Reviews

The John Report: WWE Elimination Chamber 2024 Review

By John Canton • Published 24th February 2024
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It’s WWE Elimination Chamber with two Chamber, some titles on the line, and a big interview too as the Road to WrestleMania 40 continues.

This is WWE Elimination Chamber with a unique start time for a lot of us since it’s taking place it’s Perth, Australia. I’m sitting here at 5 AM ET as the show is set to begin. I slept a decent amount of time after Smackdown last night, so I’m ready to go. The local start time in Perth, Australia is 6 PM for the main show.

The Kickoff Show match had the Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) face Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. I missed it live, but I went back and did the review after the show.

KICKOFF SHOW: WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Kabuki Warriors – Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell

The crowd was hot for this first match and chanting “Indi Hartwell” for their fellow Aussie. Indi hit a shoulder tackle on Sane. Indi got some more offense with a boot to the chest. LeRae tagged in leading to Indi slamming LeRae onto Sane for two. Asuka tagged in after getting boots to the face on LeRae. LeRae splashed Asuka in the corner followed by a senton splash to the back for two. Asuka distracted the referee so Sane kicked LeRae off the turnbuckle to the floor. Sane tagged in and missed an attack when LeRae moved. Asuka back in to prevent a tag as Asuka hit a German Suplex on LeRae followed by a running knee. Sane tagged in with a forearm smash off the top rope for two. Asuka was back in with a hip attack knocking Indi off the apron. Asuka with a bulldog followed by a Sane dropkick got a two count for Asuka. LeRae kicked Asuka to break free, so Indi got the hot tag leading to cheers from the crowd. Indi hit clotheslines along with a double noggin knocker that always generates a pop. Indi hit a spinebuster on Asuka and a spinebuster on Sane onto Asuka for two. Indi knocked Asuka off the apron to the floor. Indi hit a flatliner and LeRae tagged in with a springboard moonsault for two because Sane broke up the pin. LeRae sent Sane out of the ring. Indi was back in, Asuka hit back fists and a German Suplex. Indi got a rollup for two and a forearm to the face. LeRae tagged in while holding Indi’s hand and Sane tripped up Indi, so LeRae went crashing on the ropes. Sane sent Indi into the ring post. Sane tagged in, Asuka held LeRae and Sane hit the Insane Elbow on Lerae for the pinfall win. It went 8:55.

Winners by pinfall: Kabuki Warriors – Asuka & Kairi Sane

Analysis: *** A good tag team match that followed the usual tag formula by having the heels dominate LeRae for most of the match before Indi got the hot tag. The crowd was strongly behind Indi, so that’s the right way to book the match. At least they didn’t have Indi take the pin. No surprise that the champions retained here.

Let’s get to the main show.

WWE Elimination Chamber
From Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, Australia
February 24, 2024

The broadcast started with Michael Cole speaking as they showed some arrivals earlier in the day. They showed Rhea Ripley, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, US Champion Logan Paul, Kevin Owens with a koala, and Randy Orton.

The Elimination Chamber structure was being lowered on the ring because the Women’s Chamber match was opening the show. Here’s a good shot of the set.

There was a video package hyping up the big matches on the show. Good stuff as usual.

It’s an impressive sight as they showed the crowd in Perth. The stadium was massive. There were more arrivals shown earlier in the day: Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, Grayson Waller, Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Cody Rhodes.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves were on commentary at ringside. Happy 40th birthday to Graves. Welcome to Club 40, buddy. I like Graves. Ring announcer Mike Rome explained the Elimination Chamber rules.

Bianca Belair was up first meaning she would start in one of the pods. Raquel Rodriguez was up next followed by Tiffy Time meaning Tiffany Stratton. The entrance was long since it’s a stadium show, but it’s a straight entrance, not an angled one like during Royal Rumble. The crowd is loud. Great atmosphere. Naomi got a huge pop for her entrance. Becky Lynch was the last, so Naomi and Lynch will start the match.

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match: Becky Lynch vs. Naomi vs. Bianca Belair vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Liv Morgan

The winner of this match will challenge the Women’s World Champion at WrestleMania 40. It took 17 minutes into the show for the bell to ring. Cole noted it was the 33rd Elimination Chamber match in WWE history.

