WWE Elimination Chamber 2018: Live Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

Photo Source: WWE.com

Men’s Elimination Chamber Match, Winner Faces Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania

Elias vs. Braun Strowman vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Result: Roman Reigns eliminated Braun Strowman via pinfall

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Whoever told Elias not to bring his guitar into the pod for this match deserves to be fired. How do you pass that opportunity up? Put me in a sour mood before the match even started.

Also putting me in a sour mood: Seeing that three guys still had to make their entrances and it was already 10:34 p.m. ET. It takes twenty minutes just to get all the pods open, so clearly this show was running late. And probably really late, too. Is it a dry run for the four hour pay per views we’re getting after WrestleMania?

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The opening triple threat portion of the match was, honestly, a bit lackluster. The Miz, Balor, and Rollins had a terrific match last May on Raw, so maybe I’m unfairly comparing. The fact that Balor refused to Too Sweet Miz was a bit disappointing – I thought the rule was if you threw it up, you got one back.

Cena’s entrance was, as most things Cena lately, weird and awkward. I don’t know exactly what Cena’s character is right now, but I can’t believe “frat bro who graduated years ago but still hangs around the house because he’s cool and does what he wants because no one wants to confront him” is it. The shove fest with Rollins was dumb, and I never thought I’d be so happy as when Reigns entered the match.

Reigns just slowing everything down was excellent. A series of big strikes to everyone – except Rollins – just helped to sell the brutality of the match. But the best participant in the match – in a walk – was Braun Strowman. The only thing that could have been better for Braun would be if he didn’t wait for the pod to be unlocked, and just smashed his way out during the countdown.

The Miz was the perfect foil for Braun – he took the beating like a champ, even if I worried for his cognition as he went head first into the plexiglass. Reminded me of Thor in every one of his movies. But Strowman getting the first elimination – of The Miz, which sad face emoji – after annihilating everyone puts him over as the monster he needs to be. The fact that it took four guys to get him down was impressive – as was the kick out after a four man powerbomb and four man pin.

Elias had a sound game plan – wait in the pod as long as possible, and pick your spot. It worked fairly well, as he had Reigns on the ropes for a bit. Strowman came back for elimination number two, hitting Elias with a powerslam. Elimination number three for Braun was John Cena, who gets to whine about not going to WrestleMania again because of it.

Getting down to a final four of Braun, Reigns, Rollins, and Balor wasn’t particularly surprising. What was a bit surprising was how well protected the Coup de Grace is. Rather than let Reigns kick out, Strowman instead caught Balor before he could go for the pin, eliminating him with a powerslam. So Reigns takes a finisher, doesn’t weaken it by kicking out, and actually sold the damage (even though a 185 pounder stepped on a guy wearing a flak jacket).

Rollins “turning” on Reigns was a nice touch – much like the other way around at the Royal Rumble, it’s every man for himself. The sequence between them was some of the best work of the match. I really thought after Braun got involved again and Rollins climbed onto the pod that they were going to do a tandem Blackout or something. Thankfully, it was just a frog splash from the pod – and of course Braun kicked out again.

Strowman getting the pin on Rollins – on the biggest hot streak of his career – was very poetic. Once again, Braun just wasn’t finished with Roman yet. He literally went through every other competitor in the match just to finally finish things with Reigns. No ambulances, no production trucks, no allies – just two guys who can’t move on until they beat the other one. Zayn and Owens are the ones we usually think of when we say “we are destined to do this forever.” But maybe Reigns and Strowman are taking that crown.

Reigns finally caught an advantage when he put Strowman through one of the pods. But Braun can’t be put down like a normal superstar, so it took several Superman punches and a pair of spears to get him down for the three count. So Reigns wins, as was expected, but Braun got the last word – putting Roman through a pod and hitting a pair of powerslams following the match.

Say what you want about Reigns, but at WrestleMania he and Lesnar will put on a great match. It won’t be a 30-minute psychological battle. It’ll be 10-15 minutes of pure carnage. But it will be better than their Mania match three years ago (which wasn’t that bad, but needed Rollins to save it).

Next: WWE WrestleMania 34: Predicting the Card

Overall, WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 was a solid card. Both Chamber matches delivered, Nia and Asuka was solid, and the Rousey contract signing was no worse than anticipated. What did you think?