Tonight’s WWE Raw featured the final two qualifying matches for Elimination Chamber, and earlier in the night, Roxanne Perez earned her entry into her first-ever Elimination Chamber. The main event of Raw was the second qualifier match between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, and it was an absolute beast of a match between the two superstars. Unfortunately, it also featured a botched finish that had many thinking a winner had already been declared, and it kind of derailed what was supposed to be a thrilling finishing sequence.
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At one point in the match, Rollins hit the pedigree and then went to cover Balor, with the crowd counting to 3 and the referee counting to 3 as well. Then Balor kicked out what appeared to be shortly after, and even the commentary team was saying Rollins had one but quickly pivoted when the referee said he had kicked out.
Rollins wasn’t thrilled with the news and neither was the crowd, who chanted at the referee as he was explaining what happened to Rollins. Rollins was clearly not having it and even gave the referee a DX chop to display his displeasure. The match would get back into gear, but it did lose a bit of momentum because of the snafu.
The two stars were able to get things back to where they were in the closing moments with a thrilling set of counters and submissions, and it was ultimately Rollins who would get the winning pin. You can watch the sequence around the 2:10 mark in the video above.
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The men’s lineup is now set, with Rollins securing his spot in the match alongside Damian Priest, Logan Paul, John Cena, CM Punk, and Drew McIntyre. There’s plenty of storyline intrigue already seeded in the match thanks to Punk, Rollins, and McIntyre, Paul doesn’t really have any allies there either, so it will be interesting to see this mix of superstars clash in one place.
Perez was also able to secure her spot at Elimination Chamber tonight, and that lineup is stacked as well, including Perez, Bayley, Bianca Belair, Naomi, Alexa Bliss, and Liv Morgan. Perez and Bayley just faced each other as part of the Fatal 4-Way at Vengeance Day, so there’s recent history there, but most of the storylines are surrounding Morgan.
Not only has Morgan started a feud with Bliss (as she was the one to eliminate her from the Rumble match), but she’s knee-deep in a bitter rivalry with Belair and Naomi, as a recent video indicated Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were the ones responsible for the attack on Jade Cargill.
As for predictions, each match could go several different ways, and many of them would have the potential for a grand WrestleMania match. For the Women’s Chamber, recent rumors have indicated that Belair could be the one to face Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, and it would certainly be an epic clash. We could see Morgan win if WWE wanted to put a final point on their feud. Bliss is also an option, especially if WWE wants to get her into the main event scene quickly.
For the Men’s Chamber, there are just as many options, with the two biggest favorites being Cena and Punk. Cena called his shot after the Royal Rumble, and this could be the way he gets that Championship match against Cody Rhodes. It’s difficult though to see this without Punk having any involvement, so he could very likely win too. There’s also always Rollins, who could easily end up facing Rhodes at WrestleMania.
What did you think of the messy finish to the match, and who do you think will win each of the Elimination Chamber matches? Let us know in the comments and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
