Elimination Chamber XV - 3/1/2025

[just drew]

14 minutes ago, Brandon Bones said:

I wasn’t as impressed with the overall show as I was with the closing angle.  Which was pretty great.  Cena played the whole thing to the back row so that when it came time to make the heel turn face.  Everyone saw it immediately.

I’m pretty sure Cena and Rock are vampires now.

Man oh man did Punk kick out of everything before finally doing the pass out to an STFU.  Liked the sleeper clinch to illustrate at least something could overcome the power everyone’s favorite locker room leader.

I also couldn’t help but ruminate over how dead the old part-timers argument is now.  I guess guys like Drew and Damien can look up at the top of the card and wonder.

 I do agree that there is money where they are going.  Just not any room at the top to break through it seems.

That’s an excellent point, and it’s another reason I question why anyone who isn’t a tippy top star or mainstream Celebrity would leave any other company to go to WWE. If Drew McIntyre isn’t in the mania main event this year, what makes Malakai black think he’ll even be featured on tv? 

[EVA]

21 minutes ago, Brandon Bones said:

 

Man oh man did Punk kick out of everything before finally doing the pass out to an STFU.  Liked the sleeper clinch to illustrate at least something could overcome the power everyone’s favorite locker room leader.

I can only imagine the amount of horse trading that went on behind the scenes to work out the eliminations in this match. So many main event-level egos involved. Paul was the only person who went out straight up. Everybody else needed interference from an eliminated wrestler, multiple finishers, or a roll-up (which, as discussed in regards to the recent May/Storm match, has long been considered “stealing” a pin in WWE) to go out. Drew even got to hit his finish and get the visual that he could’ve pinned Cena if he hadn’t been trash talking before getting cradled.

[Craig H]

The moment Cena did that press conference I knew he was turning heel. It was the most un Cena thing ever. I kept telling a close friend that it was going to happen and he kept saying no because why end your career as a heel or whatever. I mean, why not? And this isn’t the end. At the end he’ll be a face again, but please, no Cena/Rock 3.

But setting the turn coming for weeks now kinda took some of the wind out of the sails for that closing segment. Travis Scott, rap’s second most little bitch behind Drake, helped add a heelishness to the whole thing and works better here than appearing with Jey. I’m excited to see where this goes.

If I had one complaint it’s that Cody’s over the top acting stinks. The rest was great.

[Greggulator]

I think everyone who stayed in WWE when they could have left for AEW is in really great shape. Drew may not be headlining WM, but he’s headlined a bunch of other stuff this year. Damian Priest won the World Title at WM last year in a cash-in. Jey Uso and Gunther might be closing out Night One.

Sami and KO both potentially could have left AEW back when AEW was scorching hot. They stayed obviously and had huge roles in The Bloodline saga, were involved in arguably the greatest angle and storyline ever, with Sami headlining a PPV in his hometown and the two of them winning Night One of WM against The Usos. 

I think everyone else on the WWE roster knows that there are going be be people who show up and take a big spot. But I don’t think anyone at all cares if it’s Cena. They know there’s a shelf life.

[Johnny Sorrow]

As far as the Naomi thing goes, I don't want any weird swerves. I like obvious, sensible angles. I knew Naomi attacked Jade when it happened and I enjoyed the slow burn to where we are now. Naomi attacked her, stole her partner and her title, and now it's all come around.

[EVA]

Naomi also makes sense because WWE doesn’t really value her highly as a single, so they can feel fine feeding her to Jade. Nothing lost, from that perspective.

[The Natural]

Amazing how improved Liv Morgan is, she's terrific. I really like her ObLivion finisher as well.

[Ziggy]

Jade returning to get revenge on Naomi was one of the best babyface revenge payoffs i can remember. I think Naomi is the best person for her to be paired with right now because Naomi has gotten really good lately after having a rough few months after being back. I really want Jade to get better as a worker because she looks like a million bucks. I know she's been at the PC alot lately but she needs to be paired with the right people to get better. 

