WWE WrestleMania 40 - Night One

By Steve Ward

The 40th installment of the Showcase of the Immortals, WWE WrestleMania, emanated from the home of the Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia, PA. As has become the norm for the past few years, WWE again elected for a two night event in order to capitalize on their ability to produce to sellout gates with two mediocre cards padded with unnecessary vignettes and advertisements between every bout. This evening’s card featured seven matches with three titles contested and was headlined by Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins teaming up against The Rock and Roman Reigns to determine the stipulation for night two’s Universal Championship match.

Women’s World Championship

Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley (c)

Winner: Rhea Ripley via pinfall

The opening bout of the weekend would have the potential to set the bar high as Becky Lynch, winner of the Women’s Elimination Chamber, earned her shot at the dominant Rhea Ripley’s RAW Women’s Championship. Becky Lynch gave a commendable effort but was clearly slowed as she battled strep throat. In the closing moments, Ripley was simply too much for The Man as she delivered a Riptide into the turnbuckle and immediately followed it up with yet another Riptide to successfully defend her title.

Six Pack Challenge for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship Ladder Match

DIY (Tommasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Awesome Truth (R-Truth & The Miz) vs. New Catch Republic (Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) vs. The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) vs. The Judgement Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) (c)

Winners: Smackdown Tag Team Championship - Grayson Waller & Austin Theory; RAW Tag Team Championship - R-Truth & The Miz

Although this match was for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship, both the RAW and Smackdown Tag Team titles were suspended above the ring separately and the match would continue until both sets were retrieved. The first set of titles removed from their suspension above the ring were the Smackdown titles by Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. In the closing moments, R-Truth dumped Damian Priest out of the ring with an Attitude Adjustment and scaled the ladder to retrieve the RAW Tag Team Championship.

Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar

Winners: Rey Mysterio & Andrade via pinfall

The leader of the LWO, Rey Mysterio, recently returned from injury and dove right back into his bitter rivalry with former stablemate Santos Escobar (who has since reformed Legado del Fantasma). Dominik Mysterio then decided to insert himself back into Rey’s business making tonight’s affair a tag team match. Rey was set to team with Dragon Lee initially, however, he was taken out on Smackdown last night leaving the door open for Andrade to step in after he decided he didn’t agree with Escobar’s tactics. The match reached its conclusion shortly after Dominik Mysterio attempted to get a chair from ringside to use on his father. Before he was able to crack Rey’s skull with the steel chair, a pair of men donning luchador masks emerged from the crowd to thwart his efforts. This left Escobar vulnerable to the Tadpole Splash from Rey Mysterio which secured the pinfall.

Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso

Winner: Jey Uso via pinfall

Following his departure from The Bloodline, Jey Uso left Smackdown for RAW in search of a new start - his brother Jimmy, however, would not allow this as he has continued to insert himself in his brother’s business time and time again which brought us to, tonight. The conclusion of the match saw Jey Uso deliver a spear and subsequent splash from the top rope to solidify the victory.

Damage Ctrl (Kairi Sane, Asuka, & Dakota Kai) vs. Bianca Belair, Naomi, & Jade Cargill

Winners: Bianca Belair, Naomi, & Jade Cargill via pinfall

Interestingly enough, WWE decided to book the Women’s Tag Team Champions, The Kabuki Warriors, in a six-woman tag team match instead of a title bout. The Kabuki Warriors teamed with fellow Damage Ctrl member Dakota Kai as Bianca Belair recruited Naomi and Jade Cargill who returned/debuted at the Royal Rumble. In the closing moments of a rather brief bout, Jade Cargill was left alone with Dakota Kai who she dispatched with Jaded.

WWE Intercontinental Championship

Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn

Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall

Gunther put his record-setting Intercontinental Championship reign on the line this evening against the resilient Sami Zayn. “The Ring General” Gunther dominated the entire match and seemed to have an impressive victory at hand after delivering a barrage of power bombs and splashes. After Zayn kicked out of a late pinfall attempt, Gunther scaled the turnbuckles only to be intercepted with a Helluva Kick. Zayn then delivered a brain buster in the corner and immediately followed with another Helluva Kick to shock the WWE Universe and end the record championship reign of Gunther.

