Logan Paul recently defended LA Knight following his WWE Elimination Chamber ‘botch.’
At Elimination Chamber 2026, LA Knight suffered an embarrassing incident when his foot slipped while performing a mid-rope elbow drop on Randy Orton.
The botch became a talking point on the internet and even led to Orton breaking character and laughing while lying down inside the chamber. However, breaking character, Paul has now come to Knight’s defense.
Speaking on a latest episode of ImPaulsive, Paul said, “That particular botch is not his fault. I was in the ring watching it go down live and I can feel the ropes before I do the jumps, they are so slippery you have no idea.”
Shortly after Knight ‘botched’ the move, he took a lowblow from Paul and was pinned, eliminating him from the match.
Earlier in the night, fans also saw Finn Balor slip on the same rope while performing a move on CM Punk during his WWE World title match.
Josh makes the case why WWE should be applauded for the signing, plus gives his thoughts on the Chamber winners, Seth Rollins’ return and the news of the night.
He also looks at AEW Collision, next month’s Revolution, his experience trying to find wrestling on TV while on vacation, and more.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site today.
A detailed look at the WBD/Paramount/Netflix situation, what the latest decision of WBD to Paramount entails, the keys to why this is happening, business notes, how this affects AEW and can it get approved.
A look at the UFC and WWE business in 2025 and in the final quarter of this past year. We look at the numbers, what they mean, why WWE was more profitable in 2025 than UFC and the key thing that can change that in 2026, Mark Shapiro talks ESPN value to WWE, lots of news about the business of the White House show, UFC fighters upset over pay, why WWE wrestlers are so underpaid but not publicly upset over, and business initiatives going forward
The violence in Mexico and tons of wrestling shows canceled this past week
We look in depth at the Janel Grant speech from last week, what we learned, what she said, and where everything stands.
Update on the build for WrestleMania, Elimination Chamber, business notes, ticket sales and favorites for the weekend.
An updated look at AEW Revolution and business notes
The retirement of AJ Styles looked at
The most detailed look at the television ratings from the past week, including comparisons with a year ago, competition, demos and much more.
Notes from Arena Mexico
CMLL attempts to break a North American record next week
Cinderalla tournament in Stardom
Fantastica Mania notes
The life and times of former Olympic wrestler Bobby Douglas, his coaching career, his beating Dan Gable, and two notable pro wrestlers he coached
College wrestling sets an attendance mark already this season
Who had the most top ten matches of the year over a career according to Cage match.
City builds a bust memorializing top 80s star
WrestleMania week schedule
Former MMA fighter and pro wrestler running for Governor
Robbery of the ring truck for an indie group
Ticket sales for upcoming WWE, AEW and TNA shows over the next two months.
How many subscribers does Paramount need to make up for UFC expenses
More talk on Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano
Stand & Deliver moves and why
When Roman Reigns and Brock Ldesnar are booked for TV in the Mania build
Pro wrestler who is active in Japan competes this weekend for the U.S.national team in anther sport
— Both of our weekend shows are already up on the site. We did our news in review show on Friday with Garrett Gonzales covering Netflix bowing out of the WBD purchase talks, Zuffa Boxing pay vs. UFC & WWE pay, roads to Mania and Revolution. Last night we talked about Elimination Chamber and the follow-up, Friday’s New Japan PPV show, Collision, Ricky Steamboat and more.
— Some interesting notes coming out of the Elimination Chamber. AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch in a rematch and Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley are on the books for Mania. The men’s WWE title match still has storyline stuff to go. Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul looks probable but Bron Breakker in the spot would take precedence. Really nothing else was notable.
— From people both there live and in WWE the crowd reactions being lower than expected were more than just a production issue. The Danhausen thing was what it was. He may get over and do well. He may not. The denial that he didn’t get over last night is really something. It was an attempt. It flopped. He’ll be at TV soon, possibly tomorrow, to try again. Before I ever said the Gobbledy Gooker line last night, it was being used quietly backstage. I think it was too much hype and people expecting a bigger star in the spot, as from an idea standpoint, they had clearly worked on the idea. Then again, Vince McMahon thought the Gobbledy Gooker would be a giant hit as well. I think the fact that Danhausen kind of confirmed it beforehand so making a deal out of his getting his AEW deal (while they tried to keep it a secret by hiding him backstage) didn’t help because again, people were expecting something bigger and were already mad at the idea after all that hype that it could be him.
