Elimination Chamber XV - 3/1/2025

[Cobra Commander]

I didn't watch a ton of 2000s/2010s indy wrestling involving Steen and Generico, but would it be fair to say that last night's Owens/Zayn match was the big stage version of what they were doing to each other years ago?

[Ziggy]

3 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

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 

Nia has improved greatly but she still has her cringy moments. She still has matches that just isn't hitting but overall she's much better since she came back 

[Jamal]

49 minutes ago, Eivion said:

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. 

Yea, even in the beatdown, Jade came off more heelish. Part of it is the size difference. The other part is just that she plays that part so much better, IMO. Same as I believe Naomi plays a better face. Either way, it was a huge moment and they have me curious about the fallout. And shout out to Bianca who was acting her ass off in that pod as her friends went to war lol 

[Niners Fan in CT]

That wasn't the first time Bianca opened someone up with the whip attack.  In their WM match,  Bianca cut up Sasha as well.  She seems to only do it for the big moments which is a smart choice.  Looks like it hurts like hell. 

[Cobra Commander]

15 minutes ago, Jamal said:

shout out to Bianca who was acting her ass off in that pod as her friends went to war lol 

Bianca going full "Walt yelling while in the car" Breaking Bad meme there

[The Natural]

30 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

That wasn't the first time Bianca opened someone up with the whip attack.  In their WM match,  Bianca cut up Sasha as well.  She seems to only do it for the big moments which is a smart choice.  Looks like it hurts like hell. 

Still the most brutal one:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SItkQuuQ1Wo&pp=ygUPYmFua3MgdnMgYmVsYWly

02:09.

Edited March 2, 2025 by The Natural

[NoFistsJustFlips]

16 hours ago, Infinit said:

And adding Travis Scott, even as a peripheral piece, will give this angle even more exposure than having Rock and Cena as main event heels. Well done.

I loved the angle. It was an all time great one. But I can tell you Travis Scott being apart of it is so god damn stupid. I don't care if more people know about him / listen to his music than all of wrestling fandom combined. He brought an all time great angle down a peg by being out there trying to steal the moment doing dumb sage bullshit and giving Cody the biggest fucking unnecessary potato of all time.

Would Batista doing the thumbs down and picking HHH been better with Sisqo in the background for no reason? Or Fred Durst randomly being out there when Undertaker & HHH did their no words WM setup promo? Let's get Kid Rock randomly in the background of Shane buying WCW. Or someone from Poison there when Andre ripped the cross off of Hogan. Maybe Michael Jackson could be out there for the formation of the nWo. It's real dumb and actively brought down something super special (to me at least).

But all that said, just a really fucking great angle to heat up Cody vs Cena and make it interesting. I'm very glad everyone went with it. I assume it leads to a Cena explanation saying he lost his last 10 matches and knew he needed to find something to help him win that record championship and cement his legendary status. So heel Cena beats Cody, holds the title until his last match, Cody beats & retires him, the torch is officially passed, Cena can shake his hand and turn baby again, and Cody is solidified as THE guy of this era.

[southofheavy]

12 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

I loved the angle. It was an all time great one. But I can tell you Travis Scott being apart of it is so god damn stupid. I don't care if more people know about him / listen to his music than all of wrestling fandom combined. He brought an all time great angle down a peg by being out there trying to steal the moment doing dumb sage bullshit and giving Cody the biggest fucking unnecessary potato of all time.

That part where Little Travis lifted Cody's head and Cena forced it back down was pretty telling. 

The sage thing was so dumb. I really don't wanna see him in WWE again. 

Even if it had been Drake, which would've gotten nuclear heat, I don't want Drake anywhere near WWE. It pisses me off seeing him courtside in the NBA. 

[Cobra Commander]

you think Travis Scott would see it coming if there was a Dusty-style bullrope pulled out sometime during Cody/Cena so that Cody could hit Travis Scott in the face with a cowbell?

[Eivion]

Bianca's hair whips have always been so damn vicious. I appreciated that she pulled back and made them a rarity once she hit the main roster. It makes them feel more special when they happen. I'm sure the women's roster appreciated it as well.

[benj]

Cena v Rhodes (Lumberjack Match)

Bloodline

Reigns

Undertaker

Great Khali

And then....

Vin Diesel

HHH

Austin

Lesnar

McMahon

[RazorbladeKiss87]

2 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

I didn't watch a ton of 2000s/2010s indy wrestling involving Steen and Generico, but would it be fair to say that last night's Owens/Zayn match was the big stage version of what they were doing to each other years ago?

Yes and no. This is just my opinion but it felt like someone heard a run down of one of their big fights and set out to replicate it. Technically fine but it didn't have the emotional impact those older matches had. 

