WWE Elimination Chamber 2021

By Steve Ward

Despite the remainder of Florida essentially being completely open, WWE continues to utilize their virtual Thunderdome at Tropicana Field in what I’ve again rebranded the WWE Dystopian Era. Perhaps a blessing in disguise will be that the WWE will need to locate a new home following MLB Spring Training as the Rays will be taking over the facility - perhaps they have secured an outdoor venue where they will allow limited attendance since they are already believed to be allowing fans to attend Wrestlemania. On another significant note, this evening would also mark the final WWE pay per view on the WWE Network for those residing in North America as all of the WWE library and future pay per views will be exclusively streamed on Peacock beginning in March following a multi-billion dollar deal that was agreed upon recently. Nonetheless, we continue on the Road to Wrestlemania with the first to last pay per view stop in the form of Elimination Chamber. This event should solidify the world title picture for The Showcase of the Immortals, Wrestlemania, as both world championships were on the line among the five scheduled bouts on the card - including two elimination chamber contests.

Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. King Corbin vs. Jey Uso vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro
Winner: Daniel Bryan
The opening contest of the main card delivered the first chamber match of the evening and would determine Roman Reigns opponent for his Universal Championship later in the show. The bout commenced with arguably the two most talented combatants, Daniel Bryan and Cesaro. After trading some vicious blows for several minutes, the men were finally joined by King Corbin who was the first to be released from his pod. Corbin managed to gain the upper hand on the two competitors using his size advantage to manhandle Bryan and Cesaro until the fourth Superstar entered the fray in the form of Sami Zayn. The first elimination of the match was delivered by Cesaro as he cinched in the Sharpshooter on King Corbin to secure the submission. Just after Corbin’s departure from the match Kevin Owens entered the fray and introduced Sami Zayn’s skull to the chamber door before delivering his patented cannonball to each of the three men in the chamber.

With Owens in control of the contest, the final competitor, Roman Reigns’ cousin Jey Uso, entered the match. Owens continued to dominate the bout as he delivered a moonsault from the top of one of the pods that left the other four competitors in a pile of visceral carnage. Owens then delivered a slew of Stunners including one to Zayn who he subsequently pinned. As Zayn left the chamber, Uso achieved the upper hand on Owens from behind and immediately capitalized with a Frog Splash for another quick elimination. As Cesaro seemed poised to attain his second submission elimination of the evening as he cinched Bryan in the Sharpshooter, he was unceremoniously greeted with a super kick to the jaw from Jey Uso who immediately scaled the turnbuckles to deliver another Frog Splash to solidify the pinfall. Uso quickly attempted another Frog Splash, this time from the top of one of the pods, to Daniel Bryan, however, he was met with a pair of knees to the stomach. Daniel Bryan promptly delivered the running knee to punch his ticket into the Universal Championship Match with Roman Reigns.

Universal Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman
Winner: Roman Reigns via submission
A bruised and battered Daniel Bryan had no opportunity to recover as the chamber immediately ascended to the rafters and Roman Reigns music echoed through the Thunderdome marking the beginning of the Universal Championship Match. Roman attempted to spear Bryan at the opening bell, however, Bryan sidestepped him and cinched in the Yes Lock. Bryan just didn’t have enough left in the tank to maintain the hold as Reigns broke out and pummeled him unmercifully before he finally choked him out for the submission victory. As Reigns celebrated in the ring, Edge emerged to deliver a spear to the champion and proclaimed that he would be challenging him for his title at Wrestlemania.

United States Championship Triple Threat Match
Bobby Lashley (c) w/ MVP vs. Matt Riddle vs. John Morrison
Winner: Matt Riddle via pinfall
Keith Lee was originally supposed to be a participant in this match, however, he suffered an injury on Monday Night RAW and needed to be replaced. John Morrison fought his way in as he emerged victorious over Ricochet, Mustafa Ali, and Elias in a Fatal Four Way bout on the Kickoff Show. Bobby Lashley absolutely dominated this entire contest and was seemingly poised to earn a submission victory as he had John Morrison trapped in the Hurt Lock until Riddle procured MVP’s crutch and shattered it over Lashley’s back before tossing him from the ring. This opened the door for Riddle to take advantage of Morrison as he executed the Bro Derek allowing him to earn the pinfall crowning a new champion.

Women’s Tag Team Championship
Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax (c) vs. Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks
Winners: Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax via pinfall
Following the events of Friday Night Smackdown, Belair found herself teaming up with one of her potential Wrestlemania opponents with the women’s tag team gold on the line. In another “exhilarating” Sasha Banks match, the conclusion came shortly after Reginald made his way to ringside with a bottle of celebratory champagne. Reginald passed the bottle to Sasha with the intention of her using it on Nia Jax. As Sasha lashed out at Reginald for such a suggestion, Jax seized the opportunity to hoist Banks up in the Samoan Drop to retain the tag team titles.

