WWE Elimination Chamber 2017 Review 02/12/2017

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my Elimination Chamber review. It was Smackdown Live’s last PPV before the showcase of immortals Wrestlemania. It was also the return of Satans Structure the Elimination Chamber. I was 4-2-1 with my Elimination Chamber predictions. I was wrong predicting that the Women’s Title wouldn’t change hands and that Luke Harper would somehow walk out victorious to get involved in the Wrestlemania main event. However the rest of the event went exactly how I predicted. This even also had three womens matches and they all had their own unique storyline which really showcased Smackdown’s ability to really showcase their women’s division. Also this being the last stop on the Road to Wrestlemania for the blue brand, a lot of the rivalries and possible match ups for Wrestlemania for the Smackdown team seem to have become more clear. Lets get to my review.

Image via WWE.com

WWE Elimination Chamber comes to us from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

– The show opened a video package hyping up tonights show and all of its championship matches.

Becky Lynch def. Mickie James
in 11:40 by pinfall
This match was good and it wasn’t very clear which way they were going to go in booking the winner. I felt that Becky had to win because it seemed like she lost some momentum since losing the Women’s Title. Although, on the other hand this is Mickie James first big singles match since returning. The crowd was into the match from the start. It also made sense that it opened the show since there was three women’s matches on the card and it was smart to keep them separate on the card. The booking for the finish was interesting though as it felt like Becky stole the win with a surprise pin and wasn’t on Mickie’s level. I don’t know where this rivalry goes from here heading into Wrestlemania but I am sure we will see a rematch between these two on Smackdown Live before Mania, as I do about a lot of the matches on this card. This match was solid though.
Rating – ***

Kalisto & Apollo Crews def. Dolph Ziggler
in 07:20
I was confused about this match the moment it was booked. I mean why would the heel be booked into a handicap match against two babyfaces who have potential? I mean nobody cares about them right now, but having them lose here would hurt their potential. How would it make any sense for Ziggler to beat them both totally hurting their credibility. The Ziggler heel turn was like a good idea, but they are doing it against two guys that no one cares about. In recent attacks, featuring Ziggler being a complete dick and using chairs, the crowd felt so much sympathy for the faces that they cheered for Ziggler to continue the attacks. Unless we’re getting another heel turn here, this doesn’t help Kalisto and Apollo Crews in any way. If they win, it took two guys to beat Ziggler. If they lose, they continue to be a couple of stupid idiots. Ziggler took out Kalisto during his entrance to make it a one on one match. The match was whatever but hard to get invested in because this whole storyline makes no sense. Kalisto resurrects from the earlier attacks and returns to the match which eventually leads to the babyface duo picking up the victory. Following the match Ziggler victimized both of his opponents with a chair again and crushed Apollo’s ankle with a chair in vintage Stone Cold 1997 style. The fans chanted “one more time” and “thank you Ziggler” as Dolph viciously assaulted Apollo even though he’s supposed to be the bad guy. Therefore, this all continues to make no sense. It just shows how poorly booked Apollo and Kalisto are and how much the fans don’t care about them.
Rating – **

Tag Team Turmoil
Tag Team Titles
American Alpha (C) def. The Ascension, Breezango, The Usos, Heath Slater and Rhyno & The Vaudevillians
in 21:10 by pinball
This was a fun match. I personally found it interesting that American Alpha didn’t have to go start to finish of this match. I must not be aware of how tag team turmoil matches work because I didn’t realize teams entered by random draw or something. This was a desperate attempt to get some attention on the division, which has been largely ignored since the Wyatts left the scene. I mean a lot of the actual tag teams such as the Vaude Villians and the Ascension have been nearly forgettable since the first couple of months of the new brand extension era. The issue is that none of the teams, including the champions are over. I really feel like what they were trying to go for was to attempt to make all the teams seem strong in some sense. Slater and Rhyno started off with being on a roll eliminating two of the more gimmicky teams. The Usos eliminated them and then had a good outing with American Alpha. These two teams definitely could have just faced each other on this card and had a good match but that wouldn’t have been beneficial to the rest of the division, I guess. The Uso’s brutally assaulted Alpha after getting eliminated which made you feel Ascension could walk out as the new tag team champions. This was most drama we got from this match. Instead of the Ascension getting a “revival” (see what I did there), I feel the writers and powers to be wanted us too see American Alpha as the elite team who could overcome the odds and retain their belts. I feel if thats what they wanted us to feel like about American Alpha they would have had them be in the match from the start to finish. I was praying that something awesome would happen like The Revival being a surprise final entrant tag team in the match making their debut but that wasn’t the case. It looks like we’re heading to the Uso/American Alpha feud reigniting moving forward but it’s not really clear. It was a fun match but still left some questions about the booking.
Rating – ***1/4