I was tired of Roxanne in NXT because she eclipsed the rest of the women except Zaria , Gulia and Stephanie Vaquer. I've enjoyed her alot more on the main roster. You can tell they really have plans for her because she looked really strong in the EC and she was at the end of the Women's Rumble. That was the best Women's Chamber . Liv has really impressed me lately. I don't think Liv was ever really that good in the ring. Not that Liv was ever bad in the ring but I think there is so many women better than her. I got tired of her as Champ really quick because she wasn't really good in ring considering how strong she was pushed but I thing the last few weeks she has really stepped it up . Bianca has always been at or near the top of the division even when Vince was in charge but I think people forget how good she is until she get placed in the position to remind us because she really brought it last night. It almost makes me want her to move away from the Jade and Naomi angle and focus on the singles title exclusively. 

Owens vs Zayn sorta bored me for the first half with the crowd brawling but it made sense for the level of heat. The second half was really good. Owens is really good a these creative but sick spots and at the same time not coming across convoluted which isn't easy to do these days. I wonder where they are going with Zayn because he's lost his last few big matches despite still remaining insanely over. Owen vs Orton is obviously for Mania and when Orton hits the Punt that will be an easy WrestleMania moment.

The Men's Chamber was good. You can tell Punk and Cena really enjoy working each other. Neither have never been shy about being one of  each other's favorite opponents so I expect them to have a big singles match vs each other. I'm liking Seth Rollins slowly transitioning from being justified in his actions to being a full on heel. Now that. Cena has turned atleast for now it probably guarantees Punk isn't turning. I was hoping to see Drew more dominant last night. I was expecting more from Priest too.

That Heel turn from Cena was a great moment. It was a little too much to have Travis Scott but I think Rock wanted to put his stamp on the moment by being posted with a celebrity. I think Wale or Offset would have been better for that role because they are more known to be big fans and I think either of them would show more genuine excitement to be out there. I'm sure Scott was excited to be apart of it. I guess his deal is to not show emotion.

This was probably the best structured PLE booking wise since Vince left the last time 

[Niners Fan in CT]

38 minutes ago, Johnny Sorrow said:

As far as the Naomi thing goes, I don't want any weird swerves. I like obvious, sensible angles. I knew Naomi attacked Jade when it happened and I enjoyed the slow burn to where we are now. Naomi attacked her, stole her partner and her title, and now it's all come around.

Plus Bianca is one of the best babyfaces in wrestling.  

[Niners Fan in CT]

9 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Amazing how improved Liv Morgan is, she's terrific. I really like her ObLivion finisher as well.

Liv and Nia Jax are two of the most improved wrestlers over the past year.  I cringe when I see people online say they "can't wrestle" like it's 2020 or something 

[Ziggy]

12 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Amazing how improved Liv Morgan is, she's terrific. I really like her ObLivion finisher as well.

I thought the same thing watching last night. I've always like Liv but I've never thought she was top tier level in comparison to a number of other women. I got bored of her matches when she had title especially considering how strong she was booked and the story of her and Rhea warranted her being pushed so strong but it wasn't until the past few weeks that she's actually producing good matches. Last night won me over but it also reminded me of how good Bianca is. Bianca really delivers , even on a random Raw where she doesn't have to

[odessasteps]

 

[hammerva]

Also that Cena did a Make A Wish with a couple kids before the show is wild as hell.  Definitely knew when exactly to turn the switch 

[Steventon]

I'm gonna preface this by saying I realized long ago the current WWE "THIS IS CINEMA!!" product Isn't For Me, but still watch the PLEs because they have guys who I still enjoy despite that. I will likely be a low voter on anything here. So I apologize for my played out, boring negative take.

That said, Sami and Owens are still two of the best in the promotion and they way they built this up lured me into thinking we might get something truly wild and standout. Instead we got a good but by-the-numbers WWE hardcore match, Michael Cole doing his absolute worst pound shop JR routine, and the safest barbwire in the history of pro wrestling. Did they paint wire on? Owens took a face bump on it and barely had a scratch to show. It really needed some blood, some wilder shit, more violence, or more dramatic focus on the neck throughout to make it special. Not that it wasn't good - it was - but it was probably bottom half of the pack for the matches these guys have had over their careers. Coming out the end, Owens felt like he should be a top heel going into a marquee match at WM, not being fed to Orton. The whole Elimination Chamber gimmick has long become emblematic of the safe, corporate WWE style over any sense of danger and violence. And by safe I don't necessarily mean safe just in the sense of guys not getting injured, but in the sense of being predictable and following a formula.