— The gate was one of the biggest non-stadium pro wrestling shows of all-time with the high ticket prices.
— After the Arman Tsarukyan vs. Georgio Poullas wrestling match on last night’s RAF show in Tucson, Tsarkuyan, on top as the match ended, started throwing hard punches on the ground and a bit knee to the body. Tons of people rushed in. Tsarukyan had given Poullas a hard slap during the match but Poullas had been rough with him as well. Still, there was no excuse for what Tsuarkyan did. At this point neither RAF nor the UFC have commented. RAF may have been happy given it gave them a lot of pub, but they still need to make it clear such a thing can never happen again. The show did sell out with 3,516 fans. They are looking at doing Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili soon after Cejudo beat Urijah Faber in last night’s main event. Big difference between a late 30s Olympic gold medalist vs. late 40s guy who didn’t ever make the top eight in the NCAA tournament
— Khamzat Chimaev said last night that he wants into RAF.
— Alex Pereira has vacated the UFC light heavyweight title to move to heavyweight, where he is expected to challenge for the title. The champion is Tom Aspinal, and there’s no way he’s fighting soon, so it looks like Pereira will face Jon Jones or Cyril Gane on the 6/1 show.
— The boots that Hulk Hogan wore in his WrestleMania I match where he teamed with Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff were sold in auction last night for $1,037,000, the first piece of pro wrestling merchandise ever to top seven figures. Logan Paul said that he sayed up until 2 a.m. wanting to get them but bowed out when the price topped $1,021,000.
— Those in Germany and Japan have been told that starting on 4/1, the PLE shows move to Netflix in both countries.
— The Peacock contract with WWE for NXT PLEs ends at the end of March. We’re not sure what service that will move to. Peacock will remain in the WWE business only for the four Saturday Night’s Main Event shows per year.
— I have not seen Friday’s Arena Mexico show yet but in edited highlight form they sure made Angel de Oro’s hair match win over Johnny Consejo look great. So I can say there were a lot of great moves and excellent heat and a big, but not sold out crowd. Last night’s show at Arena Coliseo did sell out (ten weeks in a row) to see Consejo in his first match without his hair in a three-way with Angel and Esfinge. As great as great matches, Hechicero vs. Mascara Dorada on Thursday at Korakuen Hall, Yota Tsuji vs. Andrade, El Phantasmo vs Konosuke Takeshita and Athena vs. Syuri from Friday’s New Japan show in Trenton were great. Andrade vs. Tomohiro Ishii on Collision was a great one as well.
— We’re looking for your thoughts from Elimination Chamber last night as well as the Friday night New Beginning show from New Japan in Trenton, NJ, thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match form each show to [email protected]
— Elimination Chamber was No. 7 among television shows on Netflix yesterday and No. 9 among all shows. No. 7 when it doesn’t include the U.S. market is quite good. The UFC show was No. 2 worldwide among TV shows, No. 4 overall on Paramount and No. 5 in the U.S. among TV shows. It was down one percent from last week’s show.
— AEW Collision from early reports was way down from the past few weeks, no surprise since it went head-to-head with Elimination Chamber. So even with AEW increasing of late, it still gets hurt bad when Collision goes against a major WWE main roster event.
— Google searches for Wednesday’s AEW show were down 8.7 percent from the week before. Audience was down 8.5 percent so there was a strong correlation.
— The 6/14 UFC show at the White House was reported by Front Office Sports that at least some of the show would air on CBS.
— The United Wrestling Coalition has its Hall of Fame ceremony on 3/7 at the McKaig-Test-Mullen American Legion Post in New Egypt, NJ at 7. p.m. Those inducted will be Craig Z-List, Rudo the Heel, Sal DeMarco and Mr. Spectrum. They also have a show that night.