Statistics from Wikipedia

Nikki Bella vs. Natalya
ends in a double countout in 13:30
I’m not saying I expected these two to have a bad match, but the match was better than I expected. It felt like these two wanted to get the better of the other. I felt the aggressiveness and “heat” between the two. I did feel like Natalya went to the well one too many times with the mocking of John Cena and his “you can’t see me” to get in Nikki’s head but it all made sense. It felt personal even though in reality these two are very close to each other so it was a very good job to both of them on telling a story here. I love how Nikki Bella locks in a better and tighter looking STF than Cena by the way. There were times I thought either one of these girls had it in the bag but instead similar to the their rivalry of attacking each other backstage, these two began viciously brawling outside the ring. The official wasn’t able to regain control of the match so it ended in a double count out. I guess this means the feud continues which makes me wonder if we’re getting Nikki vs Natalya at Wrestlemania or if this feud will conclude on an episode of Smackdown Live. I feel like all of Nikki’s rivalries since returning need to be finished with a stipulation match. Maybe another No DQ or a last man standing match. Personally, I would love to see a Falls Count Anywhere match between these two. I mean they did start brawling again backstage later in the show, where Maryse was caught in cross fire. That moment with Maryse made me think of the rumours that Nikki Bella is supposed to team with John Cena to face Miz and Maryse at Wrestlemania. It makes me wonder if there is any truth behind that rumour. Anyway, the match was good and had substance and both women looked great. It was better than I expected. Considering the build though, this finish didnt accomplish anything, so I’m sure we’ll see it continue.
Rating – **3/4

Randy Orton def. Luke Harper
in 17:15 by pinfall
This might have been the match of the night second to the chamber. Although the matches had been good and what not the undercard felt kind of underwhelming. It almost felt like they were relying on the Chamber match when booking this show and the rest of the show thus far had just been good but a bit disappointing. This match though changed that tone, turned the show around and it stood out. It mainly stood out for Harper. Harper shined here even though he didnt walk out victorious. It’s something Luke Harper has done time and time again, found way to make the most out of the opportunities he’s given. There was a story, viciousness and near falls in this match. Orton was Orton and did his thing. Harper went above and beyond for the big match to make sure he walked out a credible contender to be a future top guy. While there ha not exactly been a lot of competition, with pretty much everything sticking in second gear, this was easily the best match of the Elimination Chamber PPV six matches deep. It had a slow start, and was feeling a bit lethargic, but it thankfully picked up and ended up a very good match. The crowd was really behind Harper near the end. I kind of had a gut feeling that Randy Orton was going to win but I predicted that Harper would in the case that it would make more sense for him to be involved in the WWE Championship picture for Wrestlemania if he beat the Royal Rumble winner a month before the show but I should have went with my gut. It’s hard to book the guy who’s supposed to main event Wrestlemania to lose on the last big show before Wrestlemania so I get it. Harper lost but was still able to get himself over. He’s a gifted big man who is talented enough to work with anyone of any size or wrestling style and I’d love to see him come into his own in 2017 as a top player of the Smackdown roster. This was the best singles match on the card, hands down.
Rating – ***3/4

Women’s Championship
Naomi def. Alexa Bliss (C)
in 08:20 via pinfall
I didn’t see it coming or expect it at all, therefore it was a “oh my god” moment for me when Naomi won the Women’s Title. I mean Alexa Bliss really came into her own and was owning it as the Women’s Champion, I thought that meant she was going all the way to Wrestlemania as champion but I was wrong. Naomi truly deserves it and it was long over due so I am super happy for her. I expected her to be champion eventually, hell even by the end of 2017. I even expected her to win it in her hometown of Orlando at Wrestlemania but just not tonight, so it was unexpected. The moment itself was beautiful and gave you that warm happy feeling because you knew Naomi deserved it and is one of the most underrated athletic women in company but the match was the worst out of the three womens matches. It just didn’t flow right and to be honest I zoned out a couple of times during it. Bliss and Naomi always work really well together and compliment each others styles but this match seemed to have just flown on by and seemed to be missing that sense of drama that had me on the edge of my seat until the very last seconds. I know many others may consider this the best women’s match of the night but I personally don’t think they were given enough time to really tell a story here. Everything felt rushed and the match felt like it was over just as soon as it started to pick up. I am a fan of both women and I hope they get more time in their rematch in the upcoming weeks so you guys can see where I’m coming from if they do get to put on a better match with more time.
Rating – **1/2

