SHOWN IN CLUB 69 FLIRTS
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2021
FROM 11PM
CONFIRMED MATCHES
WWE Championship -- Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston (Elimination Chamber): With it seeming increasingly likely that Edge will choose to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania after winning the Royal Rumble, WWE needs to build toward a Mania bout for McIntyre. All five of the other men in the match are former world champions. The Miz was originally in the match, but gave up his spot in hopes of cashing in the Money in the Bank contract on an exhausted winner, allowing Kingston to win his way into the match. Sheamus won a gauntlet match to secure his position as the final man who will enter the Elimination Chamber.
King Corbin vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn vs. Jey Uso (Elimination Chamber): Roman Reigns managed to weasel out of a title defense in the Chamber and will now defend his title later in the night against the winner of this Elimination Chamber match. Bryan and Cesaro secured their spots by winning a qualifying match against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. Zayn and Corbin teamed up to earn their spots by beating Dominik and Rey Mysterio. Uso and Owens were gifted spots in the match by Adam Pearce, putting Reigns' biggest rival and his biggest backup both in the match.
Universal Championship -- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Elimination Chamber winner: As mentioned, Paul Heyman managed to get Reigns out of defending the title inside the Elimination Chamber by stating his contractual obligations were only to defend the title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, not inside the actual structure. Logic suggests Reigns will face Owens one last time as Bryan and Cesaro don't make sense for a one-off match and neither does a heel vs. heel title defense for Reigns.
Raw Women's Championship -- Asuka (c) vs. Lacey Evans: Evans' bigger issues are with Charlotte Flair, and her relationship with Ric Flair has certainly intensified their rivalry. Evans was able to punch her ticket to a title match in a singles match with Charlotte with a title shot on the line. Charlotte snapped and attacked Evans, refusing to break and shoving the referee for the disqualification, sending Evans into a match with Asuka. This match appears to be on the verge of being officially canceled with the news that Evans is pregnant, though WWE has not confirmed any changes officially.
United States Championship -- Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Keith Lee vs. Riddle: Hours before the pay-per-view, it was announced that Keith Lee is out of the match, which is a shame. On the Kickoff Show now, John Morrison, Mustafa Ali, Ricochet and Elias will battle it out to fill in as the replacement, Whatever the case, it really feels like WWE is heating Lashley up for something bigger, and losing the title could propel him to bigger things. Lashley has been out of control since the Royal Rumble and Riddle has repeatedly felt his wrath. Losing the title here could push Lashley over the edge and to a new level of rage, which would serve Lashley even better than a title that has largely been misused during his reign.
HIGHLIGHTS
RESULTS
No. 1 Contendership -- Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. King Corbin vs. Jey Uso vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro (Elimination Chamber): Cesaro and Bryan were the first two in the match. After a fun opening 5 minutes, Corbin was next to enter. Bryan's knee was worked over early, compromising him. Corbin dominated until Zayn was the next released. Zayn was a punching bag but eventually found his way to the top of a pod, battling with Cesaro. Zayn tried to climb along the side of the Chamber, but Cesaro kicked him off for the first big bump of the night. Cesaro then scored the first elimination after a Cesaro Swing and Sharpshooter on Corbin. Cesaro eliminated Corbin via submission. Owens was next out, immediately battering Zayn despite the pleadings of his former friend. The chaos escalated with four men in the ring all hitting big moves and laying each other out as Uso looked on from his pod. When Uso's time finally hit, he and Owens immediately began to brawl. Owens hit a moonsault off the top of a pod onto the other four men, following up with Stunners on Cesaro, Bryan and Zayn, the last of which eliminated Zayn. Owens eliminated Zayn via pinfall.
As Zayn was removed from the Chamber, Uso slammed the door on Owens' arm, then delivered a series of superkicks to a trapped Owens before an Samoan splash. Uso eliminated Owens via pinfall. Another lengthy segment saw Bryan and Cesaro again going at it and exchanging big moves. Cesaro tried to take advantage of Bryan's bad knee by hitting a Cesaro Swing while holding just the one bad leg, but he was hit by an Uso superkick and an Samoan splash to score another elimination, leaving it to just himself and Bryan for the shot at Reigns. Uso eliminated Cesaro via pinfall. Uso went to the top of a pod for a splash, but Bryan got his knees up and followed up with a running knee to score the win. Solid stuff that played to Bryan's underdog status, which is where he is best. And he'll be right back in the role against Reigns, as the champion immediately made his way to the ring. Bryan won Elimination Chamber, eliminating Uso via pinfall.
Universal Championship -- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Daniel Bryan: Reigns tried to hit a spear at the bell, but Bryan rolled through into a Yes Lock. Reigns powered out and begin dropping big punches and elbows. After another series of shots, Reigns locked Bryan in a guillotine choke to end the match in short order. As Reigns celebrated, Edge ran to the ring and hit a spear before pointing at the WrestleMania sign, making his decision official that he would use his Royal Rumble victory to challenge Reigns. As a story, it makes sense to have things play out this way, but it's not satisfying to see Bryan -- who plays the underdog as well as anyone ever -- get a title shot that ends so quickly. There may be more to this in the long run, but Reigns vs. Bryan could be magic. The Edge run-in, predictable as it was, was as good a way to set things into motion for the WrestleMania main event as they had available. Reigns (c) def. Bryan via submission to retain the title.
United States Championship -- Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Riddle vs. John Morrison: Morrison made the early mistake of trying to join in Lashley's beating of Riddle, earning the champion's ire. Lashley continued to dominate, even as Riddle and Morrison tried to join forces and overwhelm him. Morrison and Riddle did briefly take Lashley out, battling between themselves briefly before Lashley raged his way back into the match, only to be hit by both a Floating Bro and Starship Pain, but still managing to kick out. Lashley locked Morrison in the Hurt Lock, but Riddle grabbed MVP's crutch (stolen by Morrison) and used it to attack Lashley before hitting Morrison with Bro Derek to score the win and take the title. Good, protective booking to keep Lashley strong and have Morrison eat the pin. An unspectacular match, but a good way to get to the result they wanted. Riddle def. Morrison (via pinfall) and Lashley (c) to win the title.
Women's Tag Team Championship -- Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks: Belair and Banks worked well as a team early, including Belair taunting Jax for her weeks of butt-related injuries. Once Baszler got in, she was able to start grinding away on the challengers. Baszler locked in the Kirifuda Clutch on Belair, but Banks tagged herself in and hit a frog splash for a near fall. Belair hit the Kiss of Death on Baszler, but Jax was able to break the pin. Reginald made his way to the ring and tried to give Banks a champagne bottle, but the referee intercepted the bottle and in the confusion, Jax hit a Samoan drop for the win. If anything the involvement of Reginald felt unnecessary and the ending didn't do enough to set up a match between Belair and Banks at WrestleMania. Jax & Baszler (c) def. Belair & Banks via pinfall to retain the titles.
WWE Championship -- Drew McIntyre (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton (Elimination Chamber): Hardy and Orton were the first two, again calling back to their past rivalry. McIntyre was the first man out of his pod, immediately bringing the fight to Orton. Kingston made his entrance into the match and quickly scored a pin on Orton. Kingston eliminated Orton via pinfall. Styles demanded Omos rip the plexiglass off his pod, allowing him to run around the outside of the Chamber and in through the door as Orton was leaving -- but not before hitting Hardy and Kingston with RKOs. Styles tried to score a cheap pin, but it failed and Omos was ejected. McIntyre again took over until Sheamus' number was called as the final entrant. McIntyre and Sheamus began exchanging blows. Kingston and Hardy tried to go on the attack but were taken out by Sheamus and McIntyre, who again began going at it. An extended period of five men in the Chamber followed before Sheamus hit Kingston with a Brogue Kick. Sheamus eliminated Kingston via pinfall. After a Twist of Fate on Styles, Hardy thought about hitting a Swanton Bomb from the top of a pod but instead hit Sheamus and McIntyre with a Whisper in the Wind before running back into the ring and hitting Styles with the Swanton. Before he could capitalize, McIntyre ran in with a Claymore. McIntyre eliminated Hardy via pinfall.
McIntyre had to survive a dangerous stretch after White Noise from Sheamus and a springboard senton and springboard 450 from Styles. Sheamus took the fight to Styles, frustrated that Styles hadn't taken out McIntyre. Sheamus hit McIntyre with a Brogue Kick, but Styles came off the top rope with a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles eliminated Sheamus via pinfall. Styles again tried to come off the top rope for a Phenomenal Forearm on McIntyre, but McIntyre countered with a Claymore to knock Styles out of midair and retain the title. After the match, Bobby Lashley attacked as McIntyre was celebrating. Lashley dominated McIntyre, throwing him around ringside before locking in the Hurt Lock and then a full nelson slam. The middle section dragged a bit, but once the action picked back up, the match got considerably better. McIntyre (c) won the Elimination Chamber to retain the title.
WWE Championship -- Drew McIntyre (c) vs. The Miz: The Miz ran to the ring after Lashley's attack on McIntyre, cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. Miz immediately hit a kick to the leg and a basement DDT for a two count. He then drove McIntyre into the canvas with a Skull-Crushing Finale, scoring the pinfall and winning the championship. There was no better set-up for Miz's cash-in than this, especially after his reign as Money in the Bank contract holder has largely been a dud. This was a bump on the road to a program between McIntyre and Lashley but a good old-fashioned surprise end to the show. The Miz def. Drew McIntyre (c) via pinfall to win the title.
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