— House of Glory on Friday night in Chicago at the Logan Square Auditorium features Shotzi Blackheart vs. Killer Kelly.
— Mike Tenay turns 71 today. He’s legit one of the smartest people when it comes to pro wrestling in the country. Booker T turns 61. Scottyn Riggs turns 59. Davey Richards turns 43. Mark Sterling turns 43. Big E turns 40. Kyle O’Reilly turns 39. Tenille Dashwood/Emma turns 37. Sheik Adnan Al-Kaisee was born on this day in 1939. Ricky Steamboat turned 73 yesterday. Paul Vachon was 85 when he passed away two years ago today. Ann Casey was 82 when she passed away four years ago today.
— One of the greatest matches of all-time and part of one of the greatest series of bouts of all-time, the last Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi singles match, took place 23 years ago today. It is ranked by Cage match as the second greatest match of all-time. That singles pairing won match of the year in 1998, 1999 and 2003, making the only match-up in history to win three times.
— West Coast Pro from Friday night in Los Angeles: Aaron Solo b Gabe Roka, Andrew Cass won the Golden Gate titel over champion Alan Angels and G Sharpe in a great match, Royce Isaacs b Stephen Wolf in a hard hitting match, Jiah Jewell b Gary Jay, Alpha Zo b Bret the Threat, Miko Alana b Billie Starkz, Lee Moriarty b Adrian Quest in a great technical match, Johnnie Robbie retained thee women’s title over Laynie Luck, Strarboy Charlie & Titus Alexander b Danny Orion & Shimbashi to keep the tag titles, Vinne Massaro b LaBron Kozone to retain the world title. (thanks to Chris Campol)
— West Coast Pro announced 4/16 in Las Vegas at 7 pm. with Johnnie Robbie vs. Mio Momono for the women’s title.
— Harley Cameron is wrestling at tonight’s Boca Raton Championship Wrestling show in a Battle Royal that includes Aleah James, Leva Bates, Lacy Lane, Deonna Purrazzo and Renee Michelle.
— Danger Zone Wrestling on Friday night at Queen Bees in San Diego.
— Freelance Wrestling on Friday night at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago before about 350 fans saw Devon Monroe over Charles Mason in what we were told was a great match, (thanks to Lance LeVine).
CM Punk discussed the significance of his ring entrance at the United Center during the WWE Elimination Chamber post-show.
Before Punk’s theme music played and he walked through the curtain for his match against Finn Balor, he was shown backstage as “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project played throughout the arena. The song was famously used for the Chicago Bulls’ starting lineup introductions during the Michael Jordan era. The PA announcer also gave Punk a Bulls-style introduction before “Cult of Personality” hit.
Punk said:
“That song, Alan Parsons Project, obviously has a connection with the United Center being the intro for the Bulls dynasty. There’s a statue of a man named Michael Jordan right over there at the vestibule. It was also Ricky Steamboat’s entrance for a lot of his time here in WWE.”
“It’s a magical song ladies and gentleman and I got goosebumps just thinking about it and talking about it. But the best part about that entrance are these people behind me,” Punk said while motioning at the live crowd attending the post-show. “And when I say the people behind me, I mean the entirety of the city of Chicago, because they are always behind me.”
When asked about Punk’s association with his hometown, he responded:
“I am one of them so it is always humbling to know that I come from this city, and I have watched such megastars and mega athletes like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Seabrook, Duncan Keith, the ’85 Bears. If you put me on a list with any of them, no matter how low on that list, I’m still on the list. Chicago, man, Chicago is the city that works.”
The full WWE Elimination Chamber post-show is available below. The video is cued to Punk’s comments.
Rhea Ripley says her tag team with IYO SKY will need to be put on hold.
Ripley won the women’s Elimination Chamber match to kick off Saturday’s Premium Live Event in Chicago. Her victory inside the Chamber came just one day after she and IYO SKY, collectively known as RHIYO, dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships to The Irresistible Forces, Lash Legend and Nia Jax.
Ripley addressed the future of her team with SKY on the post-Elimination Chamber episode of WWE NOW.
“Obviously, the tag team stuff might have to be put on hold for a little bit, but whatever she’s doing, I’m still going to be there for her and vice versa,” Ripley said.