Elimination Chamber
WWE Championship
Bray Wyatt def. John Cena (C), AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, The Miz & Baron Corbin
in 34:20 via pinfall
I honestly have zero issues with the “new” Elimination Chamber. I think it looks really cool and the adjustments were made so that the chamber could fit into smaller arenas. The pods were easier to jump off of and it felt more up to date with today’s technology and TV production. My only issue was with the floors surrounding ring not being steel panels anymore but more like the outside ring mats or a smoother less brutalizing material. However, with an overall prospective this keeps the actual talent less likely to get hurt before Wrestlemania and gives them the ability to do more things on the outside area. I mean imagine Cena landed back first onto the old steel chain panels like he did last night, theres a chance he could have seriously got hurt. I think sometimes we forget that the wrestlers are real life humans are not super humans and the harder they fall, the more likely they could get hurt. As fans we expect them to be crash test dummies flying off cells like Mick Foley on the regular but the times have changed and the company needs to protect their talent. Does anyone remember the plethora of injured talent going into last years Wrestlemania? I believe thats one of the main reasons that this structure was redesigned.
Now moving on to the actual match, I really enjoyed it. I appreciated that it started with John Cena and AJ Styles because they just have the most amazing chemistry with one another, its still magical to see those two go toe to toe. Ambrose coming in as number three was a throwback to their feud last October and their tremendous Triple Threat match. The night was about Bray Wyatt and he has a storied history with both Cena and Ambrose so it was great to see his interactions with them. Miz played his roll perfectly. The Corbin and Ambrose stuff worked perfectly and ended up well. It looks like Corbin may be chasing the IC title continuing down this Road to Wrestlemania. The performances from Cena and Styles throughout the entire match just showed why they are two of the most appreciated workers. I thought that the layout was especially strong, keeping the crowd invested, and also keeping a really good pace during the 30-plus minute match; it never felt slow, I was never bored and also felt that Wyatt out in a great performance in victory. Not only did he win, but I also felt he came out feeling like an actual force to deal with and looked like a player. This was a great way to close a lackluster show. There were memorable spots such as Styles knocking Cena off the side of the cage, Ambrose’s flying elbow off the pod, Corbin losing his shit and throwing Ambrose through the pod’s glass, Cena’s double cross body, Cena being eliminated and Wyatt’s reversal of the Phenomenal Forearm into a Sister Abigail which gained him the ultimate victory. There was drama, there was storyline development, carnage and no blood was needed. I really enjoyed this Elimination Chamber match and its credit to all the talent that was involved. Wyatt got two huge eliminations by eliminating both Styles and Cena. Wyatt deserved this and it was also very long over due. I couldn’t be happier that Bray Wyatt finally accomplished a goal he set out for himself instead of being all talk with no success. The stare down mid celebration with Orton to close the show began to build the hype.
Rating – ****
Statistics from Wikipedia

Final Thoughts
This show had a series of good matches but most of them didnt leave second gear. There were also a few odd booking choices that left you with questions and others which left you happy and excited. Harper/Orton and the Elimination Chamber matches are the two matches I’d highly recommend everyone to watch. The women’s matches and the tag team turmoil were good and fun to watch but nothing you’ll be talking about by the end of 2017. Naomi and Bray Wyatt were both deserving and long over due for these big title wins, so those moments will always make this event special. It was overall an average event and the first half of the show seemed very slow and lifeless. Stuff was happening and it was good but it didn’t really do anything. The last three matches of the show are what will be remembered the most.
Final Rating – 7.5/10

What were your final thoughts on Elimination Chamber? What final grade would you give the event? Where would you rate it on a scale of ten? Do you agree with my review? Leave your comments, opinions and thoughts below in the comments section.