Becky Lynch took down Naomi with a side headlock as the announcers talked about how it was very hot there, but it was early evening. Naomi hit a shoulder tackle. They had a camera placed in the top part of the cage along with cameramen in different positions, so there were some good angles of the action. Lynch and Naomi exchanged quick pin attempts. Lynch and Naomi each hit arm drag takedowns. Naomi got a sunset flip and an arm submission, but Lynch leaned forward for a two count. Naomi hit a dropkick. Naomi hit a bulldog into the middle turnbuckle. Lynch hit a running dropkick. Lynch battled Naomi by the cage as Naomi sent Lynch into the cage a few times. Naomi hit a split-legged leg drop off the cage for a two count. Naomi and Lynch hit a double cross body clock as the clock went down to zero to bring in the third entrant.

It was Tiffy Time at #3 as Tiffany Stratton was next. Some fans were chanting for her. Stratton set up both opponents against the turnbuckle followed by handspring back elbows on both women. Stratton hit a double dropkick on both women who were seated on the mat. Stratton hit a spinebuster on Lynch. Naomi hit a cross body block on both opponents. Lynch hit a fallaway slam on Naomi while Stratton clotheslined Lynch. Stratton set up both women by the ropes, but Lynch met Stratton on the ropes and hit a side Russian legsweep. Naomi followed up with a split-legged leg drop on both women for a two count. Naomi slammed Lynch and hit a split-legged moonsault on Lynch. Stratton threw Naomi into the ring post and pinned Lynch for two as the clock went down to zero again.

Liv Morgan was #4 as she went after Stratton with punches. Morgan threw Stratton into pods four times in a row. Liv hit double knees on Lynch’s back and double knees to Naomi’s jaw. Morgan hit running back splashes on Lynch and Naomi. Morgan hit running knees on Lynch and Naomi. Morgan hit double knees on Lynch again for two. Stratton hit a double foot stomp on Morgan for two. Naomi was climbing the cage, Stratton went after her and Lynch gave Stratton an Exploder Suplex into the cage. Lynch was pulling Stratton’s arm against the cage. Morgan was attacking Stratton by the turnbuckle. Morgan was on the turnbuckle and Naomi jumped off the pod with a Blockbuster, but Stratton covered Naomi right after that and it was enough for a three count. Naomi was out.

Naomi eliminated by Tiffany Stratton

The #5 entrant was Raquel Rodriguez, who hit a spinning powerslam on Stratton. Raquel drove Lynch back-first into the cage a few times. Raquel caught Stratton in her arms and sent Stratton into the cage. Morgan battled Raquel as former tag team partners. Raquel blocked double knees and sent Liv into the cage. Raquel went into the ring as the three women worked together on Raquel with a double DDT for a two count.

Bianca Belair was the #6 and final entrant. Belair was dominant right away as expected as she hit a delayed vertical suplex on Lynch. Stratton pulled on Belair’s ponytail, so Belair came back with a spinebuster. Belair faced off with Raquel. Belair managed to send Raquel out of the ring, so Raquel brought Belair onto the padding outside the ring. Belair countered a move into the cage and countered a move into a DDT for two. Stratton worked over Raquel with punches while Raquel was on the top rope. Morgan climbed a pod and Morgan jumped off with a senton on Raquel, who was on the top rope. That looked great. Lynch and Stratton fought on top of a pod as Stratton shoved Lynch off the pod onto Raquel on the mat. Stratton hit a Swanton dive off the pod onto three of the women on the mat. The three women caught Stratton perfectly. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for that.

Stratton battled Morgan in the ring with Stratton hitting a rolling senton. Morgan hit Stratton with the Oblivion off the middle turnbuckle. The fans booed that because a lot of fans liked the heel Stratton. Good performance from Stratton in her first Chamber match.

Tiffany Stratton eliminated by Liv Morgan

Raquel showed off her power with a Powerbomb on Belair and a slam on Morgan. Raquel hit a corkscrew elbow on Morgan. Lynch took down Raquel with an armbar, but Raquel powered out of it. Raquel lifted up Lynch and Morgan joined, so Raquel hit a double Texana Bomb on both women. Belair took advantage of that with a KOD slam on Raquel for the pinfall elimination.

