WWE Elimination Chamber advertised five matches including the men’s and women’s Elimination Chambers, Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. The Judgment Day, Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship in Zayn’s home country of Montreal.
Saturday night in Montreal, Sami Zayn almost gave his hometown Montreal fans the victory they desperately wanted. Instead, Zayn came up short in his bid to win the undisputed WWE universal championship from Roman Reigns in the main event of the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
For more than 30 minutes, Zayn gave Reigns all he could handle, scoring several near-falls and pushing the champion to his limit. But after multiple referees were knocked out and Jimmy Uso interfered on behalf of Reigns, Zayn finally fell short, though he did get a measure of post-match revenge with the help of Kevin Owens.
Also on the show, Austin Theory managed to retain his United
States championship after a wild Elimination Chamber match thanks to
interference from Logan Paul. And on the women's side, Asuka punched her ticket
to a WrestleMania match with Raw women's champion Bianca Belair by outlasting
five other women in the Chamber.
Women’s Elimination Chamber Grade: C+
Nikki Cross was eliminated just as quickly as she entered
the Chamber, but she got to perform the high spot by diving off the chamber
onto the field.
Unsurprisingly, fans strongly sided with Natalya.
Surprisingly, there were dueling chants of “let’s go Nattie/let’s go Liv!”
Asuka was immediately showered with chants of “Asuka’s gonna
kill you” as she entered the Chamber.
Liv Morgan was eliminated by a combination Sharpshooter and
modified armbar between Natalya and Asuka, respectively. Canada was furious.
As WWE continued flying through eliminations, Raquel Rodriguez was protected by a double-cover between Asuka and Carmella. Asuka eliminates Carmella to win Women’s Elimination Chamber.
Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley Grade: B-
Brock Lesnar in the other hand is technically considered a
Canadian citizen, and it showed based on his crowd reaction.
Bobby Lashley kicked out of two early F-5’s after hitting a
barrage of Spears. This match reminded me of the awesome Goldberg vs. Brock
Lesnar match at WrestleMania 33.
Despite the hot start, this match had such a flat finish as babyface Brock Lesnar went for a low blow during the Hurt Lock. Bray Wyatt challenged the winner of this match, however it remains to be seen if Lashley’s DQ win will be considered enough to advance to Wyatt. Bobby Lashley def. Brock Lesnar By DQ.
Judgment Day vs. Edge and Beth Phoenix Grade: B
Finn Balor walked out with a wicked mask, and I wanted him
to wrestle in it. Sadly, he did not.
WWE aired its first WrestleMania Hollywood parody as Seth
Rollins and Becky Lynch parodied Joker. It was mid. I wish WWE would do
parodies of Black movies since they’ll actually be in Inglewood, not Hollywood.
Fans showered Dominik Mysterio with chants of “f—k you
Dominik!” They chanted “na-na-na-na...goodbye” when he escaped to the back.
Mysterio was easily the biggest star of a match in Edge’s home country of
Canada.
Beth Phoenix was late breaking up a pinfall so the referee
had to pull up his count.
Interestingly enough, Edge and Beth Phoenix won with the Shatter Machine.
Men’s Elimination Chamber Grade: A+
Montez Ford donned new, more traditional, gear as Michael
Cole and Corey Graves talked him up as a future singles superstar. They also
played up Ford calling the United States Championship the “US” title, and noted
Ford vowed his first title defense would be against his tag team partner Angelo
Dawkins. The Street Profits’ days feel numbered.
Michael Cole called out all the history between the
competitors in this match dating back to their days in NXT, which has been one
of the many refreshing changes of the Triple H Era.
Elimination Chamber opened with Seth Rollins and Johnny
Gargano one-on-one for the first time ever.
Bronson Reed was awesome from the moment he entered the
Chamber and destroyed the field.
Montez Ford attempted the People’s Elbow before getting cut
off by Bronson Reed.
The big spot in this match came when Montez Ford hung upside
down and dove from the top of the Chamber like Spiderman. It was a highly
impressive spot.
It took four WWE Superstars to eliminate Bronson Reed,
including a Frog Splash from the top of the pod by Montez Ford. Reed is slowly
being built into a strong heel for Cody Rhodes this summer.
After a tremendous performance, Ford was escorted out of the Chamber by officials to give WWE a reason to open the Chamber. Then out came Logan Paul to screw Seth Rollins. Theory Wins Men’s Elimination Chamber
Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn Grade: A+
Roman Reigns, the champion, walked out first. As expected,
he received immense heat.
Michael Cole made a great historical parallel between Reigns
and Bruno Sammartino, noting Ivan Koloff ended Sammartino’s streak. Koloff is
from Montreal.
Of course, there was an “If Roman Wins We Riot” sign in
addition to “Sami for Tribal Chief.”
Any other match would have failed to follow the men’s
Elimination Chamber, but these fans had blown through four chants before Reigns
and Sami even touched.
Roman Reigns talking trash with Sami Zayn’s wife and kids
was everything I ever hoped it would be.
Sami Zayn’s hope spots were great, which included a Superman
Punch and a Helluva kick for a nearfall.
Zayn had a gnarly looking cut on his stomach late into the
match.
Jimmy Uso crashed this match and laid out Sami Zayn, but
Zayn miraculously kicked out.
At one point, Sami Zayn slapped Roman Reigns harder than
Kevin Owens did.
After a second ref bump, Jey Uso hit the ring, prompting Reigns and Jey to recreate elements of the Reigns-Sami steel chair moment. This time, Zayn accidentally speared Jey Uso before Jey could make a decision. Roman Reigns def. Sami Zayn
WWE Elimination Chamber Results | February 18, 2023
- Asuka wins Women’s Elimination Chamber
- Bobby Lashley def. Brock Lesnar by DQ
- Edge and Beth Phoenix def. Judgment Day
- Theory wins the Men’s Elimination Chamber | United States Championship
- Roman Reigns def. Sami Zayn | WWE Undisputed Universal Championship
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