WWE Elimination Chamber 2018: Reactions & Review

Here’s my final thoughts on WWE Raw’s Elimination Chamber 2018!

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. The Miztourage (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel)

Reactions: Basic tag team action that’s a staple of the last hour of Raw? CHECK! Only moment worth caring about here is the notion that The Revival and Gallows and Anderson are still at each other’s throats. The match as a whole was as bland and generic as it gets, though…

Rating: 1 & a Half out of 5 Stars

Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Titus Worldwide (Apollo and Titus O’Neil) (with Dana Brooke) (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)

Reactions: This was just alright, I guess. It didn’t veer too far away from the type of match we’ve seen from both men on previous editions of Raw. “The Bar’s” tag team mastery, Titus’ hot streak of moves, and Apollo’s hype inducing maneuvers are always fun to watch, of course. But all four men didn’t do anything that much different from what I expected of them. The winners were never in doubt, which made this match a little less interesting too. “The Bar’s” reign rages on…

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

“Woken” Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt

Reactions: I gotta give props to Bray and Matt for at least making the start of this rematch a fun affair. It may have taken forever to finally hear “Woken” Matt Hardy’s twisted theme song, but at least it was finally delivered during this PPV. As for what both men did in the ring, it was par for the course. It was miles better than their Raw 25 meeting, but not exactly a barn burner of epic proportions. I wasn’t all that into it to be honest, as was the live crowd (who got into some beach ball antics and started chanting “CRUI-SER-WEIGHT!” all the while). Matt wins, Bray continues to look worthless, and…yeah, that’s all there was to it.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Asuka vs. Nia Jax (If Nia Wins, She’ll be Added to the WWE Raw Women’s Championship Match at WrestleMania 34)

Reactions: This grudge match was pretty intense! While it wasn’t as great as their NXT encounters, this hotly contested bout still provided some good action. Nia’s unbridled rage pushed her to power down Asuka over and over. Asuka was quick to the punch at certain points of the match as she utilized her many strikes and submissions. But Nia proved to be as formidable as she usually is and stuffed Asuka into the ground. Both women never slowed down the pace as they laid into each other with big move after big move. Nia looked great in defeat and Asuka once again toppled her much bigger opponent. This was a fun sprint that thankfully provided a shocking post-match assault.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Mickie James vs. Sonya Deville vs. Sasha Banks (Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship)

Reactions: The inaugural Women’s Money in the Bank match was a letdown. The first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble was a treat. But how about the initial Women’s Elimination Chamber match? It ended up being a solid contest full of some death-defying moments and good storytelling. Bayley and Sonya got things started and delivered some decent back and forth action. Once Mandy ran into the ring, her and Sonya smartly worked together to ground Bayley. The match as a whole got even more intense once Banks exited her pod. Banks added some extra fire to the match due to her assault on Absolution and partnership with Bayley. Mickie kept the intensity going as she pulled off a great maneuver by hopping off one of the cell ceilings right onto Sonya. Mickie’s sudden elimination following that moment made things even more interesting from that point forward. Bliss played her role as the scared champion well here as she made sure to steer clear of Banks and Bayley. She eventually got caught, but Banks heeled it up by turning on Bayley moments later. What followed was a series of triple threat action that ended with a surprising roll-up pin from Bliss to Bayley. Banks and Bliss continued their beef afterwards, which led to an exciting moment that saw a Twisted Bliss off the top of a cell countered into a Bank Statement. Bliss’ craftiness saved her and caused Banks to eat a top-rope DDT, which brought the first Women’s Elimination Chamber to a satisfying close. Good stuff here!

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Braun Strowman vs. Elias vs. Finn Bálor vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz (Elimination Chamber Match for a WWE Universal Championship Match at WrestleMania 34)

Reactions: This match was all about establishing Strowman as the man to beat. Before he left his pod, Finn, Rollins, Miz, and Cena engaged each other in some fun exchanges. The match was fine during that period, but it got far more interesting when Strowman climbed into the fray. Not only did Strowman stake his claim as the most powerful man in WWE, he managed to break a record by eliminating the most men during an Elimination Chamber match. All the other men who entered before him made sure to target each other from time to time, but they were forced to team up and further weaken “The Monster Among Men.” I came out of my seat when Strowman ended up eating a bunch of finishers and still didn’t get beat! Strowman went on a pinning spree as he fed Running Powerslam’s to his competition until he and Reigns remained as the final two competitors. While the match’s final moments were indeed predictable, it still resulted in a fun close to a chaotic match. Reigns held on for dear life, landed his finishers on Strowman to finish him, and stamped his ticket to the main event of ‘Mania 34. While the Women’s Elimination Chamber proved to be a good time, this Elimination Chamber proved to be a bit more enthralling.

Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars

Match of the Night

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

Final Verdict

Due to the shorter collection of matches booked for this PPV, Elimination Chamber 2018 proved to be an easy watch. The less hyped matches did nothing to make this show any better, but at least its main bouts proved to be worthwhile. Both Elimination Chamber bouts were good to almost great thanks to the combined efforts of the male and female talent involved. Alexa Bliss held onto her title and looks to be on a collision course with Asuka (who also competed in a fine match of her own), Strowman won MVP honors for his excellent performance, and Reigns finally got his ‘Mania 34 rematch with Brock Lesnar. Ronda Rousey’s contract signing segment was a bit lackluster, but it still served its purpose in setting up her ‘Mania 34 matchup. Overall though, Elimination Chamber 2018 ended up being a decent show.

Final Score: 3 out of 5 Stars

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