Raquel Rodriguez eliminated by Bianca Belair

It’s down to three women: Lynch, Belair & Morgan. Belair slammed Lynch onto Morgan and Belair hit a moonsault on both women at the same time. Belair was in control sending Morgan and Lynch into the cage. Lynch kicked Belair, who had Lynch on her shoulders. Lynch knocked down Belair with some kicks. Morgan used her legs to send Belair into one of the pods. Lynch sent Morgan into the cage followed by Lynch hitting a reverse DDT and a DDT on both women at the same time. Belair slammed Lynch into the ring. Belair punched Lynch repeatedly, Morgan tried to break that up and Morgan hit a Powerbomb. That was nearly a rough landing for Belair, but she was okay. Lynch hit a missile dropkick off the top on Morgan for a two count. Morgan fought back with a superplex off the middle rope on Lynch. Belair tried for a 450 Splash, but Lynch got the knees up to block that. Belair went for KOD on Morgan, but Liv countered out of it and hit a jawbreaker-like move. Morgan hit double knees on Lynch to counter a move. Belair did a backflip to avoid a Manhandle Slam by Lynch. Belair went for KOD on Lynch, who landed on her feet. Morgan did the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! on Belair for the three count to eliminate her. Lynch hit the Manhandle Slam on Morgan for the pinfall win at 32:15. Lynch gets the win.

Bianca Belair eliminated by Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan eliminated by Becky Lynch

Winner: Becky Lynch

The win means that Becky Lynch will challenge for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a pretty good Elimination Chamber match that had a result that most fans were likely expecting. I wouldn’t call it some all-time classic match or anything like that. The match was predictable because I think most people picked Lynch to win and I did too. That kind of hurts the match a bit when it’s that predictable. With that said, I thought they did some clever eliminations while having a few big spots in the match. I’m glad that Stratton had some moments on offense before she was eliminated while Naomi got to show off her athleticism as usual. I think the finish was done in a way to show how easily somebody could lose, but I didn’t like it as much as if it was a longer Lynch-Belair showdown to end the match. Morgan beating Belair was a bit of a surprise to me although it was just done that way to have Lynch beat Morgan to get the win. More creativity with some of the falls would have helped. It just didn’t feel like it hit that next gear at any point in the match.

There were some commercials for various WWE items. A Bayley video aired after that.

There was a commercial for upcoming A&E Biography Legends shows starting this Sunday night.

It was New Catch Republic time as Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate made their entrance as the challengers for the Tag Team Titles. They had some New Catch Republic graphics on their entrance video. The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest & Finn Balor were up next as the WWE Tag Team Champions joined by “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio. Priest is also Senor Money in the Bank. Priest & Balor have been champions since October. The announcers mentioned that R-Truth went to Austria, which is what he said in a video, which just furthers that R-Truth comedy gimmick. It was 7 PM in Perth as this match was starting, so it was getting darker in the stadium. Ring announcer Mike Rome did the championship introductions for this match. Dominik Mysterio did a brief promo to boos as the NCR guys attacked to begin the match.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Judgment Day – Damian Priest & Finn Balor (w/Dominik Mysterio) vs. New Catch Republic – Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate

The NCR guys tried to get a quick pin, but that obviously didn’t work. Dunne wrenched on Balor’s arm followed by a stomp. Bate tagged in with a senton splash off the top onto Balor for two. As Balor went off the ropes, Priest tagged in and Priest punched Bate in the face. Priest hit a Broken Arrow slam across the ring on Bate for two. Balor was back in with strikes along with a side headlock. Priest was back in as he tossed Bate into the turnbuckle and delivered a punch to the jaw followed by stomps. Dominik did a cheap shot to Bate, who was near the ropes. Priest and Balor did a leg drop/backbreaker combo for two on Bate as Dunne made the save. Bate fought out of the corner with a boot and a jumping uppercut off the middle turnbuckle. Dunne tagged in with jumping enziguri kicks for the champions. Dunne hit a running leg lariat on Balor. Dunne went to the middle turnbuckle and hit a moonsault on both champions on the floor. Dunne stomped on Balor’s hands two times. Bate tagged back in leading to a clothesline into a Dunne German Suplex on Balor and Bate covered Balor for two. Priest tagged in, he went for a corner attack, Bate moved and Priest hit the turnbuckle. Priest came back with a kick to Bate’s head along with a clothesline leading to Bate doing a flip bump as Priest got a two count. Balor tagged in leading to a double team slam on Bate for a two count. Bate caught a charging Balor leading to a spinning slam. Bate lifted up Priest for the airplane spin to show off his power as the fans came alive for that because the spinning kept on going. Bate hit a spinning slam off the shoulders of Priest. That’s an impressive show of power. Dunne tagged in leading to jumping kicks and Bate jumped onto Priest on the floor. Dunne hit Bitter End on Balor, so Dominik put Balor’s foot on the ropes for a two count. Bate told the referee Daphanie LaShaunn what happened, so she tossed Dominik from ringside.