RAW Elimination Chamber WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. A.J. Styles w/ Omos vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Unlike the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match, the stakes were even greater for this one as Drew McIntyre was one of the participants with his WWE Championship on the line. One last minute change occurred for the lineup in this match as The Miz removed himself on Monday night and was subsequently replaced by Kofi Kingston. 

The first two men pitted against each other were ring veterans Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. Jeff Hardy surprisingly brought the fight to the Viper and controlled much of the opening of the match until the champion, Drew McIntyre, entered the fray and immediately asserted himself. Kingston entered the match next and quickly trapped Orton in a surprise pinfall. Before departing the chamber, Orton delivered a pair of RKOs to Kingston and Hardy. Seeing a window of opportunity, Styles directed the towering Omos to rip the outer wall of his pod off so that he could prematurely enter the match with hopes of stealing a pinfall on one of the incapacitated participants. Unfortunately for Styles, his plan did not go as he intended and WWE officials removed his muscle, Omos, from ringside. The defending champ then proceeded to reestablish his dominance as he laid waste to all of the other participants. With bodies scattered around McIntyre, Sheamus made his way into the match as the final entrant released from his pod. 

Shortly thereafter, Kingston seemed to be in prime position for at least one elimination as he took out the other four competitors with a dive from the top of one of the pods until his head was blasted with a Brogue Kick from Sheamus for the elimination. Jeff Hardy was the next victim of the match as he was met with a Claymore Kick from McIntyre who was able to easily pin him leaving us with three participants. The next elimination arrived after Sheamus leveled McIntyre with a Brogue Kick only to be surprised with a Phenomenal Forearm that lead to his swift exit from the match. Styles then attempted another Phenomenal Forearm on the champion but this time found himself on the receiving end of a Claymore Kick which allowed McIntyre to retain his title.

After the chamber was lifted from the ring, Drew McIntyre was ambushed by Bobby Lashley who cleaned the arena up with him in a vicious assault. With an apparent deal in place between The Miz and The Hurt Business, Miz promptly made his way to ringside with his Money In The Bank briefcase in tow.

WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. The Miz
Winner: The Miz via pinfall
As soon as the bell rang, The Miz pounced on the champion and immediately delivered a DDT followed by a failed pinfall attempt. With his hopes of winning the title appearing to be in dire straits, The Miz unrelentingly followed up with a Skullcrushing Finale to shock the WWE Universe and walk out of the pay per view as the newly crowned WWE Champion!

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WWE Money In The Bank 2020

By Steve Ward

The second pay per view of what I am dubbing WWE’s Quarantine Era, emanated from two locations this evening - the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL and from the roof of WWE Headquarters in Stamford, CT. I give WWE credit for thinking outside the box this evening to try and keep the product interesting when working with an eerily, mostly empty venue by taking the chaos to a novel location for the bouts that hold this event’s namesake - although it may behoove them to take a page out of AEW’s book and have the wrestlers sit at ringside during the matches to supply some sort of atmosphere. Nonetheless, the seven match card included four title bouts and was headlined by the men’s and women’s Money In The Bank ladder matches.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way

The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) (c) vs. Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado ) vs. The Miz & John Morrison vs. The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler w/ Jaxson Ryker)

Winners: The New Day via pinfall

The New Day recently regained the tag team titles from Miz & Morrison to become eight-time tag team champions and were immediately thrown into the fire this evening forced to defend their titles against three other teams. In the closing moments, it appeared that The Forgotten Sons were beginning to turn the tide until Ryker was banned from ringside for his interference causing enough of a distraction to allow The New Day to regain control. Kofi first neutralized Lince Dorado with the Trouble in Paradise allowing Big E to finish off Gran Metalik with The Big Ending solidifying their title defense.

Bobby Lashley vs. R-Truth

Winner: Bobby Lashley via pinfall

This match was initially scheduled to pit MVP versus R-Truth until Bobby Lashley made his way to ringside and told Montel Vontavious Porter to take the night off. To say this was a squash match is an understatement as R-Truth was unable to mount any real offense as Lashley manhandled him and finally finished him with a spear that broke him in half. On a side note, it continues to perplex me why R-Truth has mainly been comic relief in his lengthy second run with WWE after he was a very reputable heavyweight champion in TNA/Impact where some may remember him as Ron “The Truth” Killings but I digress.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) w/ Sasha Banks vs. Tamina

Winner: Bayley

Tamina Snuka was certainly game for the task at hand as she manhandled Bayley for the bulk of this contest. We seemed to be moments from crowning a new champion after Tamina executed the Samoan Drop on Bayley, however, Sasha proved to be the determining factor. Banks distracted Tamina just long enough for Bayley to get back to her feet but Tamina was still able to hoist her up for another Samoan Drop attempt only to be thwarted by a rollup that allowed Bayley to steal the pinfall and retain her title.

