WWE Elimination Chamber 2019 comes to us live from Houston, Texas and to quote Renee Young, there\u2019s magic in the air. We know we\u2019ll crown the inaugural Women\u2019s Tag Team Champions tonight as six teams compete inside the Chamber for the right to be called \u2018The First\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s plenty of other opportunities for\nchange as we see The Uso\u2019s take on Shane McMahon and The Miz for the Smackdown\nLive Tag Team Championships. Ruby Riott challenges Ronda Rousey for the Raw\nWomen\u2019s Championship. Will we finally see Finn Balor with gold around his waist\nas he faces Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush in a handicap match for the Intercontinental\nChampionship? And of course, Daniel Bryan defends the WWE Championship inside\nthe Chamber against a card so stacked and so unpredictable, anything could\nhappen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women\u2019s\nTag Team Championship Match \u2013 Elimination Chamber Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For those unaware of the Elimination\nChamber rules, here\u2019s a brief overview. There is a steel structure around the\nring and at there are four enclosed pods in each corner. Four teams enter the\npods. Two teams start the match as normal and periodically a pod will open, and\nanother team joins the match. A team is eliminated when one member is pinned or\nsubmit. The last team standing wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The four teams in the pods are Naomi and\nCarmella, aka Fabulous Glow, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan, representing the Riott\nSquad, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, The IIconics and Nia Jax and Tamina, aka\nNia Jax and Tamina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose and the Boss \u2018N\u2019\nHug Connection (Sasha Banks and Bayley) are the two teams who start the match.\nDeville and Rose are the absolute workhorses of this match. I am a huge fan of\nDeville, not just her in-ring ability but her overall persona. Mandy Rose, in my\nopinion, is an average wrestler but she exudes so much confidence, I don\u2019t\nthink it matters. She\u2019ll convince you she\u2019s great and you\u2019ll believe her. It\u2019s\na very powerful statement to her as a person and a performer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bayley and Banks have stepped it up of\nlate, particularly Bayley. She\u2019s been pulling moves out of her arsenal that you\u2019d\nalmost forgotten about and is placing more emphasis on her Flying Elbow, which is\none of her strongest signature moves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Riott Squad\u2019s pod is the first to open.\nSarah Logan has this fantastic Amazonian warrior look about her and she straight\naway shows she means business with calculated and vicious strikes. The match\nhas a steady pace, all ladies aware, this is a marathon, not a sprint. You find\nthese Chamber matches write themselves, as long as the pace is right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The IIconics pod opens and these two ladies\nare just so fun to watch. They provide some always welcomed comedic relief and\ndon\u2019t take themselves too seriously. Royce pulls out a great spot in this math\nwhere she flips over the top rope, landing back first on Bayley and Banks. Great\nto see her being able to show off her agility and willingness to take risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carmella and Naomi have worked really hard\nin a short space of time to gel and you know what? It works! They have a very\nnatural chemistry and read each other well, to the point where they show boat\ntogether and moonwalk together. Naomi is probably the most athletic competitor\non the women\u2019s roster and her Split-Leg Moonsault is beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A great sequence occurs where all ladies\nare given a chance to show off their signature moves. It happens pretty\nquickly, so I\u2019d just encourage you to watch it because it showcases each of\nthem in a good light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jax and Tamina enter the match last and at\nthis point, no-one has been eliminated. Hilarity continues when the IIconics\nget back in their pod and are subsequently dragged out, thrown about, given\nSamoan Drops and pinned. IIconics are the first team eliminated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Liv Morgan attempts a Hurricanrana on Jax\nbut her inability to sell a move becomes clear. Thankfully Bayley and Banks\ncome back to life at this point and Banks stacks the Riott Squad in the corner\nand delivers a double- stacked, double knee drop to rescue the segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ladies are up and down the steel\nstructure and on top of the pods throughout the match. Sarah Logan and Carmella\ndeliver flying Croosbody\u2019s off the top of the pod. But it\u2019s Tamina\u2019s Frog\nSplash which sends the Riott Squad packing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jax charges full force into the pod and\nlays out up against the plastic, ultimately taking herself out of the match,\nleaving the reaming two teams to pick Tamina apart. With a Meteora from Banks\nand a Flying Elbow from Bayley, Tamina takes the pin, eliminating her and Jax\n(Notice how Jax didn\u2019t take a pin)<\/p>\n\n\n\n A swift back and forth between the two\nremaining teams, who are actually the same two teams who started, quickly goes\ndown hill when Deville accidently Spears Rose. Banks capitalizes with a Banks\nStatement and Deville taps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your winners and first ever Women\u2019s Tag\nTeam Champions \u2013 The Boss \u2018N\u2019 Hug Connection, Sasha Banks and Bayley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crowd are going nuts and even I have a\ntear in my eye. \u2018You deserve it\u2019\u2026.. You know what? I think they do! Absolutely\nbrilliant match! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smackdown\nLive Tag Team Championship Match \u2013 Shane McMahon and the Miz (C) v The Uso\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The segment begins with The Miz and Maryse\nannouncing they\u2019re having another baby. Congrats to them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the competitors make their way to the\nring, I find myself mulling over this forced tag team lark and how irritated I\nam that Shane and The Miz are champions. I also find myself equally irritated\nby Jimmy Uso\u2019s recent run in with the law, so before this match has even\nstarted, I have resigned myself to the fact, nothing will change. WRONG!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Miz does most of the leg work as\nexpected but Shane does pull off a couple of his high-flying Coast to Coasts,\nthe second being met with a massive Superkick from Jey Uso. The Uso\u2019s area head\nand shoulders above their opponents because they have their instinctive,\nnatural chemistry, which, lets face it, The Miz and Shane don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shane\u2019s big elbow drop from the top\nturnbuckle through Jey on the announce table renders them both out of the match.\nJimmy\u2019s Splash off the top rope looks amazing but The Miz pulls his knees up, blocking\nthe impact and responds with a Skull Crushing Finale. Jimmy kicks out, rolls through\nand pins The Miz. We have new Tag Champs! The match ends with The Miz apologizing\nto Shane and they walk arms round each other back up the ramp. We all know this\nis going to implode and you can pretty much guarantee this is going to be your\nopening bout at Wrestlemania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Intercontinental\nChampionship Match \u2013 Bobby Lashley (c) & Lio Rush v Finn Balor.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I accidently saw the result of this match\nbefore I watched the pay per view (much to be husband\u2019s disapproval. Sorry Mat)\nso I was hoping the match would be good and tell a good story. To start with, I\nwasn\u2019t sure it did but after seeing what happened on Raw the night after, it\ndoes make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, this match was always going to involve\nBalor taking a beating in some capacity from Lashley with Lio Rush chiming in\nfrom time to time to distract Balor and throw a punch or two. Having Rush as\nLashley\u2019s spokesman is the absolute right thing to do because not only is he\ncharismatic and good on the mic but he\u2019s good in the ring too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Balor bides his time, picking up momentum\nslowly until he sees an opening he can capitalize on. The match ends with a\nsequence of Balor\u2019s Drop Kicks, Double Foot Stomps and Coupe De Gras, which\nearns him the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Balor finally lifts a title belt above his\nhead and doesn\u2019t have his shoulder crunching and grinding as he does it. I am\nover the moon he won, I make no secret of how much I like him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Lashley was enraged and, of course,\nblamed Rush for the loss and slams him hard into the canvas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raw\nWomen\u2019s Championship Match \u2013 Ronda Rousey (c) v Ruby Riott<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This was my least favorite match of the\nevent because Ruby Riott was basically canon fodder to the Rousey, Lynch, Flair\nstoryline. The match lasted less than 5 minutes. Rousey came out dressed as\nSonya Blade from Mortal Kombat, delivers the Pipers Pit and an Arm Bar and\nRiott taps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Becky Lynch appears out of the crowd on\ncrutches, hobbles her way into the ring and then unleashes hell on Rousey and\nFlair with her crutches before being escorted out of the ring by security with\na massive smile on her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t get me wrong, I absolutely love this\nstoryline and I am so excited to see where it goes as we head towards\nWrestlemania. I just wish they hadn\u2019t done this at the expense of Ruby Riott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Baron\nCorbin v Braun Strowman \u2013 No Disqualification match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you ever get the feeling that WWE just\ndon\u2019t know what to do with these guys? <\/p>\n\n\n\n The match itself was very underwhelming, to\nthe point where even the commentators made remarks about it. Further props to\nRenee Young for the \u2018What\u2019s he gonna do, throw a pen at him?\u2019 comment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A kendo stick comes out, the steel stairs\nare used as a weapon. There\u2019s lots of forearms and shoulder barges from Strowman\nand he gets a decent pop when he delivers a Running Powerslam to Corbin through\na table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bizarrely, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley\nend up involved and manage to set up a structure in the ring which comprises of\ntwo lots of steel steps and two tables stacked on top of each other. They then\nShield Bomb Strowman through it. This whole sequence takes aaaaaages to come\ntogether and for the impact it received, it was hardly worth it. But credit to\nStrowman for taking that massive bump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Backstage segment of The Miz getting mad\nand Shane McMahon sending him home. We return to ringside to see Lacey Evans\nwalk down the ramp and back up it. Not sure why. She\u2019s fierce and graceful but\nI don\u2019t quite get why that happened but moving on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WWE\nChampionship Match \u2013 Elimination Chamber Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kofi Kingston enters the arena to a chorus\nof cheers, applause and a standing ovation, having lasts 70 minutes in the gauntlet\nmatch on Smackdown the previous week. He, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton and AJ Styles\nare locked in the pods and it\u2019s Daniel Bryan and Samoa Joe who start the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This match again, is one for the ages.