The Rock & Roman Reigns w/ Paul Heyman vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

Winners: The Rock & Roman Reigns via pinfall

The main event of Night One had significant implications for the stipulation of Cody Rhodes match with Roman Reigns on Night Two with the Universal Championship hanging in the balance. If Rhodes and Rollins were victorious, the Bloodline would be banned from ringside, however, if The Rock and Roman Reigns prevailed, then the Universal Championship would be contested under Bloodline Rules. This carnage-filled encounter showed that The Rock didn’t lose a step in his near decade away from the ring. With broken tables and broken bodies galore, the final moments of the match saw Seth Rollins incapacitated by Roman Reigns after being speared through the ringside barricade. This left The Rock and Rhodes in the ring alone. The Brahma Bull executed The Rock Bottom and immediately proceeded to hit the most electrifying move in sports entertainment, The People’s Elbow, to put away The American Nightmare and set up Bloodline Rules for Night Two’s main event.

Wrestlemania 38 Night One

By Steve Ward

WWE kicked off the “Showcase of the Immortals” with night one of a two night extravaganza from AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX. Some may say two is better than one or that they had grown weary of how long Wrestlemania had become each year prior to COVID, however, the event which for over 30 years has equated itself to the Super Bowl of professional wrestling now feels as if it’s lost some of it’s luster. No longer is it the one day of the year that die-hard and casual fans alike would mark on their calendars but instead an opportunity for WWE to capitalize on two days of massive ticket gates and merchandise sales with an overproduced product. Nonetheless, that’s what we have and can only hope that two days worth of shows can produce one equivalent in entertainment value to AEW Revolution last month. Night one’s card featured seven matches with three titles contested and the main event segment would highlight the return of the legendary Stone Cold Steve Austin as the guest of Kevin Owens on the KO Show.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship

Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs vs. The Usos (c)

Winners: The Usos via pinfall

The night opened as The Usos put their 257-day title reign on the line against the duo of Nakamura and Boogs (who has replaced Elias as WWE’s resident guitar player - although I still wonder if he’s actually playing at times). As Nakamura and Boogs seemed to have all the momentum midway through the match, Boogs knee gave out as he attempted to carry both Usos on his shoulders effectively removing him from the match. The numbers game was too much for Nakamura as he finally succumbed to the 1D (The Usos version of the Dudley Death Drop) allowing Jimmy and Jey to retain their titles.

Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin w/ Madcap Moss

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

In a rivalry that has seemingly been carried out for way too long, not only because of a lack of creative ideas but also to ensure both men had a spot on the Wrestlemania card, McIntyre and Corbin’s months long rivalry hopefully reach it’s conclusion tonight. In what should be the final chapter of this long running program between the two, McIntyre withstood Corbin’s End of Days in order to execute the Claymore Kick moments later to seal the victory.

Rey & Dominic Mysterio vs. The Miz & Logan Paul

Winners: The Miz & Logan Paul via pinfall

This bout came to fruition after The Miz ridiculed Dominic Mysterio for having a contract only because of his father (which is not completely false) and later introduced YouTuber and “boxer” Logan Paul as his tag team partner. It appeared that The Mysterios were poised for victory as The Miz was seemingly out of the picture. Logan Paul fell victim to a dual 619 and then back to back frog splashes. As Rey went for the pinfall attempt, Miz reemerged and dropped Dominic on top of Rey. Miz then executed the Skull Crushing Finale and pinned the elder Mysterio for the win. As The Miz and Logan Paul celebrated, Miz back-stabbed Paul and delivered another Skull Crushing Finale to his tag team partner to ensure he was the only one in the spotlight as the dust settled.

RAW Women’s Championship

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair

Winner: Bianca Belair via pinfall

Following the shocking return back at Summerslam by Becky Lynch where she took Belair’s title in 26 seconds, Belair finally finally found her way into a rematch with “Big Time” Becky Lynch on the grandest stage of them all. This match would have been significantly more entertaining if it was about five minutes shorter as it just seemed to drag on and on between a few highlights such as Lynch delivering a senton-like heel kick from the top rope and Belair executing a 450 splash from the middle rope. The conclusion arrived after Belair executed the KOD for the win as a new champion was crowned.