WWE Universal Championship

Braun Strowman (c) vs. Bray Wyatt

Winner: Braun Strowman via pinfall

After earning his first Universal Championship at Wrestlemania by dominating the legendary Goldberg, Braun Strowman made his first defense this evening. For those who have a short term memory, these two men have a deeply rooted history as Strowman was the last addition to the Wyatt Family before it eventually disbanded. Another interesting booking decision for this match was to pit Strowman against the puppet wielding, children’s show version of Wyatt instead of The Fiend - perhaps to preserve the persona and avoid having The Fiend suffer defeat twice in a row. Wyatt appeared like he had gotten into the head of Strowman briefly with the use of some of his Firefly Funhouse puppets at ringside - enough so that he was able to drop him with a Sister Abigail. The Monster Among Men proved to be too formidable of a force, however, as he sealed his victory with a running power slam.

WWE Heavyweight Championship

Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Seth Rollins

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

Drew McIntyre made his first title defense since Wrestlemania, the night where he defeated Brock Lesnar for the championship and defended it that same night against The Big Show. Tonight he met a stiff test in the form of muli-time champion, “The Monday Night Messiah” Seth Rollins. Rollins threw everything he had at the defending champ this evening including a Frog Splash, top rope super plex, the Curb Stomp, and the Falcon Arrow but it wasn’t enough as McIntyre was able to drop him with the Claymore Kick to retain his title.

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Lacey Evans vs. Nia Jax vs. Carmella vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Dana Brooke vs. Asuka

Winner: Asuka

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

A.J. Styles vs. Otis vs. Aleister Black vs. King Corbin vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Daniel Bryan

Winner: Otis

For those not familiar with the stipulation of these matches, it’s simple - scale a ladder in the center of the ring, retrieve the briefcase, and earn the ability to challenge the world champion of your choice at any point during the next year. An interesting dynamic with these matches presented itself as aside from taking place at WWE Headquarters, they also started simultaneously with the women beginning in the lobby and the men commencing from the building’s workout facility. The goal still was for one man and one woman to make their way to the roof of the building where a ring was set up and retrieve their respective briefcases. After roughly 20 minutes of fighting throughout the building, Nia Jax and Lacey Evans were finally the first to make their way to the roof followed shortly thereafter by Asuka. None of the other women ever made it to the roof as Asuka ascended to the top of the ladder at the same time as King Corbin. For good measure, Asuka kicked Corbin off of the ladder and retrieved the women’s briefcase crowning our first winner of the evening in the process. In the closing moments, A.J. Styles and King Corbin found themselves at the top of the ladder fighting over the briefcase. Both men had their hands on the briefcase as it was unlatched and it appeared that Styles was going to walk away the victor as Elias emerged to deliver a brutal, guitar shattering shot to Corbin, however, this caused the briefcase to be propelled into the hands of the new Mr. Money In The Bank….Otis.

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WWE Elimination Chamber 2020

By Steve Ward

The final stop on the Road to Wrestlemania arrived this evening to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Some of the luster was removed from the event as the men’s Elimination Chamber to determine who would compete for the Universal Championship was cancelled. Apparently it was already a foregone conclusion that Roman Reigns would end up receiving the opportunity so he simply walked out on Smackdown two weeks ago, declared he’s “next,” and there you have it - Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg at the Showcase of the Immortals. Don’t fret though because tonight’s card still featured two chamber matches among the seven bouts on the card.

Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak

Winner: Daniel Bryan via submission

This evening’s main card opened with two competitors boasting prominent technical IQs - the leader of the rejuvenated YES Movement Daniel Bryan and Philly’s own master of the PowerPoint presentation Drew Gulak. While not conducive towards evoking a rousing crowd reaction at times, these two men put on a grappling clinic for the fans in attendance. Despite being one of the best matches I’ve ever seen Gulak put on, Daniel Bryan was able to cinch in the YES Lock solidifying his victory as Gulak passed out.

United States Championship
Andrade (c) w/ Zelina Vega vs. Humberto Carrillo
Winner: Andrade via pinfall

Andrade appeared to be in dire straits late in this contest after Carrillo executed an awe-inspiring vault over the referee and the top rope that put Andrade on his back. Carrillo subsequently rolled up Andrade in a pinfall attempt, however, it was reversed as Andrade grabbed his tights to steal the victory and retain his title.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match
The Miz & John Morrison (c) vs. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler vs. Lucha House Party vs. Heavy Machinery vs. The New Day vs. The Usos
Winners: The Miz and John Morrison via pinfall

The Miz and Morrison were immediately thrown into the fire as the first defense of the titles they just won at Super Showdown was in the sadistic confines of the Elimination Chamber. The New Day and The Usos were tasked with the distinct disadvantage of  kicking off the match. The first team to be released from their chamber was the Lucha House Party. After the Lucha House Party scaled to the top of one of the pods to clear out their adversaries with some of their signature acrobatics, the defending champs Miz & Morrison were the next to enter the fray. The two proceeded to dismantle the other men in the ring with a proficient display of tandem offense reminding the WWE Universe why they were such a proficient team years ago. The next team to emerge from their respective chamber was Heavy Machinery. Just after Otis executed the Caterpillar followed by the elbow drop, Lince Dorado climbed to the top of the chamber in American Gladiators fashion and dropped to the ring taking out all of the other competitors in the ring. Heavy Machinery emerged then to hit the Compactor on Gran Metalik to eliminate the Lucha House Party. Roode and Ziggler then became the final team to enter the contest after winning the tag team gauntlet on Friday Night Smackdown this week. 

Otis attempted to exact revenge on Ziggler for ruining his Valentine’s Day date with Mandy Rose, however, it backfired and he ran through the pod landing out on the floor as Dolph evaded him. Tucker was left to fend for himself, however, Roode and Ziggler were too much. Roode drilled ASU alumni Tucker Knight with the Glorious DDT to eliminate Heavy Machinery. Their brief celebration didn’t last long as The New Day laid waste to Roode and Ziggler setting up The Usos to dive from opposite pods setting up the pinfall and leaving us with three teams. Our next elimination arrived after Kofi attempted a dive of his own off the top of one of the pods only to find his target moved. Miz and Morrison proceeded to pick up the scraps and piled on Kofi for the pinfall. This left us with the defending champs and one of the first teams to start this match in the Usos as our final two. Shortly after executing Starship Pain on Jimmy Uso, The Miz rolled him up and Morrison launched over the top rop for a tandem pinfall to retain their titles.

No Disqualification Match
AJ Styles w/ Gallows & Anderson vs. Aleister Black
Winner: Aleister Black via pinfall

Black “earned” his shot at The Phenomenal One after The O.C. laid waste to him this past week on RAW. Aside from the no disqualification stipulation, one was also left to wonder whether the Undertaker would make his presence felt after he easily defeated Styles in the final match of the gauntlet at Super Showdown in addition to Styles continued mocking of The Deadman - most notably how he emulated Taker’s signature pin on Black Monday night. This turned into a brutally contested bout as Styles was unable to put Black away. Frustration on the part of the O.C. spilled over as they brought the numbers game into play and proceeded to beat down Black. Just as he appeared doomed, the lights in the arena faded to black as the ominous “gong” echoed through the Wells Fargo Center. As the lights came back up, The Undertaker was standing with his hands wrapped around the throats of Gallows and Anderson. Styles attempted to attack The Undertaker from behind with a Phenomenal Forearm, however, he was caught in midair and suffered a vicious choke slam. Just as quick as the Undertaker appeared, the lights faded, the bell tolled, and he vanished. Black then capitalized on the opportunity and tattooed Styles with the Black Mass for the victory.

RAW Tag Team Championship
The Street Profits (c) vs. Seth Rollins & Murphy w/ AOP
Winners: The Street Profits via pinfall

After Kevin Owens cost Rollins and Murphy their tag team titles on Monday night, they promptly enacted their rematch clause this evening. The Monday Night Messiah attempted to stack the deck in his favor this evening as the Authors of Pain joined him at ringside. This advantage was swiftly neutralized as The Viking Raiders made their way to ringside and the two teams proceeded to brawl their way out of the arena. Late in the contest, Kevin Owens entered through the crowd to ringside where he posed just enough of a distraction towards Rollins that allowed the Street Profits to take control of the contest. Montez Ford put the finishing touches on their title defense as he landed the frogsplash for the victory. After the contest, Kevin Owens grabbed Rollins from behind as he berated Buddy Murphy for being pinned to suffer the fate of a Stunner in the middle of the ring seemingly setting up their date at Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Championship Three On One Handicap Match
Braun Strowman (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn
Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall

The Monster Among Men found himself in this predicament after Sami Zayn twisted his words at the contact signing for this bout and had it changed into a handicap match. After allowing Nakamura and Cesaro to do all of the heavy lifting for a majority of the bout, Zayn was there to pick up the scraps in the end. After he was dealt a Kinshasa by Nakamura, Strowman was left dazed. Zayn proceeded to tag himself in as Nakamura and Cesaro hoisted Strowman up and delivered a Helluva Kick as he was dropped to the canvas. Zayn then covered Strowman for the shocker of the evening crowning a new champion in the process.

