Recap and Review of WWE Elimination Chamber 2021

Tonight, was the annual Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and a major stop on the Road to WrestleMania. Championships were decided, brutality ensued, and multiple stars stepped up to gain momentum for WrestleMania. Here are the results of the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

-Kickoff Show: John Morrison defeated Ali, Ricochet, and Elias to advance to the United States Championship Match
-Daniel Bryan defeated Jey Uso, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin to win the Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match
-Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan to retain the Universal Championship
-Riddle defeated John Morrison and Bobby Lashley to win the WWE United States Championship
-Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair to retain the WWE Women’s Championships
-Drew McIntyre defeated AJ Styles, Sheamus, Jeff Hardy Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship.
-The Miz defeated Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Championship after cashing in the Money in the Bank Briefcase

The Kickoff show featured a Fatal Four Way Match involving John Morrison, Elias, Ali and Ricochet to determine who would take Keith Lee’s place in the United States Championship match involving Bobby Lashley and Riddle. It was good to see Ricochet back on a pay-per-view again. He’s been regulated to WWE’s Main Event show for months, so it was good to see him being showcased again. This was a well-paced match and had the element of Retribution at ringside. Experience prevailed in this match, because John Morrison snuck up on Ali and got the victory to advance to the United States Championship Match.

An Elimination Chamber opened the pay-per-view and it was for the right to face Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship later in the night. The two men starting the match were Cesaro and Daniel Bryan. These two went at until Baron Corbin came out first. Corbin really took advantage of these being so aggressive early on. Sami Zayn was out next, and he didn’t want to come out at first. Just before Kevin Owens could come out, Cesaro eliminated Baron Corbin with the Sharpshooter. Jey Uso was out last and he was met with an incredibly angry Kevin Owens who wouldn’t let up. Sami Zayn was eliminated by Owens following a Stunner. Jey Uso then got very vicious and eliminated Owens leaving him with Bryan and Cesaro. Jey Uso was able to eliminate Cesaro but couldn’t get past Daniel Bryan. Roman Reigns came out immediately and made short work of Bryan. While Reigns was celebrating in the ring, Edge delivered a spear and made his intentions clear. It will now be Roman Reigns versus Edge at Wrestlemania 37.

John Morrison won a Fatal Four Way match on the Kickoff Show to get into the United States Championship that already had Bobby Lashley and Riddle in it. Morrison was replacing Keith Lee, so it created for a different dynamic. Morrison and Riddle had to double team Lashley for much of the match. Lashley looked like a monster for most of this match as well. In the end, it was the use of MVP’s crutch that decided the outcome of the match. While Lashley had Morrison in the Hurtlock, Riddle smashed the crutch over Lashley’s back multiple times, which allowed him to pin Morrison to win the United States Championship. One would have to believe that Lashley will be looking for revenge and to get his title back. Once Keith Lee comes back from injury, I’ll be curious to see where he fits in with all of this.

Bianca Belair has been riding the momentum train ever since won the Royal Rumble. I love the dynamic between her and Sasha Banks. I also find it interesting that Reginald whose been associated with Carmella has been getting involved with the other women. Unfortunately, tonight it was Reginald who cost Banks and Belair the match. Nia Jax and Bianca Belair now set their focus on Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzales. If they can get past the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners, I will be very intrigued by who might step up to them going into Wrestlemania. The Women’s Division has so much talent right now that it could really be anyone.

The second Elimination Chamber Match of the night was for the WWE Championship. We knew Sheamus would be the last to enter, but we didn’t the rest of the order. Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy started the match. Drew McIntyre followed than Kofi Kingston. Shockingly, Kofi Kingston eliminated Randy Orton first. After that, AJ Styles left his pod way early, which through the match into a chaotic frenzy. Once Sheamus came out, McIntyre’s focus was solely on him. Kofi Kingston was eventually eliminated by a Brough Kick from Sheamus. After a flurry of offense from Jeff Hardy, he was met with a Claymore Kick from Drew McIntyre. Styles, Sheamus, and McIntyre fought for a long time until Styles eliminated Sheamus. Styles was then met with a Claymore Kick in the mid air that allowed Drew McIntyre to win the match. After the match was over, Lashley came out and attacked McIntyre, which left him vulnerable for The Miz to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase and win the WWE Championship.

Elimination Chamber was a solid pay-per-view. There wasn’t a bad match on the card. However, the only unpredictable thing that happened was Riddle winning the United States Championship. There were a few things that could have been execute better in terms of outcomes. With Elimination Chamber in the books, we move on to WWE Fastlane in four weeks. Tonight, Elimination Chamber gets a 7 out of 10. I hope with seven weeks left on the Road to Wrestlemania, we get some excitement and unpredictability. Hopefully, Fastlane gives us that excitement and unpredictability.