WWE SmackDown Grades: AJ Styles Makes An Elimination Chamber Statement

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1. Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy

The New Daniel Bryan has shattered the mold for the all-time great babyface gimmick that brought him unprecedented success in years past.  This new side of Bryan is a preachy, holier than thou individual that believes if you don’t follow his beliefs, you are wrong.

Bryan will have a huge task at hand at Elimination Chamber when he defends his eco-friendly WWE Championship against five other top superstars on the blue brand, including Jeff Hardy.  However, The Charismatic Enigma got a shot at the WWE Champion last night when he took on Bryan in the main event in a match with Elimination Chamber momentum at stake.

This match felt like it had a great shot at a non-finish of sorts, and that would eventually ring true after a solid match between these two top superstars.  It looked like Hardy was about to get the win after a swanton bomb, but Bryan’s insurance policy Rowan pulled Hardy out of the ring just before the ref counted the three, causing a disqualification.  Things broke down even more after that and the other participants of the Elimination Chamber match got involved.

Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, and Mustafa Ali came out and brawled a bit before AJ Styles came out and took control of the situation.  After everyone was out of the picture, Styles hit Hardy with a phenomenal forearm and stood tall, signaling to Bryan that he is coming for his championship.  This was a solid way to further hype up this match, but in terms of just Bryan vs. Hardy, it was a solid match.

The non-finish and rather short duration took away from the match quality a bit, but the entire segment that followed helped things out in its own right.

Final Grade: B+