WWE’s venture into The Outback can be considered a rousing success. The week leading up to the PLE from down under was a great week of PR and filled with some great moments from the WWE roster. The attendance, for the show, was great and its success showed a long-term viability to having yearly shows in Australia.
WWE Elimination Chamber, overall, was a great success but how did the matches/segments making up the show do? Let’s take a look and give each a star rating.
Grayson Waller Effect Segment – (2/5)
This was a way to get Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on the show. That is about the gist of the whole segment. Both men got a great response from the crowd, and it was fun to see, but this could have been shown on Raw/Smackdown.
Cody calling out The Rock, and Seth proclaiming his allegiance to the American Nightmare, is going to set up a tag match for Night One of Wrestlemania. That is what the rumour mill was churning out and it got started here. A blah distraction from a night of wrestling.
Rhea Ripley retains Women’s World Championship against Nia Jax – (2.5/5)
Rhea Ripley was the big star going into the PLE. She is the biggest Australian star on the roster and having her slotted into the main event was a fantastic idea. Having her against Jax presented a clear villain for her conquering hero but the matches itself just was very good.
Jax is not known for her ability to work good matches and it showed here. She wasn’t able to keep up a good pace with Ripley and therefore the match look jagged at best. Ripley showed some great displays of strength, but it didn’t get as big a reaction as one would think. It was also foolish for anyone to think that Jax would win. Ripley is taking the strap into Wrestlemania.
The Judgement Day retains the Undisputed Tags Championship against Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate – (3/5)
With the men involved this was always going to be a good match. The wrestling was top notch throughout, and every man got a great chance to shine. The shots were stiff and there was some great heel work done by Dom during the early stages. It was an entertaining match that had a good spot on the card and kept the fans invested.
The issue lay with the way the match was presented. With Dom being kicked out one thought that maybe the two Brits had a shot. Then we were hit with a few near falls that lead to the challengers looking to walk away the winners. Then more near falls, then maybe the Judgement Day wins, then they don’t. It was a convoluted ending to the match and one that had us not caring a whole lot about the outcome.
Men’s WWE Elimination Chamber Match – (3.75/5)
This match started off slow. With an elimination not happening until all 6 were in the match, there was a lot of dead space. It looked like the men were going through the motions before Logan Paul entered the match, but oh boy when he did.
Once the last pod opened the match got turned up to 11. There were some great spots sprinkled in by all 6 men and each got a great chance to shine. Particularly, Bobby Lashley smashed both Kevin Owens and Logan Paul through the bullet proof glass were two great spots.
It was shocking to see Logan Paul reach the final three, but that all made sense at the finish. Paul, using the knucks’ to cost Orton the match sets up an intriguing match come Wrestlemania.
Women’s WWE Elimination Chamber Match – (4/5)
The women brought it on Saturday. This match was fantastic nearly from the opening bell. Tiffany Stratton got a massive reaction from the crowd and was easily the MVP of the first half of the match. She took some great bumps and had a great Swanton Dive off the top of the pod.
Every woman looked strong during the match, but it was the final three flurry that made it the best of the night. Bel-Air, Morgan and Lynch put on a heck of a show to close out the match. There were some great moves off the ropes, some amazing reversals and there was at one point that all three looked to have the advantage. It was a great way to build toward an ending and keep the fans guessing.
Lynch winning was the right call here. Her and Ripley will tell a great story heading into Wrestlemania and could main event Night One.