\nBryan and Joe do a great job of warming things up, but it\u2019s when Kingston enters\nthe match that things really come to life. I honestly think he\u2019s got to that\npoint in his career where he hasn\u2019t got anything to lose. I also think it\u2019s\nreally important that guys like him have a say in the production of a match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He scales the Chamber like Spider Man, at\none point Renee Young (yes, she was on fire last night) says \u2018Marvel, are you\nwatching?\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n When Styles enters the pace slows a little\nbut he\u2019s so captivating to watch, you barely noticed. He lands a Moonsault off\nthe top rope and somehow manages to catch Bryan and Kingston in a DTT and Reverse\nDDT at the same time. And the follows up with a Phenomenal Forearm to the back\nof Bryan\u2019s neck as he scales the Chamber walls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe sets up Kingston in the Cochina Clutch,\nbut it\u2019s reversed, Joe runs into a Phenomenal Forearm and, much to his surprise,\nis the first eliminated just in time for Jeff Hardy to enter the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff Hardy is one of my all time favorite\nwrestlers but I have found him to be lacking somewhat. His style isn\u2019t always\ngeared towards longevity but with some of the subtle adaptations he\u2019s made, I\nthink he\u2019s trying to prolong his career. He spends less time on the top rope\nand when he hits his sit-down moves (double leg crotch drop) he doesn\u2019t jump as\nhigh as he used to. His performance in this years Rumble wasn\u2019t as memorable as\nI was hoping for and his time in the Chamber was the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having delivered his signature Whisper in\nthe Wind and a Swanton Bomb off the top of the pod onto Styles, who was laid\nout across the top ropes, he met Bryan\u2019s running knee and was subsequently out of\nthe match. There was a small part of me wondering if WWE might just give Hardy\none more title reign before his swansong but obviously, that will have to wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kingston, Styles and Bryan execute this incredible\nlooking Superplex where Styles is underneath, set up for a German Suplex, Bryan\nhas Kingston set up for a Superplex and it\u2019s all executed perfectly and just\nlooks amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Orton comes in to break up the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Styles seems to be hung upside down in the\ncorner for a long time and his groin area takes a rather brutal looking\nshoulder barge from Kingston. When he finally gets back to his feet, he sets up\nfor a Phenomenal Forearm off the top rope but Orton, sly and quick catches him\nand lands a beautiful RKO. Styles is eliminated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There isn\u2019t even time to catch your breath\nbefore Kingston is landing his Trouble in Paradise which eliminates Orton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crowd are firmly behind Kingston and\nare fired up as this match draws to a close. Kingston\u2019s SOS lands him the closest\nof near falls where everyone sits up and grabs their face. Kingston again unleashes\nhis offense but sees himself inadvertently Drop Kicking the side of one of the\npods. Bryan capitalizes with a Running Knee but only manages a two count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crowd are so loud and cheering for Kingston.\nI\u2019m sat upright on the edge of my seat. Kingston lands another Trouble in\nParadise which Bryan kicks out of at 2 and a half. Bryan responds with his\nLabell Lock and the crowd are willing Kingston to the ropes to break the hold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Back up the steel walls they go and onto to\nthe pod where they exchange blows and tease a Suplex. Bryan jumps down,\nKingston misses a splash off the pod. Bryan capitalizes with his signature running\nknee, which lands with intense impact and secures Bryan the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the event draws to a close, the remaining\nmembers of the New Day run down to the ring to pick Kingston up and carry him\noff. But the crowd won\u2019t let him leave without showing their upmost respect for\nhim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bryan may have won the match, but Kingston\nwon our hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WWE Elimination Chamber 2019 comes to us live from Houston, Texas and to quote Renee Young, there\u2019s magic in the air. We know we\u2019ll crown the inaugural Women\u2019s Tag Team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":11369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,185,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-wwe","category-wwe-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-2Xk","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/d5584b452c2966c38f5d1ad862d9bde2.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11366"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11368,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11366\/revisions\/11368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}