WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for February 5
By Bryan Heaton
Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
Who’s Entering the Women’s Elimination Chamber?
Kurt Angle had a rough night on the mic, didn’t he? I mean, no one’s immune to a bad day – hell, I have them at work. The trick is minimizing them, and moving on quickly when they happen. Angle had trouble getting his words out, and once he finally got going, he sounded just…off.
Anyway, Angle removes all drama from the situation and announces the five superstars joining Alexa Bliss inside the Chamber – Bayley, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Mickie James, and Sasha Banks. Immediately jumping on the “Where’s Nia Jax?” question everyone was going to have, Angle announces Jax vs. Asuka at Elimination Chamber. If Jax miraculously wins and ends the streak, she gets added to the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania, making it a triple threat.
Out comes Bliss to cry sexism. She demands to know why she has to defend her title inside the Chamber, but Brock Lesnar doesn’t have to defend his. She brings up the “WWE treats men and women equally” taking point from the authority figures to state her case.
The Women's #EliminationChamber Match participants are... @AlexaBliss_WWE @itsBayleyWWE @WWE_MandyRose @MickieJames @SonyaDevilleWWE and @SashaBanksWWE!!!
— WWE (@WWE) February 6, 2018
The #RAW #WomensChampion CANNOT be happy about this! #WWEChamber @RealKurtAngle pic.twitter.com/lrf1vEoXFw
Angle astutely points out that Bliss hasn’t defended the Raw Women’s Championship since TLC in October. Wait, really? Holy cow, that’s nuts. Okay, back on track, Bliss points out that she didn’t make that decision – Angle himself makes the matches, and she shouldn’t be punished for his incompetence. Another fair point. When did Raw turn into Crossfire?
Of course, as any good babyface authority figure should do, Angle turns to the crowd to make his decision about Alexa’s concerns. When they declare they want to see her in the match, Bliss bolts.
Alright, so what the heck is going on? Nia should 110% be in the Chamber match – the spots that she would be able to pull off are too good to pass up. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are going to be good, but I don’t think they belong here just yet. And Jax/Asuka at the Chamber pay per view? We’ve seen that match a bunch of times already – why do it again, especially if the streak isn’t ending? And if the streak is ending, WHY?