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WWE Elimination Chamber had two big men’s Chamber matches booked for this year’s event. While the WWE Championship was defended inside the Elimination Chamber, the winner of SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber match was guaranteed a shot at the Universal Championship.
The match between Asuka and Lacey Evans for the RAW Women’s Championship was called off at the last minute, without any reason being given by the company. Fans were expecting WWE to change or cancel the match after Evans revealed that she was pregnant during RAW.
WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley was booked to defend his title against Riddle and Keith Lee on the show. However, an injury Lee sustained a couple of weeks ago at the hands of Lashley kept him out of the contest.
2021 Royal Rumble Edge also made his decision for WrestleMania 37 early in the night. Elimination Chamber ended with a major surprise for the WWE Universe.
Take a look at five things WWE got right at Elimination Chamber this year.
#5 WWE found a replacement for Keith Lee at WWE Elimination Chamber
Bobby Lashley had attacked Keith Lee and Riddle a couple of weeks ago on WWE RAW after the two men competed in a number one contender’s match for Elimination Chamber. While Lee had won the contest, WWE decided to throw Riddle into the match for Elimination Chamber too.
Lee was injured during the beatdown by the United States Champion, and WWE decided to keep the match for Elimination Chamber a Triple Threat, rather than putting Riddle up against Lashley one-on-one.
John Morrison, Mustafa Ali, Ricochet, and Elias competed early during Elimination Chamber for a chance to bag the vacant spot in the United States Championship match. Ali and Ricochet came across as the favorites to win the contest.
All four men got a chance to shine, and Elias finally showed his skills during the match to come across as a potential threat. However, Morrison took advantage late in the match and rolled up Elias to pick up the victory.
This was a decent match considering the fact that it was randomly thrown together at the last minute. WWE seems to have waited on Lee before booking the match between the four men. WWE did the right thing by adding another Superstar to the United States Championship match rather than booking a match between Lashley and Riddle instead.
#4 Daniel Bryan won the WWE SmackDown Elimination Chamber match
The WWE SmackDown version of the Elimination Chamber match did not have a title attached to it. However, the winner of the contest was guaranteed a shot at the Universal Championship match later on Elimination Chamber.
Cesaro and Daniel Bryan kicked off the match while Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, King Corbin, and Sami Zayn waited in their respective pods to enter the match one by one.
Cesaro and Bryan had a good technical exchange and kept the match inside the ring rather than using the chamber’s structure to their advantage. Corbin was the first man to enter the ring from the pod and threw Cesaro around inside the Elimination Chamber.
The King stayed on top for some time, before Zayn was selected to enter the match next. The Master Strategist tried to keep his pod door shut and remain inside, until Cesaro pulled him out from the other side.
The Swiss Superman continued to impress from there on and eliminated Corbin, before Owens came into the match. Zayn tried to team up with Owens but was thrown around by The Prizefighter. KO eliminated Zayn with a Stunner but fell prey to Uso’s offense. He took some beating from Uso before being eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match by Roman Reigns’ ally.
Uso eliminated Cesaro next before he was taken down by the Running Knee from The Yes Man. Bryan ended up winning the match and giving fans a feel-good moment. It was the right call to have the veteran win after working hard over the past couple of months.
#3 Edge repaid the favor to challenge Roman Reigns for WrestleMania at WWE Elimination Chamber
After lasting in the WWE Elimination Chamber and going through a lot of punishment, Daniel Bryan was up for his next challenge. The Yes Man was immediately put in the Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns.
Reigns’ music hit as soon as the Elimination Chamber was being lifted as The Tribal Chief did not want to give Bryan any time to recover. Reigns rushed him after the bell, but Bryan locked the Yes Lock on the Universal Champion.
Reigns escaped from Bryan’s hold and delivered some thunderous blows to Bryan. He planted Bryan with a powerbomb and then locked in the Guillotine Choke. It did not take long for Bryan to pass out, and the referee had to call for the bell to protect the SmackDown Superstar.
The Tribal Chief celebrated his victory but was met with a Spear by Edge as soon as he turned around. The 2021 Royal Rumble winner pointed to the WrestleMania 37 sign as pyro went off, to make the match official for The Show of Shows.
Bryan showed a lot of heart before Edge had the last laugh at Elimination Chamber. He got to take revenge for the Spear Reigns delivered on SmackDown before the event. The Rated-R Superstar added a nice touch by whispering something in Reigns’ ear before ending the segment.
#2 Drew McIntyre retained his WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber match
The WWE Championship was defended inside the Elimination Chamber on Sunday. Drew McIntyre defended the title against Sheamus, AJ Styles, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, and Jeff Hardy.
Sheamus had the right to enter the match last, while Orton and Hardy kicked off the contest. Orton used the steel structure to his advantage early and threw Hardy around inside the Elimination Chamber. While Hardy fought back into the match, The Viper thumbed the eye of his opponent to get back in the driver’s seat.
McIntyre was released from his pod and he went after The Viper straight away. Kofi was the next man who came in and took out Orton by pinning him quickly. The Viper vented his frustration by delivering RKOs to Hardy and Kofi before leaving the Elimination Chamber.
Omos removed the back of Styles’ pod to have him enter the match early and try to eliminate Hardy and Kofi from the contest. However, both men kicked out.
WWE Official Adam Pearce removed Omos from ringside so that the match could go on without any more interference. Sheamus entered the ring last and exchanged some big blows with the WWE Champion.
After some big spots, The Celtic Warrior eliminated Kofi with a Brogue Kick. Hardy tried to build some momentum but ate a Claymore Kick before being eliminated by McIntyre.
Sheamus took McIntyre down with the Brogue Kick but fell prey to The Phenomenal Forearm from Styles, as he too was eliminated from the contest.
Styles tried to hit the WWE Champion with a Phenomenal Forearm but was eliminated by McIntyre with a Claymore Kick. The match was good and allowed all the competitors to have their moment.
It was odd that there were no major interferences in the Elimination Chamber match. However, McIntyre got another strong push as he picked up a big victory.
#1 Bobby Lashley ripped the WWE Champion apart; The Miz took advantage at Elimination Chamber
As Drew McIntyre celebrated his victory after retaining the WWE Championship following the Elimination Chamber, he was met with a big surprise. Bobby Lashley came out of nowhere and delivered a huge Spear to the WWE Champion.
Lashley lost his United States Championship to Riddle earlier in the night, and he vented his frustration by beating down McIntyre. It seemed like Lashley would instantly become the next challenger for the title.
However, The Miz came out with his Money in the Bank briefcase following the beatdown. He cashed in his contract and delivered a DDT to McIntyre. However, the WWE Champion kicked out of the pin attempt.
The A-Lister then waited and delivered the Skull-Crushing Finale to win the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber. The result shocked the WWE Universe at a time when WWE is looking to build towards WrestleMania 37.
While many fans will argue that this wasn’t the right decision to make, WWE could do a great job with the storyline and potentially award the title to Lashley before booking a blockbuster match for him at WrestleMania 37.
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