WWE Elimination Chamber Review - February 18, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Asuka def. Carmella, Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya, Liv Morgan and Nikki Cross in a Raw Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber Match

Of the six women's Chamber matches we've gotten so far, this was probably the best so far. It had a logical layout and the crowd was into almost everything they did. I wasn't thrilled with Morgan being eliminated second (especially after getting beaten by Asuka on Raw and SmackDown this past week), but it is what it is. Unlike with the men's match later on in the night, this was a bit more predictable, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, nonetheless. This new version of Asuka vs. Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship is absolutely worthy of the WrestleMania billing to me.

Bobby Lashley def. Brock Lesnar by Disqualification

Their first match at Royal Rumble 2022 was good but underwhelming. Their second match at Crown Jewel was a fun sprint, but I wanted more from them. I held out hope that they'd finally go all out in their rubber match here, but unfortunately, this was more of the same. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it while it lasted, but it was too short and I was left wanting more. It just didn't feel like a proper conclusion to their feud, which would have been fine had Bray Wyatt not teased on SmackDown challenging the winner of this match at WrestleMania 39. I would rather see Lashley and Lesnar have a gimmick match of some sort. The crowd wasn't happy with the disqualification finish, but Lesnar laying out Lashley and the referee with multiple F5s immediately made up for it.

Edge and Beth Phoenix def. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley)

Aside from a few awkwardly-timed moments, this was a ton of fun. You can tell Edge is out there having the time of his life alongside his wife, while Judgment Day are firing on all cylinders right now. There were a number of sweet-looking double-team moves, including the Shatter Machine from Phoenix and Edge at the end that won it for them. Speaking of which, the outcome surprised me, but I'm not bothered by it assuming the plan is for Balor to avenge the loss by beating Edge at WrestleMania (ideally inside Hell in a Cell as has been rumored).

United States Champion Austin Theory def. Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Montez Ford, Damian Priest, Johnny Gargano and Bronson Reed in an Elimination Chamber Match

I don't think it's a stretch to say this was one of the greatest Chamber matches this company has ever done. It didn't have established star power the same way other installments have, but it did feature plenty of people who are stars on the rise with bright futures. This was perfectly executed, there were a handful of memorable moments and everyone had their time to shine. This was highly entertaining from start to finish. Even Logan Paul running in at the end to cost Rollins the win was well done. I didn't expect Theory to walk out still the champ, but I assume this means him against John Cena at WrestleMania will be for the United States Championship after all.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. Sami Zayn

If you convinced yourself Zayn was walking out of this match as champion, then you were setting yourself up for disappointment. I've seen so many people say that it was a dumb booking decision to have Reigns retain with how hot Zayn has been and this event emanating from his hometown of Montreal, but my argument is that it would have been shortsighted to end Reigns' run so close to WrestleMania for a cool moment and nothing more. It would have changed multiple matches for 'Mania that make sense and are already appealing on paper. Sure, it was a flat finish and I was hoping we'd see Jey Uso turn on Zayn and/or Kevin Owens reunite with Zayn afterward, but I can't fault them for what they did because it will make the next several weeks of television must-see and stretch out the story. The match itself was incredible. It had an electric atmosphere, the action was exceptional and the storytelling was spectacular. There was a ton of interference, but it all served a purpose and protected Zayn in defeat (Zayn losing clean would have been way worse). This was a blast all around.

Overall Show

Elimination Chamber has traditionally been a throwaway pay-per-view for the past decade with not much of note happening. Granted, we didn't get any championships changing hands on this show, but there didn't need to be. I was extremely excited for this event coming into it (partially because I'd be there in attendance) and it didn't disappoint. All five matches were good to great, or flat-out phenomenal in the case of the main event. There were multiple moving pieces for WrestleMania and no dull moments. The rowdy crowd in Montreal was the cherry on top (as well as that amazing Joker/Batman parody with Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch). This should go down as one of the strongest "B-level" shows WWE has ever done.

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