WWE Elimination Chamber Review - February 19, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff: Rey Mysterio def. The Miz

Mysterio and Miz have been having quality matches for the last decade-plus and this was no exception. Their midcard feud on Raw hasn't been anything out of the ordinary, so it was wise to place this on the Kickoff show. It was a very fun match filled with energy and the crowd was into it. I could have done without Dominik interfering at ringside so many times, but as we found out later on, this is presumably leading to a tag team match at WrestleMania 38 with The Mysterios taking on Miz and a partner of his choosing. It sounds like it's going to be Logan Paul and I honestly can't bring myself to care.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. Goldberg by Referee Stoppage

I was actually looking forward to this match because it was fresh and all of Reigns' title defenses have a big-fight feel to them. Sure enough, the electricity in the arena when they were standing across from each other was awesome. The match itself wasn't so awesome, mind you, but it was exactly what it needed to be. Goldberg got a few hope spots by hitting his signature Spears, but in the end, he fell short to Reigns in about six minutes (which was refreshingly longer than most of his other matches but not too long). More importantly, he passed out to Reigns' guillotine choke, something he's never done in his career before. That's a feat Reigns needs to brag about. As for Goldberg, rumors have indicated his current contract with WWE is up, and while I'd love to think this was it for him, I could conceivably see WWE offering him another deal for more matches. That's the last thig any of us need, but hey, money talks.

Bianca Belair def. Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. in a Raw Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber Match

I'm not sure if it'd be a stretch to say this was the best women's Elimination Chamber match WWE has done yet. I saw mixed opinions on this online and it felt rushed given it only went 15 minutes, but I enjoyed it more than any of the other Chamber matches WWE has done with the women since 2018. At any rate, the eliminations were logical and all six women worked wonderfully together. The final three being Belair, Bliss and Ripley made sense and some of the spots were really impressive. I was worried WWE may go with Bliss (who is still doing the stupid character she was before her hiatus) because she just returned, so sticking with Belair was the right call. Her chasing Becky Lynch going into WrestleMania is the story that needs to be told.

Ronda Rousey and Naomi def. SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and Sonya Deville

As we found out on Friday's SmackDown, the stipulation stated that Rousey must have her hand tied behind her back. Silly me for assuming that would give Flair and Deville a much-needed win before WrestleMania, where they'll likely lose to the opponents they had here. Rousey still has quite a bit of ring rust to work off, but this was passable. Naomi was actually the best part about it and she was beloved by the crowd. She really needs to be in line for a title run for at some point this year because this storyline with Deville has reestablished her as one of the most over women on the roster.

Drew McIntyre def. Madcap Moss in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

Here's hoping Moss is okay after taking that bad bump on the Alabama Slam from McIntyre. He landed right on his head and it looked nasty, though he was able to finish the match. Other than that, this was a fairly standard affair. The stipulation made it slightly more interesting than their encounter at Day 1, but it was also illogical seeing as how Happy Corbin had the chance to get involved the entire time. Despite that, he picked his spots and Moss still lost. This is obviously building to McIntyre vs. Corbin at 'Mania, which is an utter waste of McIntyre after the high-profile matches he's had on the grand stage in recent years.

Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch def. Lita

Considering Lita hasn't wrestled a formal singles match in over 15 years, she looked damn good in this match (and no, I'm not just talking about her physical appearance). Lynch was the perfect person for her to be in there with and I thought they told a solid story. It was slightly slow early on, but once they found a rhythm in the second half, it picked up. There were some strong nearfalls toward the end, especially when Lita connected with the Twist of Fate and her patented moonsault. This was a big win for Lynch ahead of WrestleMania and an excellent sendoff for Lita if this was indeed it for her.

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. The Viking Raiders Ended in a No Contest

Imagine being flown across the world to Saudi Arabia just for your match to be cut for time. I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere, but that's the belief. That said, if any match was going to get cut from the card, I was fine with it being this one because the build has been so weak. I wish it was better because of these teams are very talented, but it's clear WWE doesn't give a shit about Viking Raiders. This doesn't feel WrestleMania worthy on paper at this point, so I can see it happening on TV as soon as Friday's SmackDown.

Brock Lesnar def. Austin Theory, AJ Styles, Riddle, Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley in an Elimination Chamber Match to Win the WWE Championship

What an abomination of a match. The early goings were irrelevant because it was all over once Lashley had to be removed for "concussion protocols." Lesnar crashed through his pod early and destroyed everyone in sight. Not only that, but the eliminations were immediate. He hit Rollins, Styles and Riddle with F5s all within a minute or two to take them out. The finishing sequence with him and Theory was well done and that F5 off the top of the pod was cool, but that was the only thing this match had going for it. Lashley was apparently legitimately hurt coming into this event and that's why he hasn't gotten physical at all since the Royal Rumble. He was virtually guaranteed to lose anyway, but the sole saving grace is that he didn't have to be made to look like a loser against Lesnar. I'm happy Lashley got that win over Lesnar, but in retrospect, what was the point of interrupting Lesnar's WWE Championship reign if he was going to get it back three weeks later? I don't know if Lesnar vs. Reigns at WrestleMania will be title for title or just Winner Take All, but either way, Raw's main event scene was completely obliterated here and now the red brand has a major issue heading into the biggest show of the year.

Overall Show

Crown Jewel 2021 is still far and away the best pay-per-view WWE has done in Saudi Arabia to date, but this would be second in my book. I realize that isn't saying much because the other ones were so terrible, but I'll give credit where it's due in that I appreciate WWE making their trips to Saudi more meaningful as opposed to the glorified house shows they were putting on before. I largely agree with the booking decisions made on this show, but while I saw the ending of the main event coming from a mile away, the execution was extremely questionable. There was some quality wrestling elsewhere on the card, the pieces were put into place for WrestleMania, and the crowd was hot for a majority of the show, so Elimination Chamber 2022 gets a slight thumbs-up from me. It'd be a more enthusiastic thumbs-up if that main event wasn't total trash.

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