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
Natalya vs. Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka vs. Sarah Logan vs. Ruby Riott
Winner: Shayna Baszler via submission

The main event of the evening pit six women against each other in the visceral Elimination Chamber with a shot at Becky Lynch’s RAW Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania hanging in the balance. Natalya and Riott kicked off this match and Natalya wasted no time taking her to the platform of the chamber where she quickly cinched in a Sharpshooter to no avail. Sarah Logan was the next to enter the bout and she immediately propelled herself at Natalya with a double knee strike so she could focus on her former cohort Ruby Riott. Baszler next entered the match and after launching Natalya into a ring post, the Queen of Spades proceeded to eliminate both Sarah Logan and Ruby Riott in a span of less than 60 seconds with back-to-back Kirifuda Clutches. Baszler then redirected her attention to Natalya and brutalized her with the door of one of the empty pods. With Natalya beaten senseless, Baszler cinched in another Kirifuda Clutch for yet another submission elimination. Liv Morgan was the next to enter the match and attempted to mount some offense but it didn’t phase Baszler. Baszler then dragged Morgan to the corner in front of Asuka’s pod and locked her in another Kirifuda clutch until she passed out. Finally after a few minutes of Asuka shouting at Baszler in Japanese, she made her way into the match as the final entrant. Asuka was game for Baszler, however, the Queen of Spades overcame the Asuka Lock to finally cinch in yet another Kirifuda Clutch. While Asuka didn’t tap out, she eventually passed out solidifying Shayna Baszler as Becky Lynch’s challenger in 28 days at Wrestlemania.



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WWE Hell In A Cell 2019

By Steve Ward

One of the most significant and eventful weeks that we’ve witnessed in several years in the world of professional wrestling culminated with WWE Hell In A Cell which emanated from Sacramento, CA this evening. First, the RAW season premiere saw the WWE’s flagship show debut a new commentary team and set with the return of a healthy dose of pyrotechnics. Next, Wednesday was the premier of AEW Dynamite on TNT which produced the highest rated show on the network in five years. Lastly, WWE Friday Night Smackdown! debuted on FOX with an electrifying opening featuring The People‘s Champ. Whether WWE wants to admit it or not, they’ve taken notice of AEW and were clearly pulling out all of the stops that their TV-PG rating would allow and Hell In A Cell could provide the perfect setting to continue to push the envelope. The card this evening featured eight bouts with four titles contested.

RAW Women’s Championship Hell In A Cell Match

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks

Winner: Becky Lynch via submission

No time was wasted introducing the brutality this evening as the main card immediately opened with a sadistic Hell In A Cell Match. In a very evenly contested match, Lynch was able to survive chair shots, being assaulted with a kendo stick, and having Sasha drive her through a table to overcome adversity and retain her title. The bout concluded with Lynch executing a top rope Beck-sploder suplex that landed Banks on a plethora of chairs. The Man then followed up with The Disarmer for the submission victory.

Tornado Tag Team Match

Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper

Winners: Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns via pinfall

Harper and Rowan laid waste to Reigns and Bryan for the vast majority of this contest. Despite Rowan being driven through a table by Reigns late in the bout, Harper still seemed poised to solidify the victory for his team as he executed back to back Dragon Suplexes on Daniel Bryan. Harper could have easily gone for the pinfall but rather got greedy and attempted a third Dragon Suplex. Bryan was able to land on his feet and as Harper missed a follow-up clothesline, Reigns slipped back into the ring behind him and connected on a Superman Punch. This allowed Daniel Bryan to strike Harper with a running knee and Roman solidified the victory with the spear.

Randy Orton vs. Ali

Winner: Randy Orton via pinfall

This match came to fruition on the pre-show after a brief backstage confrontation and all I need to say is RKO Outta Nowhere - nice try Ali.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Kabuki Warriors (Kairi Sane & Asuka)

Winners: The Kabuki Warriors via pinfall

After being relatively forgotten for several months, Asuka and Kairi Sane ensured failure would not be an option. In the closing moments of the match, Asuka sprayed a cloud of green mist into the face of Nikki Cross as the referee was distracted. This allowed her to deliver a brutal kick to her head and score the pinfall victory crowning new champions.

Six-Man Tag Team Match

The OC (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson) vs. The Viking Raiders and Braun Strowman

Winners: The Viking Raiders and Braun Strowman via DQ

After weeks of feuding between The OC and the Viking Raiders, the men collectively known as War Machine previously, enlisted the assistance of Braun Strowman for this six man encounter. In the closing moments of this bout, The OC took advantage of the numbers game with the Viking Raiders subdued at ringside and proceeded to beat down The Monster Among Men to the point the referee elected to disqualify them.

King Corbin vs. Chad Gable

Winner: Chad Gable

After losing to Corbin in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament just a few weeks ago, he had been subjected to verbal jabs from the newly crowned king ever since setting up this bout tonight. Gable more than held his own in this contest with one of his most impressive moves being a roll through German suplex of the much taller Corbin. In the end, frustration got the better of Corbin as he retrieved his scepter from ringside and attempted to strike Gable. The referee put a stop to this by grabbing the scepter and as they struggled, Gable rolled up King Corbin for the pinfall victory.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

Winner: Charlotte Flair via submission

After Bayley drove Charlotte’s head into an exposed turnbuckle to defeat Charlotte at last month’s Clash of Champions, the two squared off again this evening once again with the title on the line. Unfortunately the crowd response in this bout was lacking until the closing moments when Charlotte Flair cinched in the Figure Eight for the submission victory marking the start of her record tenth title reign.

