WWE Elimination Chamber 2019

WWE Elimination Chamber 2019

Houston, Texas - February 2019

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Brock Lesnar is the Universal Champion, Daniel Bryan is the WWE Champion, Asuka is the SmackDown Women's Champion, Ronda Rousey is the RAW Women's Champion, the SmackDown Tag Team Titles are held by Shane McMahon and The Miz, and the RAW Tag Team Titles are held by The Revival. Finally, the US Champion is R-Truth and the Intercontinental Champion is Bobby Lashley. 

COMMENTATORS: M. Cole, C. Graves, R. Young, T. Phillips, B. Saxton 


Elimination Chamber had one of the weaker cards on paper that the WWE has produced this year. No Brock. No Cena. No Becky Lynch. I'm not a Seth Rollins guy, but he's absent too - as is Dean Ambrose. February also used to be a time when you might count on The Undertaker or some other major name to show up to put things in motion for their eventual WrestleMania match, but that was not expected either. With not much buzz around this show, it was up to the performers themselves to generate excitement...

The show began with one of the bigger bouts of the night - the Women's Elimination Chamber match to crown the first ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. In a bit of timely trolling, Carmella came out first (on the weekend where it was revealed via Twitter that she'd had an affair with the married commentator Corey Graves). Her partner, Naomi, came out next - also mired in a bit of out-of-ring controversy based on her husband's disorderly conduct arrest a few days prior. Next out was Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan of the Riott Squad. Third out were the IIconics, Payton Royce and Billie Kaye, followed by the biggest heels in the match - Nia Jax and Tamina. It was then time for the first pairs of combatants - Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville kicking things off against Sasha Banks and Bayley. While I've read some rave reviews about this match, I don't know what I missed as I found this to be sloppy, all over the place, and, at times, boring. Deville and Liv Morgan impressed others, but I didn't see anything special. The IIconics are annoying (and I say that as a compliment), but they're not the fiercest competitors and this was kind of a crucial opportunity to emphasize how their long-running partnership would've given them a competitive advantage. While they controlled for a few minutes, it wasn't like they did anything particularly vicious. To me, the match showed how big the drop-off is between the top tier women - Asuka, Charlotte, Bayley, and Banks - and the "lesser knowns" (some of whom, like Sarah Logan, Carmella, and Naomi, did nothing of note in the match). The finishing stretch was probably the best part of the match, but even Nia Jax's big spot into the pod looked contrived. This match could've really used an NXT team like Io Shirai and Kairi Sane, who could've added some fun high-flying and also help establish the importance of the titles. (1.5/5)

The SmackDown Tag Team Championships were on the line next - The Usos challenging Shane McMahon and The Miz. Before the match, The Miz and Maryse announced they were expecting their second child. The Usos are one of the best tag teams in WWE history, but McMahon and Miz showed some chemistry themselves at times. This match was fun for what it was - but Shane is not a good worker and his trademark spots have become so predictable that they no longer feel special. The ending felt a little bit of nowhere, but at least the titles are back on an actual team. This match wouldn't have been out of place on your typical episode of SmackDown. (2/5)

The Intercontinental Championship match was next - a handciap match pitting the champion Bobby Lashley and his mouthpiece Lio Rush against Finn Balor. Because this was a handicap match where the champion did not have to get pinned, the finish was fairly predictable and did nothing for Balor. Lashley dominated almost all of the match until Finn got a string of lightning-fast, high-impact offense on Rush, making it clear that Balor only left with the gold because he took advantage of Rush's participation in the match. I'd have much rather this been a 1-on-1 with the WWE clearly getting behind Balor (or Lashley) instead of trying to protect one of them at the detriment of the other. Balor had a great showing against Brock at the Rumble, but in order to build off of it, he needed a stronger win. Another match that felt more like something you'd see on TV rather than PPV. (2/5)

Ruby Riot vs. Ronda Rousey was next. Total squash in 2 minutes. If I bought tickets to this show, I would want a refund at this point. The post match segment with Becky and Charlotte was very good, if not believable. It would've been even better after a 6-7 minute match. It didn't need to be competitive, but after the first three sub-average matches, a quality Rousey match - which is the only type of match Ronda has had so far - was desperately needed. The "match" gets a zero, but the segment earns a point. (1/5)

Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman. The never-ending feud continues. A point for the end table spot. Again, no one came out of this looking good. McIntyre is only a threat when Lashley and Corbin are there. Lashley just lost the IC Title but cares about Strowman? Why? Corbin has no credibility and everyone wanted to see him get squashed. Strowman wrestled from underneath for too long for someone with his size and power (and presumed toughness). If he is a top guy, he should be able to dispatch a jobber like Corbin in under 3.  Another Worst PPV Match of the Year candidate. (1/5)

