Hello again everyone! It’s time for our Elimination Chamber Nutshell. WWE is one hundred percent on the Road to WrestleMania at this point, and the Chamber is just the latest pitstop as both brands rumble on toward New Jersey. It’s set to be a huge show. In fact, it will be a historic night for sure, as we will see WWE crown it’s first ever Women’s Tag Team Champions. On top of that, the SmackDown tag titles are on the line, with McMiz battling The Usos. Finn Balor challenges for the Intercontinental Championship in a handicap match. Also, in our second Chamber match, we have the WWE World Championship on the line. It certainly looks like it should be a loaded card, so let’s see if the Chamber matches dominate. It’s time to sit back, relax and crack open this Nutshell!
Best Match of the night:
Tonight was all about the Elimination Chamber matches. The women’s opener was awesome. The men’s match to close the show was excellent.
Worst match of the night:
Unfortunately, there were too many options to choose from for this one.
The SmackDown tag title match was a disappointment.
The Strowman/Corbin match was a dud.
Rousey and Ruby Riott going just two minutes was one of those where, seriously, why bother having the match. Obviously the post-match made up for it…but WWE made Ruby a jobber and they did not need to.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
Corey Graves
Yes! Yes! Yes!
You still got it
This is awesome
We want Becky
Star of the Night
I have a few choices here.
A hat tip, if you will, to all the women in the first ever Chamber match to decide tag titles for the women.
A star for the team that became WWE’s first ever Women’s Tag Team Champions, Bayley and Sasha Banks.
Big congrats to Daniel Bryan for winning the EC in the main event and retaining, yet for the second time in as many shows, Kofi was the star in spite of the loss.
Spot of the Night:
Really good action in the opening Chamber bout, though tough to single out a specific spot. I suppose seeing Nia run through the Lexan wall was a good one, as it’s the kind of spot that is usually reserved for the men’s bout.
Shane had a few big spots in the SmackDown title match, but the match itself was forgettable.
The Strowman-through-two-tables spot was decent enough, even if the surrounding match sucked.
Plenty of spots in the main event too. As expected.
Jobber of the Night:
Ruby Riott. Was not even close.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
I have to go with Becky and the post-RAW Women’s Title match scene.
While I really, really, REALLY hate the triple threat match that we are likely getting at WrestleMania, the setup isn’t bad. Becky, in spite of the injuries and suspension, showed up through the crowd while Charlotte was already confronting Rousey. Becky used her crutches to assault both women. Her actions put both women down, and bloodied the RAW Women’s Champion.
Commentary of the night:
Nothing about a specific line, but it sure felt like there were some awkward moments. One of either Beth Phoenix or Renee Young pointed out how Graves gushing over the women felt…creepy. It always did, to be honest…but in light of what may be happening in his marriage, it seems to be more true than not.
Noteworthy Moment:
WWE’s self-proclaimed It Couple came out ahead of the tag title match and announced that Maryse was once again expecting.
In spite of a recent arrest, WWE did not flinch and put the SmackDown tag titles back on Jimmy and Jey. This gives the brothers their sixth reign. Considering there had been some thought that they might not even still wrestle, having them work the match AND claim tag gold is a big deal.
WWE announced that the 2020 Royal Rumble (along with the TakeOver before it) will be in Houston.
Overall lowlights:
Honestly, it was disappointing to see some of the matches either do so poorly, or be booked in such a fashion that they did so poorly.
The SmackDown tag title match was not good (though, I think putting straps on Shane and Miz was part of the issue).
Did ANYONE think, once it became a two on one handicap match, that Balor wasn’t going to end up pinning Lio Rush on his way to winning the gold?
WWE did a disservice to Ruby Riott.
Honestly, with few exceptions, everything between the opening Chamber bout and closing Chamber bout was kind of…meh.
Overall highlights:
The women’s Elimination Chamber match was very good. Started slow, but by the time it was going home, the match was really hitting it’s stride.
The men’s Elimination Chamber match was excellent. I truly hope that, even if Kofi got the same time that would have gone to Mustafa Ali (on RAW), that the push isn’t a “one or the other” scenario. It’s fun seeing Kofi work, and he’s easily one of the guys on the roster who has done more than many and deserves a push. And I still want to see Ali get whatever push he had coming to him too.
Liked seeing Becky show up and do damage. Predictable, sort of, but still good.
After the final bell:
This was like a three part PPV. The opening Chamber match was great. The closing Chamber match was too. Most of the middle was forgettable, or at least, not as good as you’d like to see as WWE gears up toward it’s biggest PPV of the year.
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