I did enjoy the Jade angle, the womens tag match, the last section of the mens chamber, and the cody/cena angle though. Would have enjoyed the Cena angle more had it not been quite so telegraphed, but its still a hot angle going to signal we are now In Wrestlemania Season.

 

EDIT - OK this take doesn't entirely square with Cody telling Rock to go fuck himself, but it was more directed at the matches...

Edited March 2, 2025 by Steventon

[Gonzo]

3 hours ago, The Natural said:

R-Truth's going to need a new childhood hero.

If they want to cement this thing they need to do a segment on Raw with Truth asking Cena why he did it that ends with Cena totally destroying him.

[Log]

Now that Cena is heel, will he:

1. Continue to dress like an 11-year-old?

2. Be required to do the trademark WWE heel slow talk promo style?

[Eivion]

I see some people wanting to avoid a swerve with the Jade attack, but I'm not sure Naomi would really work well as a heel at this point. She is pretty loved by the audience and hasn't had a run as a heel in nearly a decade. Even back then it was more of a little shit hench role with Team BAD. I don't think she would do well on her own. Between her and Jade, Jade would work a lot better in the heel role. 

R-Truth vs. heel Cena absolutely needs to be a thing at some point in this run.

Glad to see others joining me on the Women's Chamber being MOTN. Like the Natural its probably my current MOTY. I was especially impressed with Liv. She has been good for a while but never really came close to upper echelons on women in WWE like Rhea, Bianca, Bayley, Io, Asuka, etc. This match and the recent tag are the first time she really hit those levels. Really hope she is able to keep growing and impress like that.

Edited March 2, 2025 by Eivion

[Cobra Commander]

the batch of cheap heat they did not go to last night: having a heel pronounce the second T in Toronto ("toron-to", instead of "Toron-o")

[blitzkrieg]

4 hours ago, The Natural said:

R-Truth's going to need a new childhood hero.

 

[zendragon]

3 hours ago, just drew said:

That’s an excellent point, and it’s another reason I question why anyone who isn’t a tippy top star or mainstream Celebrity would leave any other company to go to WWE. If Drew McIntyre isn’t in the mania main event this year, what makes Malakai black think he’ll even be featured on tv? 

Goes back to the idea that WWE kinda stopped making stars, anytime they really need star power they go back to Cena or The Attitude Era. Nobody bigger than the brand also mean no Hogans, Rocks, or Austins

[Cobra Commander]

would it be more evil to have Cena laying out R-Truth, or to have Cena or Rock send goons to take out R-Truth almost to suggest that R-Truth isn't even important enough for Cena to dirty his hands with

of course the payoff would involve R-Truth showing up during the Cena/Cody match, all of us being us "oh yeah, this makes sense" and R-Truth getting a spot in during the part of the match where 16 people do run-ins

[southofheavy]

28 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said:

the batch of cheap heat they did not go to last night: having a heel pronounce the second T in Toronto ("toron-to", instead of "Toron-o")

Even though I'm from Michigan, I feel so seen right now. Hard T's in the middle of words are for assholes. 

Glad to see the appreciation for Liv Morgan in here. She RULES and is low-key turning into a ring general.

That hair whip is legit one of the grossest things I've seen in wrestling in a looooong time. She looked like she was trying really, really hard to not cry in that ring, and she might have let out a few tears for all we know. That was a lot of hardway blood for a whip wound and that's going to leave a scar.

Liv is a warrior. 

Edited March 2, 2025 by southofheavy

[stuntmanc]

1 minute ago, southofheavy said:

 

That hair whip is legit one of the grossest things I've seen in wrestling in a looooong time. She looked like she was trying really, really hard to not cry in that ring, and she might have let out a few tears for all we know. That was a lot of hardway blood for a whip wound. Liv is a warrior. 

It's been a long time since i let out an audible "Jesus fucking christ" at something in wrestling, that got it.

[southofheavy]

1 minute ago, stuntmanc said:

It's been a long time since i let out an audible "Jesus fucking christ" at something in wrestling, that got it.

I said "What the FUCK" 

To be honest, I really hope she doesn't do that anymore. 

[southofheavy]

9 minutes ago, southofheavy said:

double post

 

Edited March 2, 2025 by southofheavy