WWE: 5 Missed Opportunities from the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match

Everndran

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

The six women wrestlers from WWE Raw gave a stellar effort in making sure the first ever women’s Elimination Chamber match was outstanding. However, when the night was over, it was clear WWE had wasted many in-ring and narrative opportunities that could’ve taken this match from ‘memorable’ to one of the very best in the match’s history.

On October 10, 2016, WWE made a bold decision, a decision that would change the landscape of women’s wrestling in the company forever. That decision was to place two of the very best women wrestlers in the company inside the Hell in a Cell. The huge success of that historic bout paved the way for the inaugural women’s Money in the Bank match which once again blended stellar in-ring action and seamless storytelling.

WWE continued that trend, as they produced the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match which had thrilling moments, but several missed opportunities.

Credit: WWE.com

1. An unforgettable beginning

The first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match should’ve started off in thrilling fashion as the combination of electric performances and sheer emotion from the fans would’ve created a thunderous atmosphere. However, WWE decided to kick off this match with the underutilised Bayley facing off against a future breakout star in Sonya Deville. While featuring the young Deville against a bona fide megastar such as Bayley in a historically significant moment is good exposure for Deville’s career, WWE wasted a huge opportunity by making that decision.

Instead of the predictable ‘hated heel vs beloved babyface’ dynamic the creative team was clearly establishing, they should’ve veered off in a different direction, a direction that fans have been clamouring for from 2017, the commencement of Sasha Banks vs Bayley. That encounter would’ve been a befitting ‘beginning of the end’ scenario to conclude their once unbreakable bond.

After months of teasing tension and planting seeds for betrayal, Sasha simply kicking Bayley off the pod and apparently backstabbing her in a confusing fashion, was the least shocking way to execute this anticipated heel turn. WWE should’ve designed those opening moments to feature one of the most emotionally gutting betrayals in the company’s modern-day history. Bayley and Banks should’ve contested a 10-minute classic that would’ve seen “the huggable one” shockingly eliminate Banks.

While it is risky to eliminate an integral part of the match that early on, it would have accomplished two important things: firstly, it would’ve allowed Banks to destroy Bayley in a heelish rage for taking away her WrestleMania opportunity, thus, presenting a well-executed heel turn, and Bayley would’ve persevered till the end of the match showing her courage, heart and sheer willpower as a true underdog babyface.

Credit: WWE.com

2. An unpredictable format

The WWE creative team tried their respectable best to create tension between all the participants inside the Elimination Chamber and while that tension was developed through the endless stream of tag team matches and backstage segments, the company had weaved some intricate storylines that would’ve played out perfectly inside the punishing structure. WWE built up various narratives that looked like they had the same ending, but, if booked smartly they could’ve all had ambiguous conclusions.

As storylines such as Sasha Banks and Bayley’s building tension that was on the verge of implosion, the strength of Absolution’s alliance, and Alexa Bliss manipulating her way into the trust of Mickie James, could’ve all have been implemented in an unpredictable manner, instead of the standard route WWE eventually took. The unpredictable route would’ve turned the tables on those angles of unbreakable friendships, strong alliances and the stability of wavering trust.

An alternate scenario could’ve seen of both members of Absolution drawing the first two spots, Bayley fending off Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose but with a twist, or Alexa Bliss entering the match first instead of last. Those situations would have raised important questions, such as: would Absolution tear each other apart for championship gold or would they stay on the same page to destroy the rest of the fray? Would Sasha Banks help her supposed best friend or would she let Absolution destroy her to lessen the field? And finally, would Alexa Bliss fall to her cowardly ways or would she develop the heart of a champion and go the distance?

Instead of booking those thought-provoking scenarios, WWE laid the foundation for a predictable affair, as parts of the match that included Absolution’s dominance on a babyface, Sasha Banks coming out to even the odds and Alexa Bliss being the cowardly heel that came out last was all too predictable and disappointing. That is why it would’ve been a fresh change of pace if WWE explored many themes that weren’t touched on. That of partner vs partner, survival of the brave and trusting your supposed friend, would’ve all have been defined by the themes of betrayal, courage and disloyalty, which would’ve made for a narratively excellent match.