Balor got a rollup on Dunne for two. Balor hit a dropkick into the turnbuckle. Balor went up top, Balor went for the Coup de Grace, but Dunne avoided it and Dunne did a finger snap. New Catch hit a Double Tyler Driver on Balor as Bate made the cover for a two count because Priest pulled Bate out of the ring. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for them. Dunne stomped on Priest’s hand, but Priest slammed Dunne into the apron. Bate clotheslined Priest on the floor. Back in the ring, Balor hit a lifting reverse suplex for two. Priest was back in for a Razor’s Edge attempt, but Bate sent Priest into the corner and Priest didn’t go smoothly into the corner, so he had to run into Balor after. Dunne tagged in leading to double team kicks along with punches to the jaw. Dunne & Bate hit the Birminghammer (double Burning Hammer) slam off the shoulders and that led to a two count for Dunne on Priest. Bate and Dunne made quick tags leading to more double teaming with jumping kicks on Priest. Priest hit double South of Heaven Chokeslams on both opponents while on the middle turnbuckle. Balor made the blind tag, Balor went up top and Balor hit the Coup de Grace double knees on Dunne for the pinfall win at 17:25.

Winners by pinfall: The Judgment Day – Damian Priest & Finn Balor

Analysis: ***1/2 I thought it was a terrific tag team match that was given a lot of time and the crowd was into it with “this is awesome” chants. The team of Dunne & Bate may not have come into this match as challengers that looked like they would win the titles, but they were credible opponents who put up a fight. Some of the double team moves of Dunne & Bate were as good as any teams in WWE right now, so they showed they certainly belong. Balor & Priest retaining is what I expected. I think it might be The Miz & R-Truth who take the titles from the champions at WrestleMania 40 unless WWE wants to go with one of the other regular tag teams in the company.

There were some commercials for WrestleMania 40 and the WWE Experience in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The A&E Rivals series returns this Sunday on A&E television.

Throughout the show, they had clips of Western Australia tourism spots. That’s because they paid WWE a lot of money to be there, so WWE is going to promote it.

They showed the Men’s Elimination Chamber match participants getting ready: Logan Paul, Randy Orton and Bobby Lashley,

A video package set up the Cody Rhodes-Seth Rollins interview with Grayson Waller Effect, which of course meant the WrestleMania 40 Press Event and the involvement of Roman Reigns & The Rock.

Grayson Waller Effect with Cody Rhodes & Seth “Freakin” Rollins

Austin Theory was in the ring telling the fans that Vegemite was disgusting, so the fans booed. Theory kept on trying to piss off the fans before he introduced his good buddy, Australia’s own Grayson Waller. The fans popped for Waller. The ring had the “Grayson Waller Effect” set with the plants and some chairs. Waller and a UFC fighter named Tai Tuivasa had a “Shooey” by drinking a beer out of a shoe. I’m not going to try that. Sorry Australians.

Grayson Waller welcomed us to the show. Waller did the “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chant with the fans reacting with the “Oy, Oy, Oy.” I think the world knows that chant. Waller introduced his first guest, the World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins.

Seth Rollins got a huge ovation from the massive crowd, who sang his song with him. Rollins had on a unique black outfit along with sunglasses that had a third lens on it (a Prince thing). When Rollins got into the ring, the fans kept on singing the song loudly as usual.

Cody Rhodes was next with the fans popping huge for him as usual. They were singing along with Cody’s theme song. It was loud as usual for the “WHOA-OH” part and a lot of fireworks went off. Cody was in a suit as usual. Cody did a great job of greeting the fans on his way to the ring. There was a huge pyro display when Cody got into the ring.

Cody: “So Perth…what do you want to talk about?” Waller told the crowd to acknowledge the “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns.

