Men’s Elimination Chamber Match (winner will face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 for the WWE Universal Championship)
The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena vs. Braun Strowman vs. Elias vs. Finn Balor
What we learned: We learned here what we’ve known was going to happen for the last year: Roman Reigns is heading to WrestleMania 34 to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship.
I’m not going to lie here. I was really bored with the first half of this match. They were trying so hard to create some “moments” that they forgot to actually entertain us. Well, I guess I can’t say that The Miz trying to form alliances with both Seth Rollins and Finn Balor (even offering him the “Too Sweet” gesture) wasn’t entertaining but as far as the actual wrestling was concerned, it was very flat. Those three worked a medium pace to get things going but nothing earth-shattering.
John Cena entered fourth and even though the announce team tried to make us believe that the pace had picked up, it was exactly the opposite as the highlight of that five minutes before the next entrant came in was Cena giving a double Five-Knuckle Shuffle to Miz and Rollins. There was the double superplex spot, which was decent enough.
Roman Reigns was in next and he did pick up the pace for a minute as he was throwing haymakers upon his entry into the bout and after a quick and expected staredown with Rollins, he reignited his rivalry with The Miz for a minute as the Intercontinental Champion took control of the match, hitting the Daniel Bryan “Yes” kicks on everyone. Reigns would soon take control of the match for another minute but business was about to pick up.
With Elias coming in last, there was no mystery that Braun Strowman was next into the mix and he came in and had the most dominating performance in Elimination Chamber history. After hitting an awesome double suplex on Cena and Rollins, The Miz was the first to be eliminated after Braun chased him to the top of a pod (yes, that’s a 385-pound man) and soon after took him out with a powerslam.
Elias’ pod opened but he didn’t come in right away as Cena, Rollins, Balor and Reigns teamed up on Strowman, even hitting The Shield Powerbomb on him and all four tried to cover him but it didn’t work and it was great. He powered out of that, kicked out of a Cena AA at one, a Reigns spear at two and then also survived a Stomp from Rollins and a Coup de Grace from Balor.
Strowman then took his break outside of the ring (which everyone usually does in these types of matches) but he’d come back in to eliminate Elias…and then Cena … and then Balor. I will say that I especially enjoyed the quick interaction with Balor and Strowman. I thought Finn looked great and there’s a great David vs. Goliath storyline they could pull from that at some point.
That left Rollins and Reigns to team up for a brief moment to battle Braun but that didn’t last long as the former Shield brethren certainly got into it themselves. This was really fun as these three beat the hell out of each other. Rollins hit a great frog splash from the top of a pod but it wasn’t enough as he became Strowman’s fifth and last victim of the night, which obviously means that Roman Reigns fought through, hit two spears and picked up the clean win on Strowman.
That doesn’t mean that Strowman would take things lying down as he still got in a big attack after the match, which he’s prone to do, but whether you like it or you don’t, Roman is going to WrestleMania. The second half of this match was very fun to watch. I wouldn’t rank it as one of the best Elimination Chamber bouts in history but it was solid enough for this night. I think anything was going to be a letdown after the Gauntlet Match last week on RAW but this was good.
What’s next: We know what’s ahead for Roman Reigns. That’s the easy part. He’s finally got that one-on-one rematch with Brock Lesnar that’s three years in the making. There’s no Money in the Bank contract to worry about and maybe I’m in the minority here but I’m looking forward to this. What gets lost before Seth Rollins cashed in his MITB contract was the fact that these two were awesome in the ring together at WrestleMania 31. So go ahead and yell at me for that but I like this.
As for everyone else not named Roman Reigns or John Cena, who seems to be set for a match with The Undertaker that nobody wants to see, that’s actually hard to say right now. There will be plenty who want Braun Strowman to be inserted into the match with Reigns and Lesnar but that’s not what I want to see. Strowman is going to have his time but I don’t want a multi-man match in the main event at WrestleMania. If he doesn’t end up in the match with Ronda Rousey, I see him going after The Miz. Perhaps he could say that if he can’t win Universal Championship gold, then he wants something and the Intercontinental Championship will do for now. That’s not the best storyline in the world but it’s something.
As for Rollins and Balor, they could have their own thing if it comes down to it and they wouldn’t need a belt to put on a spectacular match in New Orleans. However, if they’re looking for a title match for these guys, then put The Miz, Strowman, Rollins and Balor in a ladder match. Again, it’s a bit of a copout but it would work.
That would give Elias something to do as well. Otherwise, I think he’s set for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Yes, I’m aware how over he is but I can’t think of anything else for him at this time. So go ahead and yell at me for that one as well but let’s not forget how many got into a “you can’t hinder the Jinder” movement last year and wanted him pushed. How’d that work out for you?
Next: 25 biggest stars in Monday Night RAW history
Overall, I had a good time with this show. I think the women’s division looked very strong in this event and is in a great position heading towards WrestleMania. The guys threw a couple of duds in there but they weren’t completely terrible and ended the night on a high note, even if a lot of you didn’t like the winner. What were your thoughts on the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view? What was your favorite match? Feel free to join in the conversation in the comments section below.