Women's chamber was the best for wrestling through the night. The Cena/Punk segment was awesome though. A great way to showcase two vets who maybe aren't as young as they once were but who know all the tricks. 

Ending section with the Cena turn was definitely a memorable moment.  Glad I watched that live. 

[Casey]

It’s cute how many people are pretending Travis Scott of all people shot on Cody, where the truth is probably that Cody or Rock or both called it in the heat of the moment and told him to lay it in.

But hey yeah Travis Scott is a piece of shit or whatever the current thought is about him. Yeah!

[DMJ]

- I thought the Women's Chamber was good, not great. MOTY candidate is a biiig streeeeeetch to me. Sure, the wrestling was good and there were some cool spots but Bayley has been directionless since the DMG CTRL story ended, Roxanne Perez's gimmick is "I Was NXT Champion" (great...but for those of us that don't watch NXT or care, what is it that makes you special?), and Alexa Bliss is in that unfortunate situation of having a big return at the Rumble but clearly no real big comeback storyline laid out for her. Hopefully, Triple H takes off the noise-cancelling headphones soon and realizes that Bliss had one of the largest pops at the Rumble and that the crowd popped HUGE for her squaring off with Morgan last night. The match started off HOT with the Cargill angle and the finish was good, but the "middle" was good wrestling-for-good-wrestling's sake with a bunch of non-contenders. 

- We'll see how it plays out and I'm not totally sour on it or anything, but...they could've waited on this Rock story. Or maybe not? I hope I'm wrong. To me, though, Cena/Cody in a face/face match would've worked just fine. I assume Cody goes over at Mania as I'm just not sure how him getting screwed there is going to work when Mania has such a history of Babyface Overcoming Heel To Close The Show vibe. That being said, we saw Cody lose 2 years ago and it didn't halt his momentum so maybe Cena wins. But, at the same time, that was a loss against Roman during an all-time great run, not against Cena, who looks his age (somebody get this guy in a tanning bed) and has been passable-but-not-quite-his-old-self over the past few years.

- Its also just a bit odd that Cena's big final run, even with a historic heel turn, will still ultimately be regarded as a footnote to a multi-year Rock/Cody program. Its giving more Austin turning heel to align himself with the "real" top villain (Vince McMahon) than Hulk Hogan turning heel and being the top villain. 

- I also felt like the inclusion of Travis Scott "dated" this segment, but my buddy's son, a wrestling fanatic, said it was great and reminded him of Dennis Rodman being in the nWo. Not my cup of tea, but let's remember who the target audience is and what will get social media attention (even saying "headlines" is a dated phrase). Travis Scott's involvement rubs many of us the wrong way because we don't know or care about Travis Scott. But we're not the TikTok generation. Rodman was a lightning rod in 97', but my dad would've thought him being involved in wrestling was silly and stupid while I thought it was sweet (maybe even TOO sweet). And my dad was in his early 40s then and I'm in my early 40s now. Maybe more of us would've popped for it if it were someone we think is cool like, I dunno, Robert Smith from the Cure. Or Morrisey if they wanted that extra heel heat.  

- I thought Zayn and KO delivered, but the commentary was just too over-the-top. You can't or at least *shouldn't* be saying things like "Sami Zayn is dead" or "This has been a massacre" when there are still 15 minutes in the match left with multiple kick-outs, babyface comebacks, and cut-offs coming. I get that they need to sell every big spot as career-ending, but it becomes gratuitous and takes away from the action when the commentators are treating every single move as a deathblow. Its like a huge neon sign flashing "This Is All Staged." 

- Speaking of bad commentary, Pat McAfee may have jumped the shark on this show for me. For starters, bringing up how the Canadian fans booed the national anthem repeatedly was awkward. Our President is in the midst of starting a trade war with one of our key allies (actually, more than one), so, yeah, there's some understandable tension. No need for jingoism on this show. But, even worse than that, McAfee having the anti-intuition and bad judgment to talk during the final segment. Cole and Barrett kept their comments to a minimum until AFTER Cena's turn, at which point Cole went into hysterics (which is in line with his character), but McAfee's nonsensical commentary didn't add anything and only took away from the segment. This is the issue with bringing in a guy who gets paid to talk to be a commentator. He doesn't know when to shut up and let a moment be a moment because he is literally paid to talk non-stop for hours a day. Its not his fault either, especially as the company has made it clear that they're willing to let him come and go and get a huge paycheck and do whatever he wants because he's a "name" and Corey Graves isn't. I'm not even a Graves mark, but, yeah, I think its going to be hard for me to "un-hear" McAfee's faults moving forward.
 