Credit: WWE.com

3. More defining in-ring moments for each competitor

Over the course of the last three decades, WWE has created extremely popular gimmick matches that have been perfected and defined. These are certain match types many wrestling aficionados hold in high regard, matches such as the show-stealing TLC match, the exciting Money in the Bank match and the brutal Hell in a Cell match. The company realised the immense popularity of those matches and capitalised on it.

Therefore, while these matches were used in a smaller capacity in the past, nowadays, these universally beloved match types become PPV’s that the company presents annually. While some might complain the overuse of these bouts is diminishing the quality of the concept, it has forced WWE to find new and refreshing ways to use these exclusive environments, and there is no other environment in WWE today that is more inventive than the Elimination Chamber.

So why is the Elimination Chamber so unique? Besides from the fact it is visually distinctive, the match’s abundant resources allow superstars to perform breath-taking moments of pure athleticism and over the top action which makes it immensely popular among WWE’s fanbase. Over the years, wrestling fans have seen wrestlers perform insane dives from the top of the pod, scale the chamber’s massive walls, and even use the pod as a weapon itself. Therefore, the extent WWE can utilize this structure is endless.

That is why when WWE announced the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match, the WWE Universe was more than excited to witness how the creative team would approach it. As the creative team booked the first ever women’s Hell in a Cell match as an all-out war and the sequel to the inaugural Money in the Bank bout as an exceptionally well-structured match, expectations were high heading into this bout. However, WWE’s first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match lacked some electricity in the ring, sheer emotion from the crowd and a high number of outrageous spots inside the massive structure.

Besides Bayley’s elbow drop to Deville on the padding, James’s seated senton from the pod roof and Bliss’s breath-taking Twisted Bliss, the other competitors in the match received no such opportunities to showcase their ability. This match could’ve been a breakout platform for any of women involved, and in the case of Absolution, their poor handling prior to this historic match required them to produce an excellent performance that could’ve given them that extra momentum heading into WrestleMania.

Credit: WWE.com

4. A payoff to the Alexa Bliss and Mickie James angle

When WWE announced that the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match would take place just a month after the triumphant women’s Royal Rumble match, many felt that the company was rushing to present this momentous bout, as there were no concrete narratives or enough credible competitors to step inside the massive structure. However, even with the timeframe allocated to the creative team, they started developing angles and there was no storyline more prevalent than that of Alexa Bliss persuading Mickie James.

WWE spent an entire month weaving the narrative of Alexa Bliss scavenging for an ally to assist her inside the Elimination Chamber. While James was portrayed as a learned veteran who knew Bliss’s secret plan of using her to walk out of the match as champion, she eventually aligned herself with Bliss. Bliss and James alliance drama was such a priority for WWE that it was the penultimate narrative going into the pay-per-view on the go home episode of Monday Night Raw.

The creative team didn’t even bother highlighting other storylines that needed their attention heading into this match. Tales such as the developing animosity between Bayley and Sasha Banks didn’t get much of a tease. There was no indication of Absolution turning on each other for championship gold or the fact that Paige might be jealous that her protégés received the chance to step inside the first women’s Elimination Chamber before her, as she’s been an anchor in the women’s revolution for years.

But the shaky alliance dilemma between Bliss and James was the presented as the final and most important narrative in the match. Therefore, it was outrageous that it never got a fitting conclusion. The very next night on Raw, James somehow aligned herself with Bliss for no apparent reason – when the night earlier James stated that she knew Bliss’s endgame and how she is trying to utilize her for her own selfish gains. WWE could’ve avoided this confusing situation if they had given James a reason to align herself with Bliss inside the chamber.

As the WWE Universe knew this narrative had two possible outcomes, either James and Bliss predictably betray each other, or they dominate the match as a strong team. While that is not a ground-breaking narrative, WWE had various routes they could’ve taken to reach the current angle of Bliss being booked as the cowardly heel champion and James as her shocking partner.

Credit: WWE.com

5: A fresh face inside the chamber

Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Bayley, Mickie James, Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss will be known as the first women to step inside the Elimination Chamber. While that line up has a mix of young upstarts, respected veterans, and in-their-prime athletes, the terrible booking of those superstars on the road to this match slowed their momentum down immensely. As Absolution has presented been a one-dimensional group whose sole goal is to beat up the Raw women’s division and Bayley’s poor handling had turned most of her fanbase against her.