Universal Championship Hell In A Cell Match

Seth Rollins (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Winner: No contest

After Rollins successfully retained his title at Clash of Champions, he was assaulted by Wyatt on the stage and choked out with a Mandible Claw. Since then, Rollins has found himself terrorized time and time again by The Fiend setting up the main event this evening. An interesting dynamic to this match, aside from being contested in the Hell In A Cell, was the ambience of the arena as it was draped in red lighting for the duration of the match. After a significant level of brutality throughout the bout, Rollins had Wyatt laid out in the center of the ring and covered him with a ladder and a steel chair after several failed pinfall attempts. Rollins then went back under the ring and procured a sledgehammer. Before Rollins used it, the referee implored him not to proceed. Rollins disregarded the referee’s plea and drove the sledgehammer into the ladder leading the referee to call for the bell - in a no DQ match. As the arena was showered with boos from an enraged WWE Universe, the cell was raised and EMTs were called to the ring to tend to Wyatt. As Wyatt was placed on a board, Rollins went to grab him by the shirt only to be welcomed with a Mandible Claw. Wyatt then continued his assault on Rollins which concluded with a Sister Abigail to the exposed arena floor followed by another Mandible Claw that left Rollins bleeding from the mouth. Despite continued boos and chants of  “restart the match,” The Fiend made his exit from the arena as an unsettling and dissatisfied air consumed the arena.

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WWE Stomping Grounds Recap

By Steve Ward

WWE unveiled a new pay per view this evening entitled Stomping Grounds that was accompanied by the tagline, “It’s time to kick ass and take names.” Perhaps the prolific use of the word ass is WWE’s attempt to become “edgier” for FOX while still painstakingly maintaining a PG rating. To me and many longtime pro wrestling fans, June will always be known as the month that once belonged to the classic King of the Ring show but for now, this is what we get. Despite my seemingly negative perception of WWE and their current product, I continue to remain optimistic that Triple H will have the opportunity to bring his booking prowess to the main roster currently utilized on the real “A show” of WWE, NXT. This evening’s show emanated from Tacoma, WA and featured eight matches with six titles contested - not to mention the ominous overshadowing of Brock Lesnar looming with the Money in the Bank briefcase in tow.

RAW Women’s Chamionship

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lacey Evans

Winner: Becky Lynch via submission

With Lacey Evans continued ascension to main event competitor in full swing, she earned her first pay per view title shot against The Man this evening. Lacey brought the fight to Lynch in a very competitive opening contest that set the tone for the show. In the end, The Man was able to retain her title against the overzealous Evans as she cinched in the Disarmer for the victory.

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Xavier Woods & Big E

Winners: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn via pinfall

In an effort to keep these four men from becoming involved in the WWE Championship match (because that always works), they were thrown into tag team competition. KO certainly had the crowd behind him in this tag team encounter which held a frenetic pace throughout. KO was able to solidify the victory for his team after he paid homage to Stone Cold Steve Austin with a stunner that laid out Xavier Woods. A notable mention should be made to Woods, however, as he continues to don his Iron Sheik-esque boots - although nothing compares to his old TNA/Impact persona, Consequences Creed, which to me was reminiscent of Afro Thunder from the classic boxing game Ready 2 Rumble.

United States Championship

Samoa Joe (c) vs. Ricochet

Winner: Ricochet

Ricochet earned this opportunity against the Samoan Submission Machine after he exited a Fatal Five Way match as the victor on RAW last Monday. In a rather shocking turn of events, Joe dominated virtually the entire match until Ricochet hit a Codebreaker (which Michael Cole dubbed a “double knees to the face”) and scaled his way to the top turnbuckle from which he masterfully executed a 630 splash to earn his first United States title.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship

Heavy Machinery vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan (c)

Winners: Daniel Bryan & Rowan via pinfall

ASU alumni Tucker Knight and his partner Otis Dozovic put forth a spirited effort in their conquest for the Smackdown tag team titles and I dare to say it was better than the three matches that preceded it. The final moments saw Tucker take flight from the top turnbuckle to the outside where he flattened out Rowan with a sickening collision. As Tucker reentered the ring, Daniel Bryan rolled him up quickly for the pinfall victory.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Alexa Bliss w/ Nikki Cross vs. Bayley (c)

Winner: Bayley

Bliss had Bayley set up for Twisted Bliss when Nikki Cross entered the ring in an attempt to exact revenge on Bayley. This distraction allowed Bayley to intercept Bliss on the turnbuckles but The Goddess was able to knock Bayley back down to the canvas. As Bliss again attempted Twisted Bliss, Bayley got her knees up and subsequently executed the Bayley to Belly suplex for the victory.

