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This week's WWE programming revolved largely around building the card for the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, which is set to take place next Sunday. Two major Elimination Chamber matches were announced on RAW and SmackDown. However, there isn't much hype around what is one of the most intriguing gimmick matches in WWE, largely due to the predictable nature of the outcomes.
The review of WWE's week would definitely be incomplete without mentioning Nia Jax's hilarious moment and comment on RAW during her Tables match against Lana. SmackDown has unfortunately not been up to the mark in the last few weeks and that's something that needs to be corrected at the earliest.
Let's take a look at three mistakes WWE made this week and three things they got right. Be sure to comment down and chime in with your thoughts and opinions.
#3 Mistake WWE made: The underwhelming return of Seth Rollins to SmackDown
Former Universal Champion Seth Rollins returned to SmackDown this week and everyone watching would have surely popped at the return of his "Burn It Down" theme. Unfortunately, that was the only highlight of his otherwise underwhelming return.
As amazing as The Monday Night Messiah gimmick was, it has run its course and fans expected Seth Rollins to return with a massive bang and possibly a face turn. Rollins did tease that but quickly went back to his Messiah persona.
WWE made the return look huge with the entire SmackDown locker room surrounding the ring. However, they all left the ringside as soon as Rollins started his "I am your leader" speech. Seth Rollins attacked Cesaro at the end of the segment, teasing a feud with him.
#3 WWE got right: Edge continues to appear on WWE TV
As much as the WWE Universe loves Edge, there were many eyebrows raised when he won the 2021 men's Royal Rumble match. After all, he is a part-timer who in a way took the spotlight from a young talent. However, it's great to see Edge continuously appearing on all of WWE's brands, keeping the fans guessing about who he will choose to face at WrestleMania 37.
This week on RAW, Edge announced that he would wait to make his decision until after the Elimination Chamber is done as WWE Champion Drew McIntyre is set to defend his title inside the unforgiving structure next Sunday. Edge also had an interesting confrontation with Mr. Money in the Bank, The Miz.
#2 Mistake WWE made: Alexa Bliss' absence from RAW without any explanation
One of the biggest storylines on WWE RAW right now is the continued mind games between Randy Orton and Alexa Bliss. While "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt hasn't been on WWE TV for a while, Alexa Bliss has taken the baton from him and haunted Orton at every possible chance.
However, Alexa Bliss was nowhere to be seen on Monday Night RAW this week. Randy Orton took on WWE Champion Drew McIntyre in the main event of RAW and fans expected Bliss to appear once again, but she did not. While the reasons for the same could be personal as she has been dealing with some issues in her real-life, WWE could have at least given some explanation for the same. Let's hope she will be back soon, and hopefully so will The Fiend.
#2 WWE got right: Keith Lee returns to RAW and enters the US title picture
Former NXT Champion Keith Lee returned to Monday Night RAW after being absent for nearly a month. Upon his return, he had a great match against Riddle on RAW, and moreover, Keith Lee has now entered the United States Championship scene.
US Champion Bobby Lashley will now be defending his title at Elimination Chamber 2021 in a massive triple threat match against Keith Lee and Riddle. The best thing about this contest is that it's really tough to predict who will walk out with the title. Bobby Lashley has been booked as an unstoppable force on RAW but Keith Lee has a great chance to dethrone him next Sunday at the pay-per-view.
#1 Mistake WWE made: Shinsuke Nakamura not being in the Elimination Chamber match
WWE SmackDown kicked off this week with Adam Pearce announcing that Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be defending his title inside the Elimination Chamber, just like WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. However, Reigns and Paul Heyman forced him to change it to a No. 1 contender's match inside the Chamber with the winner facing Roman Reigns for the title on the same night.
The premise in itself makes it very predictable as there's no way that Reigns will now be losing his title at the pay-per-view next Sunday. However, the most confusing part was WWE leaving out Shinsuke Nakamura off the match while involving the likes of King Corbin and Sami Zayn. With all due respect to these two men, Nakamura deserved to be in the match more as he already has a storyline in place with Roman Reigns that fans want to see.
#1 WWE got right: Cesaro's push continues
While WWE made a mistake with Shinsuke Nakamura, they are not doing so with his tag team partner Cesaro who has been booked amazingly well on SmackDown recently. This week, he teamed up with Daniel Bryan to take on the SmackDown Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler. Bryan and Cesaro won the match to earn the final two spots in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match.
Cesaro even cut an amazing promo on Talking Smack this week claiming himself as the next Universal Champion in front of Paul Heyman. The signs point towards Cesaro being the one to emerge victorious at Elimination Chamber and then face Roman Reigns on the same night. If someone can pull off a double duty, it is Cesaro. However, it's unlikely he will walk out as the new Universal Champion as Roman Reigns will surely have more than one trick up his sleeves.
Comment down and let us know your predictions for the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match.