Rollins was asked who he wanted to fight at WrestleMania. Rollins said that Chamber match is stacked and he doesn’t know who is going to win. Rollins claimed he had a secret. Rollins claimed he was just days away from being medically cleared to compete and so whoever wins that Chamber match coming up doesn’t stand a chance. Rollins said that it’s WrestleMania 40, the biggest WrestleMania of all time and the world is going to sing his song. Rolins said he’ll put on a show while going over his name as usual. Waller: “Cool story, bro.”

Waller mentioned to Cody that we could have got Roman Reigns vs. The Rock and he claimed Australia wanted to see that, so he asked Cody if he was selfish taking that away. Loud “Rocky Sucks” chants.

Cody said that he was a fan of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the fans booed. Cody said if The Rock was there, he’d call Cody a candy something, roody poo poo, something about pie and Waller said that “Cody Crybabies” is what Rock calls Cody fans. Cody asked if there were any Cody Crybabies here tonight? The fans cheered loudly.

Cody spoke about why he stepped out of the WrestleMania title match and then he stepped back into it. Waller reminded Cody that you’re talking about the People’s Champion. Cody said maybe The Rock was a People’s Champion, but to be that now you have to be around the people. Cody said that he had a bit of an announcement himself.

Cody stood up saying that The Rock slapped him across the face. Cody said that he’s wrestling Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, but until then he is wide open. Cody Rhodes said that he wants to wrestle The Rock one-on-one any time and any place. Seth Rollins stepped up beside Cody saying he thinks it’s time to cut the head off the head of the snake once and for all. Rollins said there is no such thing as one on one. Rollins said if The Rock takes Cody up on the challenge, Rollins said you won’t be fighting that battle alone.

Theory got in Cody’s face thinking that he would face The Rock and Theory shouted that it doesn’t matter what you think. Rollins laughed about it. Theory did more promo stealing, so Rollins threw Theory into one of the Waller signs in the ring. Cody hit a Cody Cutter on Theory. Rollins hit The Stomp on Theory. Waller was hiding behind some of the plants in the ring so he avoided getting beat up. That was the end of it.

Analysis: It was an entertaining promo segment with the crowd loving Cody & Seth as expected. They liked Waller a lot too while Theory was there to get his ass kicked. I thought Cody & Seth would challenge The Rock & Roman Reigns to a tag team match at WrestleMania 40, but instead, it was just Cody challenging The Rock to a match. Perhaps we’ll see that on Night 1 at WrestleMania 40 and then Cody also wrestles against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 Night 2. That works too although I was hoping for the tag team match instead. Perhaps The Rock wanted to be in a singles match or it was part of some deal, so that’s why it would be a singles match instead of a tag team match. The Rock is on Smackdown this Friday, so we might find out if The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania Night 1 becomes official.

There were some commercials for various WWE-related items.

A video aired about WWE visiting different venues in Perth supporting the community.

They showed Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens & LA Knight getting ready for the Men’s Elimination Chamber match. The Chamber was being lowered because that match was next.

The video package aired for the Men’s Elimination Chamber match.

Kevin Owens was up first to a big pop as usual. That meant he would be placed into one of the pods. Bobby Lashley was also cheered heavily for his entrance. Lashley had his right arm taped up a bit since Karrion Kross attacked him with a steel chair to the arm on Smackdown. Logan Paul was next as the US Champion who was booed a lot since he’s one of the two heels in the match. When Paul got into the ring, Owens headbutted the pod door to try to intimidate Paul. Randy Orton got a huge pop for his entrance as usual while Cole said that Orton set a record since this was his ninth Elimination Chamber match. Orton was tied with Chris Jericho for eight appearances going into this match. Orton climbed up to Bobby Lashley’s pod and did his signature pose up there.

That meant that the first two men in the Chamber match were Drew McIntyre and LA Knight. McIntyre entered first of the two men and he was booed as one of WWE’s top heels. The fans loved LA Knight as you would expect.