Drew McIntyre w/ Shane McMahon vs. Roman Reigns

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

After Reigns was embarrassed by Shane at Super Showdown, his path to redemption continued this evening with McMahon’s “henchman,” The Scottish Psychopath Drew McIntyre. Roman was able to overcome the adversity of Shane’s presence at ringside, including dragging the referee out of the ring at one point to allow him to land a Coast to Coast on Reigns. The conclusion of the match saw Roman land a punishing spear on McIntyre to secure the pinfall.

WWE Championship Steel Cage Match

Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

Winner: Kofi Kingston via cage escape

After Kofi retained his title over Ziggler at Super Showdown thanks to help from Xavier Woods, Ziggler demanded a rematch within the carnal confines of a steel cage. In a rather uninspired match, where it even seemed as if WWE lowered the crowd volume at one point as they booed, there was a surprising lack of high risk maneuvers attempted considering the combatants. In the end, the cage door was open as Dolph attempted to crawl out only to have Kofi vault himself over the top rope (and Ziggler), through the door, down to the arena floor to retain his title.

Universal Championship Match

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Baron Corbin

w/ special guest referee Lacey Evans

Winner: Seth Rollins

After Rollins had all of his special guest referee selections suffer vicious beatings at the hands of Rollins and a steel chair, Corbin selected one who he knew Rollins wouldn’t attack - Lacey Evans. After Evans persisted with her one-sided shenanigans, such as changing the match to a no DQ contest, Becky Lynch came down to ringside and opened a can of whoop ass on her. This allowed referee John Cone to take over much to the chagrin of Baron Corbin. Corbin attempted another End of Days only to have Rollins escape and execute a super kick followed by the Curb Stomp to retain his title.

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WWE Fastlane Recap

By Steve Ward

The final stop on the Road to Wrestlemania landed this evening in Cleveland, OH as WWE presented Fastlane. The jam packed Quicken Loans Arena was treated to a nine match card that featured six titles being put on the line. This show certainly delivered and gave the WWE Universe a solid glimpse of the framework for how some feuds may develop and continue on over the next four weeks leading up to Wrestlemania in New Jersey.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship

The Usos (c) vs. The Miz & Shane McMahon

Winners: The Usos via pinfall

“The Best Tag Team in the World” sought to reclaim their tag team titles this evening after they dropped them to The Usos at last month’s Elimination Chamber event. The first "oh shit" moment of the match arrived when Shane McMahon was positioned on the top turnbuckle ready to deliver the Coast to Coast on one of the Usos, however, the other Uso brother climbed to the top of the opposite corner poised to deliver a splash to The Miz who was laid out in the center of the ring. Both men timed their jumps perfectly as Shane McMahon and the Uso collided in mid air! The conclusion of the match came as one of The Usos laid in the center of the ring and The Miz looked over to his father at ringside who gestured for him to ascend to the top rope, something The Miz is not known for. The Miz attempted a Frogsplash, however, he was greeted by a pair of knees from Jimmy or Jay Uso (I couldn’t tell which one it was and neither could the commentary team) and was rolled up for the 1-2-3. After the match, The Miz and Shane walked over to the The Miz’s father for a brief consolatory embrace. As Miz walked away, Shane McMahon clotheslined him from behind and proceeded to decimate him finally putting him to sleep with a guillotine choke in front of his father. In my anticipation, this will likely lead the two men straight into a head-to-head confrontation at Wrestlemania. 

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Asuka (c) vs. Mandy Rose

Winner: Asuka via pinfall

In my opinion, this match displayed how shallow the women’s division has become on Smackdown since Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch have migrated over to RAW. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very talented and promising women representing Smackdown, Mandy Rose included, but she wouldn’t at this stage exactly be who I’d expect to see compete in a pay-per-view title match. Just moments prior to the conclusion of the match, Sonya Deville lifted the ring apron as she attempted to locate a weapon beneath the ring, however, this action would prove to be costly for Rose. Shortly after the apron was left folded up onto the ring canvas, Asuka reversed an Irish whip attempt by Rose propelling her into the ropes. As Rose arrived at the ropes she slipped on the ring apron and stumbled right into a devastating round house kick delivered by The Empress of Tomorrow. The strike which dropped Rose like a sack of potatoes, allowed Asuka to easily cover her for the pinfall and to retain her title.

Handicap Match

The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) vs. Kofi Kingston

Winners: The Bar via pinfall

After The New Day stormed Mr. McMahon’s office and demanded that Kofi be placed in the WWE Championship match, Kofi made his way to the ring as the match was announced to be for the WWE Championship. One of the ringside attendants then called for the ring announcer to come over to ringside. The announcer proceeded to proclaim that the triple threat match would take place later in the evening and Kofi was thrown into a handicap match with The Bar. The Bar engaged in a completely one-sided brutal assault as they relentlessly bludgeoned Kofi with a plethora of tandem offense. Big E and Xavier Woods attempted to come to the rescue only to have their actions thwarted by Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev. The Bar subsequently executed a double White Noise and finally put Kofi out of his misery with a pinfall.