“It’s kind of sad to think about because I feel like IYO has kind of been in my life here in the WWE over the past, like what, year and a half? We’ve been pretty much inseparable, whether we’ve been facing each other or we’ve been tagging together, just growing that bond.”
Ripley’s win in the Elimination Chamber on Saturday means she will challenge Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 42. It is coming up on one year since Ripley last held a world title in WWE. She dropped the WWE Women’s World Championship to SKY on the March 3, 2025 edition of WWE Raw.
Ripley’s full appearance on WWE NOW is available below. The video is queued to her comments about the future of her team with IYO SKY.
CM Punk recently celebrated his and his wife’s title wins at WWE Elimination Chamber with a risque photo.
On Saturday, February 28, AJ Lee defeated Becky Lynch to win the WWE Women’s Intercontinental title. Shortly after, Punk defeated Finn Balor to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.
Celebrating the couple’s PLE win, Punk soon uploaded a risque and NSFW photo on social media celebrating the victorious night.
Taking a dig at Seth Rollins and Lynch’s risque title celebration from years ago, where Rollins had covered his lower region with the Universal title, and Lynch used two of her Women’s titles to cover her top and lower region. Reflecting on it, Punk performed something similar. He used his World title to cover his lower groin region, while his wife’s Intercontinental title to cover his chest.
The photo immediately went viral with several WWE stars, including Lee, commenting. Lee wrote, “He is my emergency contact.” While Rhea Ripley commented, “I’m f***in dead!” AEW’s Johnny TV also wrote, “love this!”
Punk is now scheduled to face Roman Reigns in the main event of WWE WrestleMania 42.
While the PLE featured several star-studded matches, it also hosted the attendance of NBA stars Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, both of whom play for the Milwaukee Bucks. UFC Fighter Michael Chandler was also present at the show, as well as 28-year-old Grammy-nominated rapper Lil Yachty.
On Saturday, February 28, Rhea Ripley and Randy Orton won their respective Elimination Chamber matches, while AJ Lee won her first WWE singles title in several years. Another highlight of the show was hometown star CM Punk successfully retaining his World Heavyweight title against Finn Balor.
Last year’s Elimination Chamber PLE featured The Rock and Travis Scott, who helped John Cena turn heel on Cody Rhodes in his final year as a pro-wrestler. While this year missed such celebrity involvements, the above-named stars were present there strictly as the audience.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about as we recap WWE Elimination Chamber, which was a fucking WEIRD show. We had some good wrestling, some average wrestling, a bunch of storylines and finishes heading into WrestleMania, THAT DANHAUSEN DEBUT, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Randy Orton may not have been the odds-on favorite to win Saturday’s men’s Elimination Chamber match, but he did just that.
With his win at the Elimination Chamber PLE, Orton now moves on to challenge for the the WWE Championship at April’s WWE WrestleMania 42. However, that might not be against current champion Drew McIntyre.
Orton and Cody Rhodes were the final two wrestlers remaining Saturday when McIntyre ran in through the open Chamber door to hit Rhodes with the title belt. He then got into the ring and tried to hit Rhodes with a Claymore Kick, but the former champion ducked it.
Orton then landed an RKO on McIntyre, but as Rhodes attempted to go after McIntyre, Orton then hit him with an RKO to get the pin and win on his friend and former tag team partner.
The 45-year-old Orton will be looking for his 15th WWE World title run and his first since November 2020.
The Elimination Chamber match also featured Logan Paul taking advantage of every situation he could, eliminating LA Knight, Je’Von Evans and Trick Williams. He was then taken out by the returning Seth Rollins who revealed himself to be the endgame mystery masked man who has been taken out The Vision in recent weeks.
The boxed mystery is a mystery no longer as its contents were revealed to be Danhausen during Saturday’s WWE Elimination Chamber.
Raw GM Adam Pearce and SmackDown GM Nick Aldis brought the giant wooden crate out into the arena and opened it up before walking away, revealing a coffin inside. A group of females dressed as vampires then emerged followed by the enigmatic Danhausen.
