ivar
  • Drew McIntyre
  • Sami Zayn
  • Dominik Mysterio
  • LA Knight

The first two matches held on the Friday, February 9 SmackDown —

  • Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles
  • Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn

The four remaining qualifying matches have yet to be announced.

After weeks of a feud being teased between Pearce & Aldis, they said that management was presenting a united front in making this announcement, as the dueling authority figures feud appears to have been shifted to The Rock vs. Triple H. 

Triple H began SmackDown by stating that he wanted to make clear that coming out of Thursday’s WrestleMania Kickoff event featuring The Rock & Roman Reigns that some people don’t “know their role” and that it doesn’t matter where “you sit at the table,” that the power comes from one place — Triple H.