5 Things WWE got right at Elimination Chamber

Elimination Chamber was one of the better events of the year as we got a lot of action and some surprises that made the pay-per-view a must-watch show for all wrestling fans.

There were two Elimination Chamber matches scheduled for the night, as the SmackDown Tag Team Champions were defended in the chamber while the women of RAW were all geared up to crown the No.1 contender for the RAW Women’s Championship for WrestleMania.

Apart from that, the RAW Tag Team Championships and the United States Championship were on the line at the event, and we got a new Intercontinental Champion by the end of the show which came as a pleasant surprise.

Aleister Black and AJ Styles also decided to settle their differences in the ring, while Daniel Bryan decided to teach a thing or two to Drew Gulak.

In this article, we will look at the 5 things that WWE got right at the PPV, and how it can shape the bookings for the future.

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#5 The techinal masterclass

This match was made official on the final episode of SmackDown before Elimination Chamber. Even though Drew Gulak is very new to SmackDown and hasn’t had many matches on the brand, fans would know how good he is in the ring.

While no one seemed to be the perfect match for Gulak on 205 Live, Daniel Bryan seemed more than just the perfect match for him.

The Yes Man gave Gulak the match of his life in their first encounter, and both Superstars were able to deliver a great performance at the start of the event. Both men are technical geniuses, and it was like watching a true wrestling masterclass take place in the middle of the ring.

Bryan has become a legend in giving newer Superstars the rub, and he was able to do just that for Gulak even though the heel was unable to pick up the victory. The creatives did a great job of giving the newcomer some high spots, and we may watch Gulak get one over Bryan on an episode of SmackDown, if not a pay-per-view.

Gulak using the surfboard on Bryan was the highlight for me, and it will be interesting to watch where this rivalry heads from hereon.

#4 The Street Profits’ defense

The Street Profits made their way out for their first RAW Tag Team Championship defense on a pay-per-view as they took on former Champions Seth Rollins and Murphy.

Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins were all pumped up to take on the big guys, and they had to keep their minds focused on the action in the ring even though the chances for interferences were high.

As expected, the Authors of Pain walked out to help their leader, but The Viking Raiders were not too far behind in coming out to take out AOP and take the fight with them out of the arena. This leveled the field for both the teams until Kevin Owens made his way through the crowd with a box of popcorn.

The distraction helped The Street Profits take out Murphy and retain their titles, allowing them to come out as big stars.

What I liked most about the match was that unlike on RAW, KO did not need to actually get involved to help The Street Profits win which was a great way to give the newcomers a chance to shine while building towards the match between The Monday Night Messiah and The Prizefighter.

#3 Sami Zayn’s moment

Samia Zayn had been one of WWE’s best wrestlers for quite some time and was a true star during his time in NXT. Over the past year or so, the company watered him down and made him nothing more than a joke simply to entertain the crowd.

Working as the mouthpiece for Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro, there wasn’t much Zayn was achieving more than some credits as a great worker on the mic and a good actor.

At Elimination Chamber, Zayn got a chance to compete in the ring again for the first time since late December, clearly showing what the fans were missing for the past three months.

In his first Intercontinental Championship defense, Braun Strowman took on Cesaro, Nakamura, and Zayn in a handicap match.

While Strowman seemed to be the favorite to win the match, it was Nakamura who came in as a close second to take the title away from The Monster Among Men. However, the creatives managed to shock every single fan out there by allowing Zayn to pin Strowman to win the title, making it his first Championship victory in the company outside of NXT.

The former NXT Champion is a great wrestler, and hopefully, he will get a chance to get some good matches and feuds while keeping the Intercontinental title on him for some time.

As for Strowman, it is unfortunate that his first singles title reign in the company only lasted a few weeks and he lost it in his first defense.

Hopefully, Zayn will continue to hold the title until WrestleMania 36 at least and defend it at the event and the trips to Saudi Arabia will not hurt his chances to keep the title.

#2 The dark side

The only way WWE can get Aleister Black’s music out of my head after his entrance is by sounding The Undertaker’s gong.

I predicted that The Undertaker would show up to help Aleister Black in his No Disqualification match against AJ Styles and start their rivalry on the Road to WrestleMania, and the creatives did not disappoint here either.

As expected, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson decided to play a big role in Styles’ battle against Black, but they were met with a no-so-pleasant surprise.

The Undertaker emerged to deliver a Chokeslam to The Phenomenal One, after which Black was able to make his way to his feet after the beatdown and take Styles’ head off his shoulders.

This was a great way to give Black a big pay-per-view victory, arguably the biggest of his career, even after being outnumbered. Undertaker’s appearance was a great way to set up what will be a match of a lifetime, and we could watch The Phenom finally hang up his boots after battling The Phenomenal One.

#1 The dominator

Shayna Baszler was the obvious favorite to win the women’s Elimination Chamber match with Ruby Riott seeming like the next biggest threat.

However, before the event, I’d hoped that the creatives would allow Baszler to dominate during the match and run through all the other competitors, and that is exactly what happened in this one.

Ruby Riott and Natalya started the match with Sarah Logan coming in next. Baszler and Liv Morgan were next with Asuka entering last. However, Baszler ran through all her opponents as she eliminated Logan first, followed by Riott, Natalya, and Morgan.

Asuka and Baszler were the final two in the ring, and while Asuka would have had as much of a chance as Baszler had she not been the Women’s Tag Team Champion and wouldn’t have feuded with Becky Lynch recently, she didn’t stand a chance against The Queen of Spades.

Having Baszler win was the obvious choice but it was the way in which she won that was the right call to make. Lynch won the RAW Women’s Championship last year at WrestleMania 35 and no one has been able to match her on RAW since. Baszler seems like her biggest threat to date, and the build-up towards this clash needed the challenger to get all the momentum behind her.