He and the women then came out to the ringside era where he handed Michael Cole a jar of teeth. They then got into the ring before the lights went out to end the segment.
Despite remaining under contract, he hasn’t wrestled in AEW since December 2023 and ROH since February 2024. His contact was reportedly set to expire last summer before being extended against his wishes. It remains unclear if he fell out of favor and why he went unused.
WWE presents the Elimination Chamber tonight at the United Center in Chicago.
Only four matches and the opening of a mystery crate are booked for this show. However, the big stories coming out of the PLE will likely be the setup of several matches for WWE WrestleMania 42.
Below are previews, predictions, and betting odds for the matches and crate opening on the show.
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defends against Finn Balor
CM Punk is a -5000 favorite to defeat Finn Balor, who is at +1000, in the World Heavyweight Championship match. The line has not moved since it opened.
With -5000 being somewhat of the unofficial ceiling for how heavily favored a wrestler can be, there is little expectation that Balor wins the title tonight and alters the planned CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns match for WrestleMania. That said, a predictable result does not mean the match won’t be entertaining. Much of what happens during the bout could determine Balor’s direction coming out of the show.
Prediction: CM Punk
Women’s Intercontinental title: Becky Lynch defends against AJ Lee
AJ Lee is a -260 favorite over Becky Lynch, who is at +170. The line has moved slightly in the last few days, as Lee opened at -300. That suggests some money has come in on Lynch, but Lee remains the favorite.
I’m sticking with Lee here. With the show taking place in Chicago, having both Punk and Lee score major wins feels like the natural direction. The match could have a somewhat controversial finish that leads to Lee and Lynch doing something else at WrestleMania 42.
Prediction: AJ Lee
Men’s Elimination Chamber: Randy Orton vs. LA Knight vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams vs. Logan Paul
Cody Rhodes is a -300 favorite in the men’s Elimination Chamber match. That is up slightly from the -200 he had been listed at earlier this week.
Randy Orton is at +175, LA Knight is +400, Je’Von Evans and Trick Williams are both +1200, and Jey Uso had been +800 before being removed from the match.
With Rhodes widely expected to be involved in the WWE Championship picture at WrestleMania against Drew McIntyre, and the Elimination Chamber seemingly being his only path there, I’m a little surprised he isn’t a heavier favorite. Based on the story that’s been building, he feels stronger than -300.
That said, these matches always leave room for creative booking. But to me, Rhodes is the obvious pick.
Prediction: Cody Rhodes
Women’s Elimination Chamber: Tiffany Stratton vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Kiana James vs. Raquel Rodriguez
The odds for the women’s Elimination Chamber match have shifted considerably since press time for this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, when I noted that Rhea Ripley was a -300 favorite, with Tiffany Stratton at +150.
As of the morning of the show, Ripley and Stratton are now tied at even odds. It’s unclear what led to the swing. It could be related to interviews Stratton did this week in which she spoke about leaning more into her heel side. Ripley and IYO SKY losing the tag team titles on SmackDown may also have factored into the movement.
Either way, this feels like it comes down to Ripley or Stratton, but I’m still going with Ripley.
Prediction: Rhea Ripley
Mystery Crate Opening
As for the mystery crate scheduled to be opened during the show, one sportsbook has posted odds on potential names that could be revealed inside. There is no confirmation that it will be a wrestler at all, but if it is, Danhausen is currently the -200 favorite.
Chris Jericho, who had previously been the favorite, is now at -150. It is worth noting that Jericho is still listed on the AEW roster page, whereas Danhausen was removed from it at some point between Friday and Saturday.
Bianca Belair is +250, Pat McAfee is +400, Saraya (aka Paige) is +600, Bad Bunny is +700, Seth Rollins is +800, and both Brock Lesnar and Royce Isaacs are +900, with a significant drop-off after that.
I don’t know that it will be a wrestler revealed in the crate, but if it is, I’m going with Danhausen.
Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales are back on Wrestling Observer Radio discussing the major stories from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We give out our thumbs up and thumbs down before focusing on things we think are really working with AEW and some of the things that aren’t, and also preview WWE Elimination Chamber.