Seth Rollins vs. An Opponent of Mr. McMahon’s Choosing (Cody Rhodes)

Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

After Seth Rollins missed out on every opportunity for securing a match at Wrestlemania, Mr. McMahon told him this past Monday night on RAW that he would indeed have a match - against an opponent of his choosing. This caused speculation to run wild…would it be Cody Rhodes? Shane McMahon? Or my guess Corey Graves? Seth would not know until he made his way to the ring. After a few minutes of suspense, Cody Rhodes was revealed as Rollins’ mystery opponent. Interestingly enough, Cody made his way to the ring with his identical AEW entrance theme song and a near identical entrance through the floor of the entrance stage. This was enough to make me wonder for a split second if Vince McMahon had opened the “forbidden door” again after he allowed Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James to compete in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble Match. Seth Rollins seemed in prime position to spoil the return of Cody, however, he  was stopped dead in his tracks before attempting the curb stomp. Rhodes then countered with consecutive Cross Rhodes, The Bionic Elbow, and one final Cross Rhodes as he put away Seth Rollins in his return following a six year absence from the company.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ronda Rousey

Winner: Charlotte Flair via pinfall

Ronda Rousey not only made her shocking return to the WWE at the Royal Rumble but also won the match. Following her victory, she decided to challenge The Queen for her coveted title at Wrestlemania. Late in the match Ronda Rousey first executed the Piper’s Pit, however, Charlotte got her foot on the rope to break the pinfall attempt. Next, Rousey cinched in the armbar causing Charlotte to tap, however, referee Charles Robinson had been knocked out moments earlier. As Rousey attempted to stir him, Flair rolled up Ronda for the pinfall to retain her title.

Night one concluded with Kevin Owens hosting the KO Show with special guest, Stone Cold Steve Austin! After Austin made his way to the ring to the loudest pop of the entire show, Kevin Owens told Austin he didn’t bring him out to talk but rather to challenge him to a no holds barred match. Austin called for a referee and the fight was on!

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin via pinfall

Steve Austin looked like he never left a WWE ring as he beat Kevin Owens all over the stadium. In the closing moments, Owens was unable to capitalize on a Stunner he delivered to Austin as the Texas Rattlesnake rallied to deliver the real Stunner and pinned KO for the victory. This match was by and large the absolute highlight of the evening and arguably the most entertaining thing I’ve seen on WWE programming in years. If this was the last hurrah, it was fitting for one of, if not the, greatest of all time. Not only did Austin score the victory in his home state, but also had an epic beer celebration in the ring that featured a Stunner delivered to Byron Saxton and a beer shared with his brother.

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 Hell in a Cell 2020

By Steve Ward

The Quarantine Era continued into month number eight this evening as Hell In A Cell emanated from the Thunderdome (Amway Center) in Orlando, Florida. This continues to be an interesting decision in my opinion as not only AEW, but also other professional sports have embraced a limited return for fans - after all, you would think there has to be several outdoor venues in Florida that would gladly host WWE with limited capacity. Nonetheless, this evening’s card boasted six matches with four titles contested and was headlined by Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre going toe to toe in the ominous Hell In A Cell. 

Universal Championship Hell In A Cell I Quit Match

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Jey Uso

Winner: Roman Reigns

Following last month’s embarrassing loss to his cousin where his brother Jimmy threw in the towel for him, Jey found himself in a rematch for the Universal Championship this evening. This time the match would be escalated to an even greater level of intensity as the cousin’s battled within the carnal Hell In A Cell with the brutal addition of an “I Quit” stipulation where you must make your opponent give up. Sadly this match was another abomination with more of Roman preaching to his cousin than anything else. After Jey was beaten “senseless” but refused to quit, the ring was rushed by WWE officials. Following their futile efforts to get Roman out of the ring, Jimmy Uso came to his brother‘s aid. Roman seemingly listened to some sense but instead proceeded to put Jimmy in a guillotine choke for his efforts. Jey finally proclaimed the words “I quit” to save his brother leading the anticlimactic end to this “contest.” Following the match, Roman was met on the stage by his uncle Afa and father Sika (the legendary Wild Samoans) where they anointed him the new “head of the table.”