[hammerva]

The problem with bringing and elevating a self-admitted doofus who does crazy things and is all over the place is that eventually a doofus will do something really fucking stupid that gets you in trouble.   I mean having Logan Paul and Pat McAfee as the men defending the honor of our country is a bit hard to swallow.  Unless you are actually trying to make American the heels

[Niners Fan in CT]

I don't think Travis Scott is a piece of shit for hitting Cody too hard but if you go read about the concert disaster he was involved in you might think that about him. 

[Cobra Commander]

fortunately for Cody, if Travis Scott had caused any damage, Cody could just dig out that facemask he used back when he was Dashing Cody Rhodes to protect his injury

[Casey]

10 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

I don't think Travis Scott is a piece of shit for hitting Cody too hard but if you go read about the concert disaster he was involved in you might think that about him. 

Yeah I know all about the Astroworld stuff. Admittedly I’m also a big Travis Scott fan so YMMV.

[peterien]

To me everything from the rejection of Rocks offer to Cena choking Cody out with his tie was just perfect, probably one of the greatest wrestling moments I’ve seen. The extras with whipping and Travis Scott nonsense isn’t for me but I wasn’t totally put off by it. 
 

I have two small gripes- 1. And this is probably an age related gripe but EVERYONE is on their phones either filming the moment itself or their reaction to it. Just live in the moment people, there is going to be plenty coverage of it afterwards! 

2. Do Rock and Hunter and whoever else realise that by doing the Cena turn that there’s a chance Cody gets booed out of the building at Mania and possibly during the run in to it ? 
 

 

[Cobra Commander]

wondering how well people would need to pace themselves in phone usage to not run out of battery before the end of a WWE event

[Ziggy]

1 hour ago, DMJ said:

- Its also just a bit odd that Cena's big final run, even with a historic heel turn, will still ultimately be regarded as a footnote to a multi-year Rock/Cody program. Its giving more Austin turning heel to align himself with the "real" top villain (Vince McMahon) than Hulk Hogan turning heel and being the top villain. 

 

Hogans turn wouldn't have worked if everyone knew he was on his way out. 

I dismissed the notion of a Cena turn because I figured that the fans wouldn't be able to bring themselves to boo him. Once it became clear he was a Part time guy and it was clear he was actually leaving for Hollywood, fans really learned to appreciate him for the time he has left.

Listening to both Hunter and The Rock at the press conferences , I detect some of that Vince Russo Attitude era booking philosophy.

Last night I couldn't help but think alot of the decision to turn was based more on shock than anything else. I could see Rock turning Cena as a way to top the previous year. A reaction to alot of the criticism for his involvement in Netflix Raw

[NoFistsJustFlips]

2 hours ago, Casey said:

It’s cute how many people are pretending Travis Scott of all people shot on Cody, where the truth is probably that Cody or Rock or both called it in the heat of the moment and told him to lay it in.

But hey yeah Travis Scott is a piece of shit or whatever the current thought is about him. Yeah!

I don't know anything about him or his background. I'm judging on 1) the cringe shit he was doing like hanging on the ropes, wearing a replica belt for no reason, and doing the sage bit. That's taking focus off of the story being sold. Burning sage had jack shit to do with the angle in how it played out or was presented. So what was it's purpose? And 2) the fan cam angle of him straight up hammer fisting Cody's orbital bone. There's a close up video of it from the front row and if you watch that you'll also agree it was egregious and unnecessary.

[ChesterCopperpot]

11 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

No surprise here,  the anthems are not on the PLE replay.  Falls right in line with them discontinuing their annual BHM video packages. 

The anthems were on the pre-show weren't they? 

[blitzkrieg]

9 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

1) the cringe shit he was doing like hanging on the ropes, wearing a replica belt for no reason, and doing the sage bit.

He was gifted the hardcore title by Triple H last year which is why he was carrying it.

Edited March 3, 2025 by blitzkrieg

[Jrag]

1 hour ago, peterien said:

 Do Rock and Hunter and whoever else realise that by doing the Cena turn that there’s a chance Cody gets booed out of the building at Mania and possibly during the run in to it ? 

 

This is an interesting piece of this. I’m sure Rock thinks well if Cody was so over with the audience that they turned on ME last year…. but I’m not sure the dynamic is quite the same.  Cena has always been much more sympathetic than Rock as a character and the retirement looming does change the math.
 

Trips clearly has a ton of faith in Cody to get the right reaction. I also have faith in Cody in that sense, but there is a possibility Cena is just way too good at being the bad guy. I’m sure has a ton of cool shit he has been been saving for this. People have been wanting heel Cena for so long..

It’s probably better in some ways if Cena’s schedule leading up to Mania is still super limited. Plays into the story and probably decreases the chances of the above outcome.