RAW Tag Team Championship

The Revival (c) vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black

Winners: The Revival via pinfall

The tempo of this match was frenetic to say the least. Ricochet was certainly a human highlight reel in this bout. One of the highlights saw Ricochet run from corner to corner and vault himself over the ring post as he took Bobby Roode out. As Ricochet propelled himself out of the ring, however, Chad Gable had the wherewithal to tag himself into the match. Gable was subsequently overwhelmed by both members of The Revival and with no salvation in sight, was finished with the Shatter Machine as Dash and Dawson retained their titles.

United States Championship Fatal Four Way Match

Samoa Joe (c) vs. R-Truth vs. Andrade w/ Zelina Vega vs. Rey Mysterio

Winner: Samoa Joe via submission

This match, added during the kickoff show, was a rematch from Tuesday night when Samoa Joe won the title. Samoa Joe was able to retain his title in impressive fashion and put the exclamation point on his performance as he rolled out the way of a springboard splash attempt by Rey Mysterio and quickly cinched in the Coquina Clutch for the victory.

Women’s Tag Team Titles

Boss n’ Hug Connection (Bayley & Sasha Banks) (c) vs. Nia Jax & Tamina

Winners: Boss n’ Hug Connection via pinfall

After imposing her will for much of the contest, Nia Jax took exception to being rolled up for the pinfall by Bayley and she and her partner proceeded to lay waste to Bayley and Banks. As the onslaught spilled to the outside, special commentator Beth Phoenix dropped Tamina after an intense staredown, but was quickly decimated by Nia Jax. As the assault returned to the ring, Natalya attempted to save The Glamazon but unfortunately suffered a similar fate. Could we see a return to the ring for the WWE Hall of Famer? Only time will tell…Perhaps as soon as tomorrow night on RAW.

WWE Championship Triple Threat Match

Daniel Bryan w/ Rowan vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Daniel Bryan

This match was originally supposed to be Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston until Mr. McMahon replaced Kingston with Kevin Owens fresh off the shelf from double knee surgery. The implication earlier in the evening was that Kofi would be placed in this match, however, Mustafa Ali was shockingly the third participant. Kevin Owens frustratingly witnessed several near pinfalls slip through his fingers. First, he rolled out of the way of an 054 attempt by Ali and answered with a Stunner only to have Bryan break up the pinfall attempt. Owens was even able to execute the Pop-Up Powerbomb on Bryan and Ali to no avail. KO was finally removed from the equation by Rowan who launched him into the timekeeper’s area leaving Ali and Bryan alone in the ring. Ali attempted a splash off the top rope only to be viciously struck with a pair of knees by Bryan who was able to capitalize and pin Ali to retain his title.

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Winner: Becky Lynch via DQ

This match was created after Becky Lynch’s suspension was lifted on Monday night by Stephanie McMahon. The stipulation stated if Becky Lynch could come out victorious, she would be added to the RAW Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania with Flair and Ronda Rousey. The Man, still sporting a crutch for her “injured” knee, spent the first few minutes hopping around on one leg as she was taunted by Flair. Flair then took control of the contest as she proceeded to go to work on Becky’s knee. As Flair seemed to have the match won when she locked in the Figure Four, Ronda Rousey sprinted to the ring and struck Becky Lynch. This action caused Flair to be disqualified awarding the match to Becky Lynch and punching her ticket to Wrestlemania.

Following the match, Elias rewarded the crowd with his THIRD performance of the evening and, as he was sure to allude to, it went uninterrupted. That is until Lacey Evans’ music hit and she walked to and from the ring. As Elias was distracted, he was stunned with an RKO Outta Nowhere! As Orton admired his work, A.J. Styles launched himself into the ring and dropped The Legend Killer with a Phenomenal Forearm. It appears that we are on course to witness Styles vs. Orton at The Showcase of the Immortals.

The Shield vs. Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, & Baron Corbin

Winners: The Shield

This match not only marked Roman Reigns first match in six months since he announced that he would need to undergo treatment for his Leukemia that returned, but also the “final ride” for The Shield. Roman rallied the troops for this final union in the ring because WWE, quite surprisingly unless it’s a work, has reiterated the reports that have circulated online that Dean Ambrose will not renew his contract. The match started a bit on the slow side to be honest, but business quickly picked up as the carnage spilled to the outside of the ring. The highlights included a Shield Bomb (triple power bomb) delivered on Drew McIntyre as he was unceremoniously put through the Spanish announce table. The second Shield Bomb was executed on Baron Corbin in the center of the ring after which Roman Reigns scored the pinfall.

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