CHICAGO -- As expected, the events of one of the WWE’s Elimination Chamber answered many questions that still hung in the balance going into WrestleMania.
From two unknown participants in World Title matches at the ‘Greatest Show of Them All’ being decided, to a six month long feud culminating, to the final Masked Man Reveal and more, all of the loose ends were tied up.
This was a strong show from start to finish, led by the raucous United Center crowd in Chicago that showed out after 32 long years of not getting to host the WWE.
The Surprise of the Century?
The last five minutes of the men’s Elimination Chamber match featured some of the best WWE storytelling in some time, with two huge twists at the end that set the stage for WrestleMania.
First, after the Masked Man debacle on SmackDown, with an unknown person being revealed, fans were uncertain what would happen next.
Well, 24 hours later, when Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton were the final three in the match, the opportunity presented itself, and the real masked man struck once again, curb stomping Logan Paul, allowing Rhodes to pin him.
The masked man then revealed himself, and it was none other than Seth Freakin’ Rollins, back from injury to get his revenge on the Vision.
Things would then escalate further, as Drew McIntyre attacked Cody Rhodes with the title, trying to prevent Cody from winning. Randy hit an RKO on Drew, before Cody added on a ‘Cross-Rhodes’, when ‘The Viper’ finally pulled the trigger and found that killer instinct, immediately RKO’ing Rhodes, and picking up the victory, shocking the WWE Universe and punching his ticket to WrestleMania.
Even before this point, the Chamber match was outstanding, with Je’Von Evans flying all over the ring, Trick Williams making his presence felt by the crowd and his competitors, and LA Knight showing out as well.
Logan Paul eliminated all three of these men, which made Seth’s return and attack even more crucial, getting the biggest threat out of the match.
What is to come with the WWE Title is still looming, with a multi-man match still seeming imminent even with Randy winning.
For Seth, this is huge, as him being back likely means a feud with Logan, Theory and Heyman, the remnants of the Vision, after the unfortunate injuries to Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. The WWE gets one of its biggest draws back in time for the most important stretch of the year, and provides a worthy pay off to the masked man storyline, in an amazing main event.
‘Best in the World’ Crowned at Home
The entire world knew that CM Punk was going to beat Finn Balor on Saturday Night, but despite that, these two went out and put on an absolute banger of a match.
Before the bell even rang, the WWE gave CM Punk, Chicago’s hometown hero, a truly special 1990s Chicago Bulls themed entrance, which made the match feel all the more important.
Punk and Balor then went out and absolutely destroyed each other. Whether it was Punk chopping Balor repeatedly, or Balor hitting Punk with a powered up drop kick through the barricade, these two did not need a chamber to deal damage to one another.
Both men hit their finishers to no avail, including a GTS from Punk that sent Balor out of the ring, not able to capitalize. Punk was then able to counter Balor’s final ‘Coup de Grace’ attempt with a Sharpshooter submission, and even after Balor reached the ropes, Punk added onto the grueling nature of the match, stomping his head repeatedly until he was out, then hitting a final GTS to pick up the victory.
The two shook hands afterward, and AJ then came out to celebrate with her husband, both now singles champions once again. Though this was a sneaky good match, as we knew coming in, all roads still lead to Punk vs. Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania.
‘Mami’ Back on Top
This highly anticipated PLE got off to a strong start after an amazing Women’s Elimination Chamber match to begin the night.
As many predicted, it was Rhea Ripley who stood tall, pointing to the WrestleMania sign after she outlasted Tiffany Stratton, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka, Kiana James and Alexa Bliss, in that order.
Rodriguez was arguably the MVP of the match, bringing her usual brand of aggression to this already brutal match. She first hit James with a power slam through the chamber pod, before hitting a ‘Tejana Bomb’ to Asuka on top of James to stack pin them both.
It was Ripley, Stratton and Rodriguez in the top three, but the MVP’s run came to an end after Rhea hit her with a cannon ball off of the top of the pod, and Stratton finished the job with the ‘World’s Prettiest Moonsault’.
Once it was just between Ripley and Stratton, the two battled back-and-forth before Ripley stopped another Moonsault attempt, then punched her ticket to WrestleMania with a massive Riptide. She then pointed to who will be her opponent in seven weeks at ‘The Show of Shows’, Jade Cargill, who was in the stands watching.
Some fans are tired of Ripley being put in the spotlight, but the WWE knows its audience, and it knows that Ripley being in a World Title match, not a tag-team match, is the right move to make.
What the WWE will do with Ripley and her best friend Iyo Sky is unknown, but whatever they decide, if they give Ripley and Cargill a real chance to build, and lean into their tenacious and fiery personalities, this will be a night one main-event worthy match.
AJ Gets Her Moment
Next up, we got to see a match nearly half a year in the making, Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defending her title against AJ Lee, who was competing in her first singles match since March 2015.
Lynch used her slow methodical pacing to control the beginning of this match, but as things ramped up, she kept to her usual ways, wanting to pick up the win by hook or by crook.
After taking out referee Jessika Carr, Lynch bounced AJ off of an exposed turnbuckle and hit her signature manhandle slam. She then woke Carr up, who started her count, one, two, and as all the air had escaped the building, and fans prepared themselves for a Lee loss, she kicked out.
The look of doom and despair on Becky’s face said it all. Following the kickout, Carr got in the way of Becky using the exposed turnbuckle again, and AJ turned it around, allowing Becky to hit herself off of it, and locking her in the Black Widow. Becky tapped out again, and this time Carr saw it, which meant that AJ Lee had once again defeated Lynch, and took her title.
If AJ is able to show up full time, or even just be more present than she has, this Championship run has huge potential, with the many amazing women she could take on next. Either way, the IC title will continue to be elevated.
Elimination Chamber Review
The Elimination Chamber absolutely delivered on the hype that it had coming in, with two amazing chamber matches, and two proud (and married) Chicagoans earning victories in singles matches.
The crowd was amped for the entirety of the show, the in-ring action was stellar, and the masked man reveal payoff was great, with Seth Rollins being back.
Official Grade: A
As a fan, I was locked in during that main event chamber match, and was genuinely shocked when Randy beat Cody. Predictability has been a stain on Triple H's resume as the lead booker in the WWE, so this decision will be popular with the fans.
The only questionable decision in this one was the reveal of the SmackDown crate, which turned out to be free agent Danhausen, which the WWE fans were not fond of, and even booed. Where that goes is to be determined, but nonetheless, that doesn’t bring down the overall quality of the show.
WrestleMania is seven weeks away, and things are ramping up at just the right time.