WWE Elimination Chamber Review: Surprises, mixed with formula

Ryback is the new WWE Intercontinental champ. Kevin Owens won the champ vs. champ match with John Cena with a clean fall. (A clean fall!)

Then we get the Dusty Finish to the main event for the WWE title, with Dean Ambrose apparently winning the title after a ref bump, and a second referee making the count, only to have the decision reversed.

There were surprises and then some formula mixed in at WWE Elomination Chamber Sunday night.

All in all, not a bad card, particularly considering the lack of buildup, with just two weeks having passed since Payback. WWE is backing itself into a similar corner with Money in the Bank coming up two weeks hence, on June 14.

It’s hard to complain about the sudden glut of supercards, and to WWE’s credit, the creative team did a decent job getting us ready for Elimination Chamber, even if the match(es) for which the event was named failed to deliver.

The gimmick was exposed early with the tag match opening the show in the Chamber. It came down to New Day and Prime Time Players, as expected, with New Day taking the fall, setting up a possible run for the two teams that could prove to be worthwhile.

Ryback’s Intercontinental title win was a bit of a surprise. It had seemed that Sheamus was getting the push, and it was Sheamus-Ryback in the final two before Ryback scored the pin with the Shellshock.

It should be interesting to see what the Big Guy can do with the strap in the coming weeks.

Owens stole the show in his first main-roster match, putting on a match of the year-quality performance with Cena featuring several near-falls before Owens won with his pop-up powerbomb. A star was born, indeed.

The finale between Ambrose and Rollins was anticlimactic. It wasn’t realistic to assume that Ambrose was going to leave the event with the belt, even though he technically did, taking off through the crowd with Roman Reigns strap in hand after the controversial finish.

Ambrose isn’t belieavable as champ, and the way WWE is booking Rollins is taking away from his luster.

Time to focus attention on Money in the Bank, and who gets tapped on the shoulder to be the next big player with that briefcase as his calling card.

– Review by Chris Graham