A lengthy break separated this match from our main event - The WWE Championship Gauntlet Match. Before the match started, Bryan cut a great promo to get more heat from the crowd. His heel work has been terrific as of late. Bryan and Samoa Joe started things off, showcasing some of their legendary chemistry. Joe's strikes were ridiculous, but Bryan never died and withstood the punishment. Kofi came in next to a huge ovation, but got taken out by the heels quickly. Bryan climbed to the top of a cell, but Kofi flew up to do battle with him. This led to a cool moment where they climbed their way to the middle of the cage with Kofi eventually doing a trust fall onto both men to another big pop. This match had all the well-executed offense that the women's edition lacked. In came AJ Styles next, the Phenomenal One slapping the taste out of Bryan's mouth at one point. Bryan climbed back on the wall to try to get a break, but AJ hit him with a springboard forearm. What worked so well in this match was the fact that, at any given time, you were almost guaranteed great chemistry (especially in the match's first half). Jeff Hardy came in at #5 and went right after AJ. He hit an Air Sabu off Kofi's back into Bryan on the outside and tried to follow it up with a Twist of Fate only to get Pele kicked by Styles. Meanwhile, Bryan continued working on Kofi on the outside, driving him into the cage wall. Hardy and Styles went at it on the top rope in a corner, Styles taking a nasty fall. Hardy then hit an insane swanton bomb on AJ as he lay across the top rope, but didn't see Bryan coming with his signature knee! Bryan made the cover and we had our second elimination after a terrific little sequence. A few minutes later we got a second insane spot as AJ Styles hit a German Suplex from the tree of woe position on Bryan (who had Kofi in a front headlock on the top rope). Orton came in last, taking his time exiting his cell. Orton had some good sequences with Bryan and Kofi and eventually hit AJ with an RKO from the top rope, a finish that popped the crowd more because of how cool it looked rather than because Orton is the more popular star. As the lone babyface left, Kofi had the crowd behind him, but couldn't get the pin on the Viper. Orton dropped him with a hangman DDT and then started calling for the RKO. Bryan tried to catch him off guard but got powerslammed. This allowed Kofi to hit a Trouble in Paradise to pin Orton as the crowd went bananas! The crowd was 1000% behind Kofi and erupted as he and Bryan traded blows in the middle of the ring. Bryan was tremendous, taking out Kofi at the knees and delivering a series of big Yes Kicks only to get hit with the SOS for 2 and 3/4s! The crowd was super invested at this point, the entire arena wondering aloud if the WWE might pull the trigger on Kingston. Bryan then delivered a whole slew of stiff kicks and running dropkicks in the corner, but Kofi bounced back with his own double stomp right in the center of the ring for 2. Kingston started calling for the Trouble in Paradise, but Bryan wisely rolled to the outside - another bit of brilliant heeling. Kofi slammed Bryan into the wall repeatedly, but when he attempted to bulldog Bryan into the pod, Bryan countered and Kofi went bouncing off the pod wall onto the cage floor. I'm not sure if the pod wall was supposed to break, but the fact that it didn't made it almost seem harsher. Bryan then nailed him full on with the Running Knee - but Kofi kicked out! I did not expect that at all and the crowd didn't either. Bryan then delivered some absolutely vicious kicks to the head, but when he attempted another Running Knee, Kofi surprised him with the Trouble in Paradise for 2! Bryan tried to roll him up but the cameraman cut to the crowd for some reason as Kofi kicked out. Bryan then applied the LeBell Lock, but Kofi grabbed the ropes. I didn't think there were rope breaks in the Elimination Chamber but whatever. The crowd didn't seem to mind either, as a "This is Awesome" chant started. Bryan went to the top rope, but Kingston caught him with another heel kick. Bryan crawled his way to the top of a pod, but Kofi followed him up and slammed his head into the plexiglass wall. Kofi eventually kicked Bryan off the top rope into the center of the ring and attempted a huge splash, but Bryan rolled out of the way and connected with a second Running Knee for 3. The crowd was clearly disappointed, but Kofi definitely came out of this with some shine. While not nearly as violent as some of the Elimination Chambers of years past, this was still one of the best editions from an overall execution and storytelling perspective. (4/5)


Elimination Chamber 2019 was the "Bryan and Kofi Show" and will only be remembered for their work, literally saved by the effort they put in to make the main event memorable. Everything else was, at best, average, with several "matches" (more like segments) failing to deliver on the little bit of promise they might have. Earning a lowly 1.92-out-of-5 on the Kwang Scale, this show will probably rank as the company's low point of 2019 despite being one of their lead-ins to WrestleMania. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver