WWE Elimination Chamber 2019 review: Highlights, takeaways and projections

Highlights, takeaways and what’s next for the Superstars of WWE following Sunday night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event.

The road to WrestleMania 35 in New York took a quick pit stop in Houston on Sunday night for the 2019 edition of WWE Elimination Chamber and the evening was bookended by the two Chamber matches themselves, both of which were fantastic. There were a few questionable booking decisions as the evening rolled along but overall, this was a solid pay-per-view.

The WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match on the kickoff show didn’t disappoint as Buddy Murphy once again retained his title in a fantastic match with Akira Tozawa that easily should have been featured on the main card. And since we’re on the subject and there’s plenty to get to, let’s go ahead and jump into the main show, starting with the Elimination Chamber Match for the Women’s Tag Team Championship.

Elimination Chamber Match for the Women’s Tag Team Championship

Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. The Riott Squad vs. The IIconics vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Carmella & Naomi

Order of entry: Sasha Banks & Bayley, Mandy Rose & Sonya DeVille, The Riott Squad, The IIconics, Naomi & Carmella, Nia Jax & Tamina

Order of elimination: Naomi & Carmella (The IIconics), The IIconics (Nia Jax & Tamina), The Riott Squad (Nia Jax & Tamina), Nia Jax & Tamina (Sasha Banks & Bayley), Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville (Sasha Banks & Bayley)

Outside of a a few slight mishaps, this Elimination Chamber Match for the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship was just about perfectly executed. As a side note, though, they really need to stop saying “first-ever” regarding the women’s tag belts because it’s not accurate; kudos to Beth Phoenix for actually bringing up a few of the teams that held the WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship back in the ’80s, even if she never mentioned the titles themselves. But I digress.

The booking for the women’s Chamber match was fantastic. Every team got a chance to shine and even the elimination order couldn’t have been better. Carmella and Naomi were the first team out, which makes perfect sense considering they were more or less just thrown together at the last minute and have no real experience as a team. It did give Naomi a chance to continue her program with Mandy Rose for a moment. The IIconics got their moment in the sun as well, and scoring the first elimination with an amazing pinning combination before being taken out themselves by Nia Jax and Tamina, who then eliminated The Riott Squad. Liv Morgan was the standout for her team on Sunday night as she looked excellent in the time she was given.

It was a little surprising to see Jax and Tamina not involved in the finish but their elimination was done nicely as well. Jax crashing through one of the pods was a great spot and Tamina taking the pin was the correct move. That left the two teams that started the match as the final four women in the ring, which led to great storytelling and a nice reward for both taking losses on Monday and Tuesday. In the end, and in the correct move, it was Sasha Banks and Bayley that walked away as the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions as The Boss made Sonya Deville tap out to a modified version of the Banks Statement. Excellent match.

What’s next: It will be interesting to see how this works as there’s obviously only one set of titles. Do the champions get to jump between Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live? I’m sure we’ll get a little bit of clarity as time goes along and now we have to wonder who the first challengers to the Boss N’ Hug Connection will be? Will Rose and Deville get the first crack since they were the last in the Chamber with Bayley and Banks? Or will Jax and Tamina get the first shot since they’re on the same show as Banks and Bayley? Will new contenders emerge? There are many questions that need answering but the era of Women’s Tag Team Champions is already off to a fantastic start.