WWE Elimination Chamber Review - February 25, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows def. The Miztourage (Kickoff Match)

I'm all for giving Anderson and Gallows some wins, but this belonged on Raw. It was beyond basic and, quite frankly, a waste of time, especially when you consider The Revival wasn't on this card and they have been feuding with The Balor Club for weeks. There wasn't anything technically wrong with this match and the crowd was behind Gallows and Anderson throughout for the most part, but it's not worth going out of your way to watch.

Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss def. Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose in an Elimination Chamber Match

I felt like the ladies almost had to deliver given this was the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber ​match, and similar to at the Royal Rumble, they definitely did. This was laid out wonderfully with Absolution dominating Bayley early on and Banks evening the odds once she entered the fray. The rest of the match was equally entertaining, especially when it came down to Bliss, Bayley and Banks. Banks turned on Bayley as expected, but since it was every women for themselves anyway, I wouldn't consider it a full-blown heel turn just yet. Bliss retaining her title was pretty predictable, but she did it in perfect fashion. She nearly got me during her post-match promo when she embraced the audience and "thanked" them before reverting back to her evil core. This was fantastic all around and evidence that it should be brought next year.

Raw Tag Team Champions Sheamus and Cesaro def. Titus Worldwide

This was no different than any other match these two teams have had over the last month. That isn't to say it was bad, as it was slightly better than I thought it would be, but the fans in attendance never once bought into the possibility of the titles changing hands, and why should they have? Crews once again shined at several points, but he'll be doomed to fail as long as he's a part of Titus Worldwide. As for the Raw tag team division, it could use all the help it can get at the moment.

Asuka def. Nia Jax

Honestly, I didn't have high hopes for this matchup coming into the event, but this ended up being excellent. Despite her lackluster win-loss record on pay-per-view, Jax continues to be protected (as she should be) and a portion of the crowd was actually behind her here. I loved the David vs. Goliath dynamic they had in this match with Asuka's undefeated streak feeling like it was in jeopardy for the first time since she made her main roster debut. Asuka emerged victorious, but Jax maintained her heat afterward by destroying Asuka, so this was well-booked from start to finish.

"Woken" Matt Hardy def. Bray Wyatt

From an in-ring standpoint, I didn't think this would be anything out of the ordinary considering their last two matches were fairly flat. That said, this was decent on the whole, so it was unfortunate the crowd was not kind toward this contest. There were beach balls bouncing around and a wave broke out at one point. I was into it at the beginning, but this feud has died a death and this match wasn't going to change that. I'm happy Hardy finally won a meaningful matchup, but I fear this rivalry isn't over yet.

Ronda Rousey Signed Her WWE Contract

I had never heard Rousey speak at length up until this segment, so I was skeptical as to how well she would do on the mic. Ultimately, she was not good. Not good at all, in fact. She came across like a real person and was genuinely happy to be there, but WWE fans don't want to see that side of her. They want to see her as the wrecking machine that made her such a badass in UFC. The first half of this was a total train wreck, but thankfully, it recovered nicely when Kurt Angle brought up how The Authority has talked crap about Rousey behind her back and they even alluded to their altercation from WrestleMania 31. Rousey putting Triple H through a table was exactly what needed to be done because it not only will make mainstream headlines on Monday, but it also saves Stephanie McMahon's ass-kicking for WrestleMania.

Roman Reigns def. Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, John Cena, Elias and Intercontinental Champion The Miz in a Universal Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber Match

While I preferred the women's Chamber over the men's, I liked the layout for this one. Obviously, Strowman was the standout, as he eliminated everyone except for Reigns, but the rest of the competitors were able to shine as well. Balor and Rollins lasted longer than I originally anticipated (and that's a great thing), while Strowman pinning Miz I assume sets up their rumored WrestleMania match for the Intercontinental Championship. Reigns coming out on top in the Chamber was never in question, so I'm not sure why some people are so disappointed, but I do agree with the masses that going with either Strowman or Rollins instead would have made more sense given they are more organically over than Reigns is.

Overall Show

I'm positive I'm not alone when I say that I correctly predicted every match on the Elimination Chamber card, but predictability isn't always a bad thing. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed this event and found most of the matches to be entertaining. The women stole the show in my opinion, but the main event is worth checking out as well. It wasn't too newsworthy of a night, but at least Raw has a solid road to WrestleMania ahead, whereas SmackDown Live has a ton of work to do to get me excited for their side of the 'Mania lineup.