We are in Toronto for this and, when they inexplicably played the US National Anthem during the pre-show (I assume), it got booed heavily. No shocker there. The WWE doesn't normally play the anthem, as far as I recall, but playing it in the midst of a trade war with Canada seems like trolling. Pat McAfee would bring it up multiple times throughout the show, which got heel heat from me, while Cole and Barrett just tried to move on every time he mentioned it.
The Women's Chamber Match opened up the show - Liv Morgan and Naomi starting things off while Bayley, Roxanne Perez, Alexa Bliss, and Bianca Belair waited for their chance in their respective pods. Before the match could begin and the Chamber door could open, Jade Cargill made her return to the WWE and annihilated Naomi while Belair watched in horror. The crowd popped HUGE for this, which is a good sign because it does mean they paid attention to her storyline (which was built around a mystery talker and, if Naomi is that attacker, means that Cargill getting revenge was a great babyface moment). After this, though, things quieted down a bit. Bayley, Roxanne, and Alexa don't really have clear characters at this point - Bayley is the babyface "Role Model" but hasn't had any real storyline since leaving DMG CTRL, Perez's gimmick seems to be "I Was A Big Deal in NXT," and the recently-returned Bliss is weirdly both the cagey veteran returning from maternity leave (as pointed out by McAfee) and still linked to the Wyatt Family gimmick, unsmiling and serious all the time. And so, while the action was good and there were some real bright spots in this match, including Belair whipping Morgan with her hair to produce one of the loudest cracks ever heard on WWE programming, Bayley using the chamber wall to escape a Perez-T-F (which is what they should call it), and Belair ragdolling Liv into the glass and steel repeatedly during the final stretch, this would've been even better and more suspenseful had there been more work done during the build-up to establish some grievances or alliances among the competitors. Still, overall, a solid Chamber match with an all-time great opening. (3/5)
The women's action continued as Trish Stratus teamed with Tiffany Stratton to take on Nia Jax and Candice LeRae. This was a "homecoming" match for Stratus, though it was Stratton who got the big spotlight. This might've been one of the best Nia matches ever as everything she did looked like it hurt and got heat from the crowd. Stratus played the face-in-peril for a lengthy strength which led to Stratton getting the hot tag. Stratton has had more impressive outings, but she was fine here, keeping up with her much more experienced opponents and tag partner. This might've been a tad long, but it never got boring and while not everything looked pristine, it got the job done and did have the crowd engaged even after a very long, very busy opener. (2.5/5)
The Unsanctioned Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn match followed. As expected, this was a brutal battle between two guys that have incredible history and chemistry. The first third wasn't particularly innovative or memorable as they set up some tables at ringside, hit each other with a hockey stick, and brawled in the crowd. Once they returned, though, this match became a much more brutal and impressive contest. Owens was merciless at times, but Zayn's comebacks and occasional flurries of offense were equally excellent and vicious. The big high spots included multiple table-wrecking suplexes, Zayn hitting an awesome full nelson suplex into a chair, a Blue Thunder Bomb onto a barbwire-covered chair, and Owens shoving Zayn off the top rope and through a pair of stacked tables at ringside. My biggest criticism might be the over-the-top commentary as Barrett, McAfee, and Cole may have "peaked" too early with their exaggerated concern, calling the match "over" and a "massacre" when it was clear that Zayn still had some fight left. After trying to break Zayn's neck by wrapping it in a chair and sending into the post twice, Owens ended things with a couple of powerbombs onto the apron. We then got the surprise return of Randy Orton, though, which got a huge pop from the crowd and seems to suggest we'll see Orton/Owens at Mania, but I thought Orton's return did overshadow Zayn's story a bit. All in all, a really, really good match that lived up to my expectations. (4/5)
