SHOWN IN CLUB 69 FLIRTS
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19TH, 2022
FROM 4pm
CONFIRMED MATCHES
WWE Championship -- Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles vs. Riddle vs. Austin Theory (Elimination Chamber): Lashley won the title off of Lesnar at Royal Rumble, though it took a major assist from Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman. On the following Raw, Lesnar was inserted directly into the Elimination Chamber match. Getting into the match wasn't as easy for Rollins, Styles, Theory and Riddle, all of whom had to win qualifying matches. With the field now set, and Lesnar already having won the Rumble to guarantee a title shot at WrestleMania, there are many compelling ways for the match to play out.
Universal Championship -- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Goldberg: There was no clear stay-busy opponent for Reigns ahead of his showdown with Lesnar at WrestleMania and WWE turned to a legend. After Goldberg showed up at SmackDown to deliver a typical "You're next!" promo to Reigns, WWE made the match official. Goldberg is a staple of the Saudi shows, for better or worse.
Raw Women's Championship -- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lita: WWE legend Lita returned to the ring at Royal Rumble. While her return appears to be a short-term move, WWE's trips to Saudi Arabia generally feature a legend or two and she fits the bill here. Lita confronted Lynch on the post-Rumble edition of Raw, throwing down the challenge for a title match at Elimination Chamber. Lynch was up for taking on the challenge and now will try to turn aside the efforts of the Hall of Famer.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- The Usos (c) vs. The Viking Raiders: The Raiders received a somewhat random shot at the tag titles. Rather than build up to the match, The Usos picked up a win over the Raiders on SmackDown in roughly 90 seconds. Still, the title fight moves ahead for the event.
Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss (Falls Count Anywhere): McIntyre returned from his neck injury much faster than expected, showing up at the Royal Rumble and going after Moss and Happy Corbin. In response, WWE has pair the two for the upcoming event, likely giving McIntyre a quick win before a WrestleMania program with Corbin.
Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki A.S.H. vs. Bianca Belair vs. Doudrop vs. Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss (Elimination Chamber): A shot at the Raw Women's championship -- presumably at WrestleMania -- is on the line when six women enter the Elimination Chamber. Bliss will be returning from a lengthy stint out of the ring after completing in-story "therapy sessions" after her doll Lilly had been destroyed. Belair will be the final entrant in the match, having won a gauntlet match on Raw.
Naomi & Ronda Rousey vs. Sonya Deville & Charlotte Flair (Ronda Rousey will have one hand tied behind her back): WWE has tied two rivalries to this tag match, the third women's match on the card. Naomi has had a long-simmering feud with Deville built around Deville's inexplicable desire to use her status as a WWE official to screw over Naomi. Meanwhile, Rousey used her Royal Rumble win to choose Flair and the SmackDown championship as her target at WrestleMania, rekindling an old feud from Rousey's first run. All that comes together at Elimination Chamber for a tag match that should advance both storylines while settling neither.
Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz: The Miz has had multiple issues with Rey and his son Dominik Mysterio in recent weeks. After a recent match between The Mysterios and Alpha Academy, Miz hit Rey with a Skull-Crushing Finale, setting up the match for the Elimination Chamber event.
HIGHLIGHTS
RESULTS
The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio: Mysterio got off to a hot start before Miz tried to take a powder outside the ring. Dominik Mysterio grabbed The Miz after a bit of stalling and rolled him back into the ring. After Miz took over the match, he took a swing at Dominik outside the ring, leading Dominik to deliver a shot to Miz's face and fall into a roll-up by Rey for a near fall. Momentum swings and reversals continued down the stretch until Mysterio hit a 619, forcing Miz to roll out of the ring again, this time grabbing a chair. As the referee was distracted, Dominik grabbed the chair from Miz, who acted as though Dominik had hit him with the chair. After the referee kicked Dominik out from ringside, Miz tried to hit Rey with a Skull-Crushing Finale only for Rey to roll him up for the pin. After the match, the Mysterios further beat down The Miz. Standard kickoff match stuff here, priming the fans with some good old-fashioned face over heel action. Rey Mysterio def. The Miz via pinfall.
Universal Championship -- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Goldberg: Despite Goldberg showing off a bit of power early, Reigns took him to the outside and bounced him off the announce table several times. Goldberg quickly turned things around by throwing Reigns into the ringside barricade. Back in the ring, Reigns looked to turn the table but Goldberg hit a spear. Looking for the jackhammer to finish it, Goldberg was hit by a counter urinage for a two count. Reigns hit a Superman punch and set up for a spear only to run into another spear from Goldberg. The challenger failed again to hit the follow-up jackhammer, instead getting locked in a guillotine choke. Goldberg tried to slam his way out of the hold but was eventually choked out, forcing the referee to stop the match. As short as expected given Goldberg's limitations in the ring. There was nothing good in the match but it avoided any sort of disaster, which was certainly a possibility coming into the match. Roman Reigns (c) def. Goldberg to retain the title.
Elimination Chamber: Bianca Belair vs. Liv Morgan vs. Doudrop vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki A.S.H. vs. Alexa Bliss: Nikki and Morgan were the first two women in the match. After a fairly routine open to the match, with both women being thrown into the fence and pods around the ring, Doudrop entered the bout and immediately took the fight to Nikki, smashing her into the chain link before turning her attention to Morgan. Ripley was the next woman released from her pod and began stalking Nikki. In the first big moment of the match, Nikki began to climb the Chamber in an attempt to escape but was caught by Ripley, who sent her flying onto Doudrop and Morgan. Seconds later, Ripley eliminated Nikki after hitting Riptide.
Bliss -- whose pod contained a swing -- entered the match next, with Belair having secured her spot as the final woman to enter the match on this past Monday's Raw. Morgan eliminated Doudrop after hitting a sunset flip bomb from the turnbuckles, leaving it a four-woman match as Belair entered the match. Belair immediately went to work with showy offense on Bliss and Morgan before coming face-to-face with Ripley. The two made the decision to align briefly and hit tandem delayed vertical suplexes. The alliance broke quickly when Ripley slapped Belair and the two began to brawl. In the ensuing chaos, Bliss managed to take out Morgan, hitting her with Twisted Bliss for the elimination.
Moments later, Belair hit Ripley with the K.O.D. for another elimination. That left it to Bliss and Belair to battle it out for a shot at the Raw women's title at WrestleMania. Belair missed a 450 splash but countered a Bliss DDT with a front handspring before the women began trading several near falls until Belair hit the K.O.D. to get the win. This was a fast-paced Chamber match that never had any time to drag and no one dropped the ball on their part. Most importantly, every woman in the match came out of it looking solid. Bianca Belair wins the women's Elimination Chamber match.
Ronda Rousey & Naomi vs. Charlotte Flair & Sonya Deville: Rousey wore a traditional judo gi for the match and had her right arm tied behind her back as contractually stipulated. Deville took her arm out of her sling immediately, showing she had faked the injury. Rousey still quickly took the fight to Deville before backing off and calling for Flair to enter the match, which Flair agreed to before immediately tagging back out to Deville. Rousey tagged in Naomi to face Deville, allowing her to get her hands on her long-time rival. Rousey tagged back in and was ready to lock Deville in an armbar when Flair attacked her from behind, sending her shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. Flair and Deville kept their focus on Rousey's arm for a long stretch. After a hot tag to Naomi led to their team getting momentum back, Rousey re-entered the match and hit Piper's Pit on Deville before locking her in an armbar for the finish. Flair had the chance to break the hold but instead allowed Rousey to apply it. The match was fairly clunky, which wasn't helped by forcing Rousey to work with just her left arm for the entire match. While she can be a dynamic performer when she's "on," Rousey is not a skilled enough wrestler to have a one-armed wrestler skillset. Ronda Rousey & Naomi def. Charlotte Flair & Sonya Deville via submission.
Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss (Falls Count Anywhere): Happy Corbin helped Moss jump McIntyre to start the match, which was entirely fair under the rules. McIntyre was able to fight back and get the upper hand on Moss, but every time he'd begin to gain momentum, Corbin would jump in the action. In the middle of the match, McIntyre hit a reverse Alabama slam that sent Moss crashing onto the top of his head, a situation that very nearly resulted in a serious injury. Moss was able to continue, however. McIntyre would go on to hit a superplex before grabbing his sword and using it to keep Corbin at bay before hitting Moss with a Claymore to score the pin. A perfectly fine midcard match that was helped by Corbin's ability to interfere. Moss is incredibly lucky he did not suffer a broken neck or worse. Drew McIntyre def. Madcap Moss via pinfall.
Raw Women's Championship -- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lita: Lynch went right for an armbar, but Lita was able to counter before dropping the champion with a shoulder tackle. Lita continued to counter Lynch's aggression, hitting a rana to keep throwing Lynch off her game. Lynch was able to get rolling after using Lita's hair to drop the challenger across the top rope. Lynch continued focusing on Lita's neck, targeting an area that had been an issue throughout Lita's career. Still, Lita continued fighting back, scoring several near falls including after a big powerbomb. Lynch came back with an armbar, but Lita escaped and then avoided a moonsault from the champ. Lita hit a Twist of Fate and a moonsault, coming just inches from winning the title before Lynch kicked out. Lita tried to pull Lynch to her feet, but Lynch hit her with the Manhandle Slam to retain the title. Considering Lita hadn't wrestled a true singles match since 2006, this match was quite the accomplishment and the Twist of Fate into the moonsault was a surprisingly believable false finish. Taken as a complete match, it wasn't near what Lynch is capable of but working within the confines of Lita's capabilities, she delivered. Becky Lynch (c) def. Lita to retain the title.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- The Usos (c) vs. The Viking Raiders: The Usos attacked before the match, striking during the Raiders' entrance. The attack finished with the Usos hitting a tandem suplex on Ivar, dropping him on Erik. The Raiders were then deemed in no condition for the match, resulting in it never starting. The Usos (c) vs. The Viking Raiders did not happen.
WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match -- Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins vs. Riddle vs. Austin Theory vs. AJ Styles: Theory and Rollins opened the match, with Theory going right at Rollins from the opening bell. Rollins managed to come back with a series of superkicks. Rollins would continue the attack until he powerbombed Theory into the side of Lashley's pod, sending Theory through the plexiglass and into Lashley. Riddle then entered the match, with Theory down outside the ring and Lashley down inside his broken pod being tended to by officials.
As the action continued, the WWE officials removed Lashley from the Chamber and Styles' number came up to enter the match. The chaotic action continued with everyone getting in big moves. Lashley's pod was the next that was supposed to open, infuriating Lesnar, who kicked down the wall of his cell and hit Rollins and Riddle with F-5s to score the first two eliminations of the match. At the same time, it was announced that Lashley was pulled from the match due to "concussion protocols. Lesnar finished off Styles with an F-5, leaving Theory as the only other man in the Chamber.
Lesnar stalked Theory around the cell, with Theory even trying to lock himself in a pod. Lesnar kicked the pod wall down and hit Theory with a suplex. Theory hit Lesnar with a low blow, a rolling dropkick and a DDT before scoring a two-count. Realizing he hadn't finished off Lesnar, Theory climbed the Chamber wall trying to escape through the top. Lesnar caught up, however, and hit Theory with an F-5 off the top of the pod before dragging him in the ring and scoring the pin to win the WWE title. The way they handled the Lashley situation here stunk. The rest of the match was very good. But to just "nope" Lashley out of the match to protect him from taking the loss feels cheap, no matter what the long-term plan is. Still, the match was fun and Lesnar in the Chamber is a blast. (Update: After the event, it was reported that Lashley would be out four months to have shoulder surgery, explaining his booking inside the Chamber.) Brock Lesnar won the WWE championship.