Men’s Elimination Chamber Match: LA Knight vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton

The winner of this match will challenge Seth “Freakin” Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Drew McIntyre started with strikes as LA Knight came back with a neckbreaker, suplex and elbow drop. Drew hit an overhead suplex on Knight across the ring as fans chanted “CM Punk” and Drew laughed about that. Drew mocked the Go To Sleep of Punk, Knight avoided the move and Knight used his knees to hit Drew in the back. Knight sent Drew into the barricade after a leap over the top rope. Knight rammed Drew’s head into a pod door repeatedly leading to “YEAH” chants. Knight also sent Drew head-first into KO’s pod so KO hit the pod door with forearm smashes. Knight threw Drew into the pod again.

In at #3 was Kevin Owens, who went after Drew and Knight with punches. Owens gave Knight a Chokeslam along with a senton splash. Owens doing a Chokeslam is rare, but Cole said that a boy at a Make-A-Wish event asked Owens to do that, so Owens did it. Owens sent Knight into the turnbuckle. Drew battled Owens by the turnbuckle. Owens knocked Drew down and Owens hit a Frog Splash off the top rope for two. Drew got a boot up to stop a charging Owens. Drew slammed Knight and Owens hit a Codebreaker on Drew while landing on Knight and KO got two nearfalls. Drew was on the top rope, so both opponents went after him. Drew managed to come back with a cross body block off the top turnbuckle to knock KO and Knight down.

The #4 entrant was Bobby Lashley, who sent Drew into the turnbuckle. There was a “Bobby Lashley” chant as Drew hit a kick followed by an overhead belly-to-belly suplex across the ring. Lashley clotheslined Drew and tossed Drew out of the ring to the padded area. Lashley sent Drew’s back into the cage two times. Lashley kept on working over Drew by the cage until they went back into the ring. Drew hit the headbutt on Lashley. Drew charged, but Lashley spiked him with a spinebuster for two. Owens hit a superkick on Lashley for a two count.

Randy Orton was #5 in the match with two clotheslines on Owens and a powerslam. Orton gave Owens a draping DDT on the Chamber floor. Lashley hit a neckbreaker on Knight and a flatliner on Drew. Lashley hit a corner clothesline on Orton, Knight and Drew. Lashley hit a shoulder tackle to Orton and Lashley hit a Spear on Knight. Lashley charged, Drew sent Lashley into the turnbuckle and Drew rammed Lashley into the turnbuckle. Orton was grabbing his lower back and Cole was speculating that Orton was hurt, but we don’t know if it’s just selling at this point. Knight hit Drew with a DDT on the floor. Orton was back up with a belly-to-back suplex and Orton was favoring his lower back again.

The last man was US Champion Logan Paul at #6, who was attacked by Owens in the pod. Owens rammed Paul into the pod a few times. Owens sent Paul into another pod. Owens sent Paul groin-first into the edge of a pod. Owens clotheslined Paul over the top onto the outer padding by the ring. Paul hit some uppercuts, but KO came back with a stiff clothesline. Lashley got back into it by tossing Owens into a pod door. Lashley gave Pod a Spear through one of the pod doors. Ouch. That sounded brutal. While Lashley was on the outer mats, Drew hit a Claymore Kick. Drew rolled Lashley into the ring, but Knight kicked Drew to knock him down. Lashley was going for a Hurt Lock on Knight, who got out of it and Drew hit Lashley with a Claymore Kick. Drew pinned Lashley to take Bobby out of the match.

Bobby Lashley eliminated by Drew McIntyre

Knight worked over Drew with a running knee and a running knee for Orton as well. Multiple referees went into the ring to help Lashley out of the ring. Knight hit a superplex on Drew. Knight hit Blount Force Trauma on Orton and Blount Force Trauma on Drew too. AJ Styles went into the ring with a steel chair and Styles hit Knight with repeated chair shots to the back. Styles got in when the door was opened to help Lashley. Styles gave Knight a Styles Clash onto a steel chair in the ring. Drew used his left arm to cover Knight and pin him.

LA Knight eliminated by Drew McIntyre

Analysis: That should lead to a LA Knight-AJ Styles match at WrestleMania 40. I thought they might go with Knight against Logan Paul, but obviously, Knight-Styles is the direction now.

Owens gave Paul a cradle suplex onto KO’s knee while they were on the mats outside the ring. Owens hit cannonball splashes on Drew and Orton back to back. Owens hit a Swanton Bomb off the top on Orton for a two count. Owens went up top and jumped off with a Swanton Bomb, but Drew got his knees up to block that. Drew charged at Owens going for a Claymore Kick, but Owens hit a Popup Powerbomb on Drew. Owens with a Stunner on Paul. Orton jumped over Owens to avoid a Powerbomb and Orton hit an RKO on Owens for the pinfall. Orton continued to favor his lower back.

Kevin Owens eliminated by Randy Orton

The final three were McIntyre, Orton and Paul. Drew and Orton exchanged strikes leading to Orton hitting a powerslam. Paul sent Orton face first into the turnbuckle. Paul went up top, Orton stopped him there with punches and Drew got back into it with a forearm to Orton’s back. Paul went up top as Drew and Randy exchanged strikes including a neckbreaker by Drew, who did a kip-up back to his feet. Paul jumped off a pod with a cross body block onto a standing Drew. Paul pulled out the brass knuckles that he put on his hand since they were legal in a match like this. A Paul posed with the brass knuckles, Orton came out of nowhere with an RKO for the pinfall on Paul.

Logan Paul eliminated by Randy Orton

That means it’s down to Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton with both men selling on the mat. Drew went for Future Shock, Orton got out of that, Orton went for RKO, Drew avoided that and Orton hit a vintage draping DDT off the ropes. Orton was favoring his lower back throughout the match. Orton pounded his arms against the mat like he has done so many times and Drew countered a RKO with a shove leading to a spinebuster. Drew did the 3-2-1 countdown, but Orton collapsed so Drew didn’t charge with his kick. Orton did a great job of selling. Drew was laughing about Orton being down. Orton hit a RKO on Drew. Orton was celebrating it, but Logan Paul punched Orton with the brass knuckles in the face! Drew covered with his right arm across the chest of Orton for the pinfall win. It went 36:55.

Randy Orton eliminated by Drew McIntyre

Winner: Drew McIntyre

That win means that Drew McIntyre will challenge Seth “Freakin” Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 40. The graphic was on the screen promoting that match.

Analysis: **** I thought it was an excellent match. It was heavy on story and cheap pinfalls, but that’s part of the fun of Elimination Chamber. Drew McIntyre benefitted from the cheap attacks more than anybody because he’s a heel who acts like he is genuine with everything that he does, but in reality, he’s not as genuine as he seems. I thought Orton was terrific in the match both in terms of hitting those timely RKO’s and selling the back throughout the match. Everybody else did well too. Just based on this match, we can pencil in WrestleMania matches like Rollins-McIntyre, Styles-Knight and Paul-Orton so that’s great. Using the Chamber match to set up WrestleMania matches is a smart move because it tells the audience that these matches mean a lot not just for the winner, but for setting up other matches as well.

There were some commercials for various WWE items as usual.

A video aired letting us know that WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia is 42 days away. Six weeks to go, my friends. I’ll be there. The special start time is 7 p.m. ET for Saturday and Sunday.

Let’s Hear From Triple H

The show returned with WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque in the ring thanking the fans for the support and thanking Perth for putting on a great show. Triple H announced the attendance as 52,590 people. There was an impressive pyro display after that.

Nia Jax was shown getting ready for the main event. The video package aired for the Rhea Ripley-Nia Jax Women’s World Title match.

The entrance of Nia Jax was first. Jax has a lot of haters, but she has done well in the last year and has been booked strongly as a dominant heel.

Rhea Ripley, the Women’s World Champion, got a huge ovation for her entrance. Ripley is a heel in the traditional sense, but the fans love her and especially this Australian crowd loves her since she’s an Aussie. Ripley had a special jacket with the Aussie flag on it. Mike Rome did the championship introductions. The fans were hot for all of it showing as they booed Jax and cheered Ripley a lot.

Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax

Ripley got a headscissors attack followed by a dropkick. Jax came back with a running body attack along with a senton splash. Jax splashed Ripley in the corner. Cole said that Ripley had 13 family members at ringside including her parents and sister. Jax hit a leg drop to Ripley’s back. Jax pulled back on Ripley’s arms and then stomping the back to send Ripley into the mat. Jax jumped onto Ripley’s back while taunting Ripley’s family at ringside. Jax put Ripley on her back in a Torture Rack position, but Ripley got out of it with a guillotine submission. Jax went for a splash, Ripley avoided it and Jax hit the mat. Ripley with chops, Jax caught Rhea in her arms and Jax hit two straight Powerbombs. Jax hit a leg drop to the back of Ripley’s neck for two. Ripley knocked down Jax by the ropes followed by Ripley hitting a missile dropkick off the top rope for two. Jax hit a Samoan Drop on Ripley, who avoided a leg drop and Ripley hit a dropkick on a seated Jax. Ripley went to the turnbuckle, Jax got a hold of her there and Jax hit a Samoan Drop off the middle rope for a two count. Jax went to the ropes, but Ripley had Jax on her shoulders and Ripley sent Jax face first into the turnbuckle. Ripley did a bit of an Eddie Guerrero shake on the top rope and Ripley hit a Frog Splash for two. Ripley tried a Riptide, but Jax overpowered her and sent Ripley out of the ring to the floor. Ripley tripped up Jax on the apron. Ripley cleared off the top of the commentary table and teased a move, but Jax got out of that and Jax gave Ripley a Samoan Drop onto the table. It didn’t break the table, so Jax hit an elbow drop to put Ripley through the table. That does not lead to a DQ in WWE as we have seen in the past.

They went back into the ring where Jax hit the Annihilator splash for two. That is Jax’s finisher, so Ripley kicking out of that is big. Jax knocked Ripley down by the turnbuckle again, but Ripley was back up before Jax could go for the Annihilator again. Jax headbutted Ripley to knock her down. A fan had a “Nia Injured Me” sign in the crowd. Jax went up top for nothing, so Ripley hit a superplex off the middle rope. Ripley kicked Jax in the face and Ripley hit the Riptide slam for the pinfall win after 15 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Rhea Ripley

Analysis: ***1/4 They had a very good match that was worthy of the main event spot because of how much the crowd loved Ripley and wanted to see her win. Jax got plenty of offense throughout the match and certainly looked like a threat, but I don’t think anybody believed she had a chance of winning the match. I didn’t like the spot where Jax goes to the top rope because she never does moves up there. I know it was done to have Ripley hit the superplex, but it’s a bit silly to even do a spot like that. Ripley hitting the Riptide to win was an impressive sight. It was one of Jax’s best matches similar to when she beat Becky Lynch earlier this year.

Rhea Ripley celebrated with the Women’s World Title. There was an impressive pyro display in the stadium. Ripley celebrated with her family at ringside. Ripley went into the ring to celebrate some more. That led to a video package with some show highlights.

Analysis: I thought we might see a Rhea Ripley-Becky Lynch staredown to end it as a preview for WrestleMania 40, but they decided to go with just Ripley celebrating. That’s fine with me. There’s plenty of time for the Ripley-Lynch interactions.

This event had a runtime of 3:33:27 on WWE Network.

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Five Stars of the Show

  1. Rhea Ripley
  2. Drew McIntyre
  3. Becky Lynch
  4. Randy Orton
  5. Liv Morgan

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Final Thoughts

I’m going with a 7.5 out of 10 for this show.

I thought it was a very good show that was entertaining most of the way. It was not an epic show or anything like that. Having only four matches seems light, but they did go well over three hours too. When comparing the two Elimination Chamber matches, I liked the men’s match more. There were some angles within the match that set up WrestleMania matches while the women’s match was just about the women in the match without really doing any angles. Drew McIntyre and Becky Lynch as the winners were the most obvious choices.

The Rhea Ripley-Nia Jax match was good. Again, that one had an obvious result too, but they worked hard and it was one of Jax’s better matches. Ripley hitting a superplex was cool to see as well as the Riptide. I liked the tag team match with Balor/Priest beating Bate/Dunne. They got a lot of time.

That promo segment with Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins with Grayson Waller & Austin Theory led to Cody challenging The Rock to a match. That might happen at WrestleMania 40 Night 1 rather than a tag team match, so that’s an interesting development for sure.

It was a predictable show as far as winners go. I got perfect in my preview and I’m sure a lot of people watching got the four match predictions right too. Maybe that’s going to make some fans think less of the event, but I was entertained for all of it.

Here’s my ranking of WWE PLE’s in 2024 so far:

Royal Rumble – 7.75 (out of 10)

Elimination Chamber – 7.5

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As a reminder, I have a listing of every WWE PPV that I reviewed in order by year. Thank you for supporting us at TJRWrestling. We appreciate you.

Thanks for reading this review. My contact info is below.

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

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