Main event time - the Men's Elimination Chamber between CM Punk, John Cena, Damien Priest, Logan Paul, Seth Rollins, and Drew McIntyre. McIntyre and Rollins kicked things off. Unlike the Women's edition, there was lots and lots of groundwork laid out before this one began between everyone over the previous weeks, months, and years. Priest came in next and got in some signature offense, including a Razor's Edge that sent Rollins into McIntyre on the Chamber floor. A loud "Fuck You Logan" chant broke out seconds before Paul's pod unlocked. He came in with a crossbody and then hit a standing moonsault on Priest before going after Rollins. Priest took over, bashing Paul into a pod wall and then grinding his face on the cage to a big pop. Priest then delivered a variation of the Old School, walking the ropes before hitting a hurricanrana. Paul caught him with a slam and got back in the ring, walking into a Seth Rollins superkick. Cena came in soon after and hit an AA on Paul, but ate a Claymore from McIntyre, who then got caught by Priest with a roll-up! Priest, despite being eliminated, hit a Claymore on Priest, which enabled Paul to follow-up with a Frog Splash from the top of Punk's pod to eliminate The Punisher (while Cena and Rollins sold for minutes on end on the outside). Punk came in less than 30 seconds after and he and Paul went right at it with Punk hitting Paul with a suplex and then the running knee. Punk and Cena had a staredown that got a huge reaction from the crowd but Rollins cut it short by hitting Punk with a big boot. As Rollins and Cena traded blows, Paul hit them with the front-flip clothesline and then went to hit one on Punk, but Punk countered it into a GTS! With Paul eliminated, it was down to the final three. The match quickly transformed into a fun 3-way at this point with Punk and Cena momentarily teaming up to beat down on Seth and hit him with the Hart Foundation's old finish. Cena and Punk even hugged it out a bit before hitting each other with fists and feet, Cena eventually connecting with a series of shoulder blocks before Punk hit a knee in the corner. Seeing Cena and Punk go through a condensed version of their "greatest hits" was a nice reminder of how good their chemistry was. Punk looked to hit an elbow, but had to deal with Rollins first, which gave time to Cena to catch him on his second attempt and hit him with an AA for a big nearfall. Great spot there. Rollins came back into the mix at this point, sending Cena through a pod wall. Rollins went to work on Punk, hitting him with a Pedigree for another nearfall. Rollins went for another on the chamber floor, but Punk back body dropped him into the ring and climbed to the top rope. Rollins met him up there but Punk countered with a front suplex and then landed the elbow. Rollins hit a Buckle Bomb and a Stomp, though, but again only got 2! Rollins went to the second rope, but Cena grabbed him. Rollins escaped but then got hit with a combo of both a GTS and an AA! With Rollins eliminated, the match entered its final stage but almost ended quickly as Punk hit the GTS for 2! Cena then hit his AA, but also only got 2! Not a huge fan of the finisher spamming, but whatever. Cena went for the STFU but Punk kicked him off...only to get stomped by Seth Rollins! Cena pulled Punk into the center of the ring and applied the STF and Cena is going to WrestleMania! Incredible finish there and also one slightly tainted, adding a wrinkle to the story and adding one more wrinkle to the Rollins/Punk saga (which I predicted weeks ago couldn't have really ended with just one match on Raw). If the Women's edition had arguably better spots, this one had the more riveting story and intriguing twists and turns with excellent performances by Rollins, Punk, Paul, and Cena. (3.5/5)
As Cena celebrated, Cody Rhodes appeared. And then The Rock showed up, demanding Cody's soul. Cody, in a great moment, told him to go fuck himself. Cena turned heel. It was wild. As a segment, it was definitely historic, though I wish Travis Scott hadn't been part of it as his inclusion - really the inclusion of any celebrity - "dates" things a bit (especially when the celebrity is a music star). This one will be treated like one of the most historic "happenings" in WWE history and deservedly so, but I wouldn't consider it as big a shocker as it might look on paper due to the amount of internet buzz and rumors building up to it. Still, an unforgettable moment even if I would've booked it completely different and saved this entire storyline for after Mania. (+1)
Earning an overall Kwang Score of 3.5-out-of-5, Elimination Chamber 2025 was a strong, thoroughly engaging and enjoyable show featuring one of the most talked-about and buzz-worthy post-match segments in wrestling history. Every match on the card was at least decent, though I was "less high" on the Women's Chamber match than many (Meltzer gave it a strong 4.5 stars and its Cagematch rating is currently resting a little bit under an 8). The Stratus/Stratton tag was fun for what it was and it was nice to see Stratus get a big hometown reaction in Toronto, while the Zayn/KO match was a welcome bit of seriously extreme wrestling that wouldn't have felt out-of-place or underwhelming on an AEW show. All in all, a really strong show and serious contender for PPV of the Year, even if the card was obviously "thin," which is why I'm not going "Curt Hennig Level" on this.
FINAL RATING - Watch It
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