 Jey Uso and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) def. Imperium (Intercontinental Champion Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci)As expected, Uso and New Day made for a very fun pairing and worked wonderfully together. Imperium are a terrific trio, but the babyfaces had to win here to set up Uso as next in line for an Intercontinental Championship opportunity. It was confirmed later on that Gunther vs. Uso will take place soon on next week's show (Gunther's new U.S. citizenship doesn't allow him to compete outside of the country for the time being). This was an enjoyable opener that the crowd was into. Bobby Lashley def. Bronson Reed to Qualify for the World Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber MatchThese two were in the midst of a mini feud last spring when Lashley getting drafted to SmackDown cut it short. They had a solid hoss fight here, but I hated the outcome. Nothing against Lashley, who is obviously a quality addition to the men's Chamber, but Reed not competing in his native Australia at the event makes zero sense. It's worse when you remember that he was probably going to challenge Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship on that show before Rollins got hurt. What a shame. World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins Confronted Cody RhodesThis whole segment was easily the highlight of the night. Rhodes addressed the events that transpired at last week's press conference and Rollins cut one of his best promos in recent memory. I've said it a ton of times in the past, but when Rollins shows his serious side, he's in his element. Between the WrestleMania teaser trailer that aired the other day and Rollins' comments here, it certainly seems like they're setting up a tag team match with Rhodes and Rollins against Roman Reigns and The Rock, but would it happen on Night 1 of 'Mania? My only nitpick of this segment was that Rhodes didn't explain why he chose to step aside two weeks on SmackDown only to choose Reigns in the end. That's a logic gap that still needs to be filled. Liv Morgan def. Zoey Stark to Qualify for the Women's World Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber MatchThis was the most predictable Chamber quality on this entire episode, but it was a nice match for what it was. The crowd was quiet throughout, likely because Stark isn't remotely over, but Morgan is a fan favorite and they popped when she won. I'd love to see her also involved in the Women's World Championship match at WrestleMania given her own issues with Rhea Ripley, but it's pretty clear it will be Becky Lynch vs. Ripley one-on-one and I don't know where that leaves Morgan on the 'Mania card. JD McDonagh def. R-TruthWhy would anyone care to see a standard singles match between Truth and McDonagh after the Miracle on 34th Street Fight they had back in December? That was way better than this. There wasn't anything wrong with this, but the post-match angle with The Judgment Day beating down Truth and #DIY making the save was the real focus. McDonagh won his first singles match in months (not to mention it came in clean fashion), so at least there was that. Becky Lynch, Nia Jax and Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley BrawledLynch was already the odds-on favorite to win the women's Chamber match and this segment only reenforced that. She laid it on pretty think that she'll be the one facing Ripley at WrestleMania. Jax played her role well, even if her acting was (intentionally) awful. Ripley and Jax brawled a bit ahead of their championship clash at Elimination Chamber, and I assume they're saving the physicality between Lynch and Ripley until closer to WrestleMania. This was well done all around. LA Knight def. Ivar to Qualify for the World Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber MatchWhat a weird matchup. It was good, but Knight and Ivar aren't two people I ever expected to see go one-on-one. I fully expected AJ Styles to interfere after Knight cost him a spot in the Chamber on Friday's SmackDown, but apparently he couldn't be bothered to show up here to do the same to Knight. I guess Knight vs. Styles won't be happening at the pay-per-view after all. They could be saving it for WrestleMania, but I feel like it's more likely for an episode of SmackDown. Shinsuke Nakamura def. Sami ZaynThis stemmed from Zayn saving Rhodes from Nakamura after Raw went off the air last week. They've had a handful of matches against each other since Nakamura's NXT debut eight years ago, but all of them have been entertaining. This one got plenty of time and McIntyre costing Zayn the win was logical. Rhodes returned the favor for Zayn by saving him from the heels afterward and to build toward his match with McIntyre on next week's show. That would've been perfect for the pay-per-view, but McIntyre being in the men's Chamber is why they're not doing it there. Overall ShowRaw's been on a roll for the better part of the year, but I thought this was one of the weaker editions in 2024 so far. It just didn't feel like there was a lot of energy in the arena. The Chamber qualifiers have helped fill time and give some matches stakes, but the best parts of this show to me were the talking segments with Rhodes, Rollins, Lynch and Jax. There was effective hype for Elimination Chamber and multiple big matches built up for next week's Raw.
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