Elias vs. Jeff Hardy

Winner: Elias via DQ

Elias made his return from injury during the WWE Draft a couple weeks ago following a five month layoff that was attributed to being hit by a car driven by Jeff Hardy during the DUI angle they were involved in with Sheamus at the time. Elias immediately targeted Hardy leading to their first ever meeting in the squared circle this evening. Just as the contest was building momentum, Jeff Hardy followed Elias to the outside of the ring where he retrieved his guitar. Hardy intercepted Elias, took his guitar, and demolished it over him leading the referee to call an abrupt end to the match.

Otis w/ Tucker vs. The Miz w/ John Morrison

Winner: The Miz via pinfall

Following a courtroom segment on Friday Night Smackdown with JBL presiding, it was ruled that Otis would need to defend his Money In The Bank briefcase against The Miz leading us to their showdown this evening. Otis controlled the tempo for the majority of this bout which prompted John Morrison to attempt to intervene with the briefcase, however, the referee put a stop to it and he was banned from ringside. In a shocking turn of events, The Miz was laid out on the canvas and Otis proceeded to propel himself off of the ropes but was met with a strike to the back with the briefcase by his “best friend” Tucker. This allowed The Miz the opportunity to cover Otis for the pinfall as he became the new holder of the Money In The Bank briefcase.

Smackdown Women’s Championship Hell In A Cell Match

Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks

Winner: Sasha Banks via submission

Following the nuclear fallout of their friendship, Sasha Banks challenged Bayley and her 380 day reign as champion to a Hell In A Cell Match. This match was better than the Hell In A Cell which opened the show, however, that isn’t saying much. In the closing moments of the bout, Bayley seemed to be moments from retaining her title as she brutalized Banks with several chair shots and the Bayley To Belly, however, Sasha kicked out of the subsequent pinfall attempt. Bayley then attempted the Bayley to Belly again with the use of a chair but Banks pulled off a sloppy reversal that propelled Bayley’s head into her own chair. Sasha took advantage of this as she trapped Bayley’s head in the chair and cinched in the Bank Statement for the submission victory as a new champion was crowned.

United States Championship

Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Slapjack

Winner: Bobby Lashley via submission

The developing feud between The Hurt Business and Retribution picked up steam recently as Mustafa Ali was revealed as their leader. This evening’s title contest came to fruition on the Kickoff Show as Ali challenged The Hurt Business to a match. MVP accepted the challenge and proclaimed that Bobby Lashley would defend his United States Championship against Slapjack (yes, you read that correctly) of Retribution. Bobby Lashley dominated Slapjack from the opening bell and with the exception of some brief offense on the part of the Retribution member, this was a very one-sided contest that ended with Lashley cinching in The Hurt Lock for the victory.

WWE Championship Hell In A Cell Match

Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre (c)

Winner: Randy Orton via pinfall

Following his loss last month to McIntyre in the Ambulance Match at Clash of Champions, Randy Orton maintained his fixation on the WWE Championship and vengeance as he has continued to focus all of his efforts towards a rematch with the champ. Orton wasted no time taking the fight to McIntyre this evening as he disguised himself as a ringside crew member allowing him to get the jump on Drew. This didn’t prove to pay the dividends Orton had hoped for as McIntyre controlled much of the early going. Orton finally turned the tide as McIntyre was met with a steel chair when he attempted to close out the bout early. The Viper then took the opportunity to unleash his sadistic side as McIntyre was forced to endure attacks with chairs, the ring steps, and his face being grated against the cage. As Orton felt his advantage slipping, he used bolt cutters to escape the cage and lured McIntyre to the top of the imposing structure.

As this plan didn’t progress as Orton hoped, he again baited McIntyre to climb down the side of the cage aligned with the announce table. As they were halfway down the side of the cell, Orton pried the champ’s fingers loose and launched him off the side of the cage and through the announce table below. McIntyre willed himself back into the cage and alluded an RKO which he answered with a Claymore Kick. Orton managed to roll out of the ring to avoid the pinfall and recover. After slowly rolling back in, he dodged a second Claymore Kick attempt and answered with an RKO which allowed him to pin McIntyre crowning himself as the new world champion for the 14th time.

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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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