WWE Elimination Chamber: Best and Worst Moments

WWE’s Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event is officially in the books, and there are a host of big takeaways from the event that will lead right into WrestleMania 40. The WWE Heavyweight Championship and WWE Women’s World Championship were addressed directly, and there are now two new challengers to those Titles at WrestleMania. That said, there are also plenty of other noteworthy takeaways outside of the main Title picture, and we’re here to break down all of the memorable moments along the way and spotlight the best and worst moments Elimination Chamber had to offer. Let’s get started with the best, shall we?

Best Moments

Elimination Chamber Matches: WWE led off with the Women’s Chamber Match, and it set the tone for the rest of the event. Every superstar involved had their moments to shine throughout each match, and there were some truly stellar sequences as more of the superstars made it into the ring. The finish for the Women’s match was especially great, while the Men’s match kept you guessing thanks to some key interference in spots. Both matches offer compelling winners who set the stage for what should be two fantastic matches at WrestleMania as well.

Tiffany Stratton Has Arrived: It was absolutely Tiffy Time in Perth, Australia. The crowd was clearly loving the new SmackDown superstar and were chanting Tiffy Time before she entered the match and even during the men’s match later on. She got a face-style reaction throughout her time in the match as well, and the crowd popped when she hit the moonsault from the top of the pod too. Even Liv Morgan, a crowd favorite, got some boos when she eliminated Stratton. Stratton has already made a big impression on the WWE Universe in a short time, and nowhere was that more apparent than at Elimination Chamber.

Nia Jax and Rhea Ripley Deliver in the Main Event: With the result largely not in question (which we’ll get to in a minute), Rhea Ripley vs Nia Jax could have easily been a forgettable affair that allowed Ripley to get a spotlight in her home country. While she did get that spotlight, this match was anything but forgettable and is easily one of Nia’s best matches in WWE to this point. The power vs power angle of the match worked well, as both Ripley and Jax leaned into the approach and delivered moments that you felt reverberate through the screen, including that epic moment of Jax leaping off the barricade and slamming Ripley through the announce table. Sure Ripley won, but you felt by the end of this match that she earned it, and that’s what makes it all work.

Worst Moments

Crashing a Family Moment: Speaking of Ripley, she got the win in her home country, and making the event even more special was the fact that Ripley’s family was in the crowd cheering her on. After the win, Ripley went over and celebrated with them as the camera caught them all together. Unfortunately, a fan then walked in from the side and got in the shot, celebrating behind them and then patting Ripley on the head. He would leave but then tried to come back into the shot, though this time a security guard turned him away and made him leave. Fans celebrating with superstars is all good, but crashing that kind of special moment is just not it, especially when you are clearly trying to be seen.

Predictable Winners: Coming into the event, Becky Lynch and Drew McIntyre were the heavy favorites to win their respective matches, and the finishes for both were exciting for the most part. If you look at the entirety of the night as a whole though, every single winner of the night was predicted going in, and several were just foregone conclusions. It’s unfortunate that there wasn’t at least one match that shook things up, or that the other matches weren’t booked to a point where there was at least some doubt as to who would walk away with the win. The winners were great, but the lack of surprise in any of them wasn’t.

Missing Jade: Jade Cargill had a major spotlight at the Royal Rumble, and was expected to be part of Elimination Chamber until recent reports stated she wouldn’t be involved. While the question of why that happened remains, it does feel like a missed opportunity for WWE to continue her momentum and showcase her, especially when the connections are so easy to make. With Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan previously interacting with Jade in the Rumble match (and the latter eliminating Jade in that match), having her either in the match, interfering with the match, or attacking either superstar after the match would have been a way to keep her story moving. I mean, AJ literally flew to Australia just to do that to LA Knight, so Cargill could’ve caught that same flight, right?

WWE Elimination Chamber Results

• WWE Women’s World Championship Match: Rhea Ripley (C) def. Nia Jax
• Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Finn Bálor & Damian Priest (C) def. Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate
• Women’s Elimination Chamber Match (to determine Women’s World Championship No. 1 Contender at WrestleMania): Becky Lynch def. Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Naomi, Tiffany Stratton, and Raquel Rodriguez
• Men’s Elimination Chamber Match (to determine the No. 1 Contender for World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins at WrestleMania): Drew McIntyre def. Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, and Logan Paul

What did you think of WWE’s Elimination Chamber? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!