What we learned from WWE Elimination Chamber 2015

Sunday night’s WWE Elimination Chamber event featured an iconic moment for a new star, a great main event and two Elimination Chamber matches. The end result was one of the most uneven events of the year, but the highs were extremely high. Here are the full recaps and what this means for the near future:

In a Kickoff Show bonus match, Stardust got the better of a suddenly-back-on-television Zack Ryder, pinning him after hitting the Cross Rhodes.

What we learned: Zack Ryder is still a thing! There’s not a lot to learn from this match, which just happened for no actual storyline reason. WWE may be building up Stardust again because rumor has it he’s going to wrestle the guy from Arrow at SummerSlam. That’s a real rumor!

In perhaps the biggest surprise of the night, The Ascension picked up the first two pinfalls, eliminating both Los Matadores and the Lucha Dragons. The Prime Time Players then eliminated the Ascension, leaving three teams before the New Day even entered the match. (And yes, all three members of the New Day fit into one pod.) PTP then grabbed a flash pin to eliminate Kidd & Cesaro, but were eliminated by the New Day in order for the champs to retain.

What we learned: A tag team Elimination Chamber match works, but the participants in this one might have been a little too big for their britches. The first two big moments in the match were Kalisto and El Torito dropping from the top of the cage, which was some good suspense, but it looked awkward. The New Day keeping the titles was the right move and the two teams that needed the most help (Ascension and Prime Time Players) both looked really good here.

Divas champion Nikki Bella managed to retain the title after hitting the Rack Attack on Naomi.

What we learned: This felt like a natural time to put the Divas Championship on Naomi, but Nikki continues her nearly 200-day reign with the belt.

This is that “one bright spot” I was talking about earlier. In a non-title, champion vs. champion match, the NXT Champion pinned United States Champion John Cena after a second pop-up powerbomb.

What we learned: Owens is reportedly joining the main WWE roster soon and given how strong he looked in this match (pinning Cena clean in their first match together), the company must have some mighty big plans for the Internet darling. I, for one, am JUST FINE with that. For better or worse, any time anyone pins Cena, it’s a big deal. This was a fantastic match (although it took a few minutes for them to really mesh in the ring) and could mean some exciting things in the future.

In a battle of former NXT Champions, Neville managed to hit the Red Arrow to score the pinfall.

What we learned: If this match had been in a different place on the card, it might have been received better. Unfortunately, it got the cooldown spot before the main events, but Neville managed to get the crowd back into it at the end. The match allowed Bo to show off a new, more sinister mean streak and once again highlighted Neville as an exciting performer you should look forward to. Both of those are positive things.

In the battle for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, Mark Henry replaced the injured Rusev. The match was ... kind of a mess. The crowd was basically stone silent for most of it, which really, REALLY hurts a Chamber match. King Barrett was eliminated first after getting hit by several finishers and pinned by R-Truth. Sheamus got stuck in the last chamber pod, leaving the others standing around and scrambling for something to do until the referees could get him free. Or at least, it really seemed like a mistake until Sheamus revealed he had jammed the door on purpose with his cross until an opportune moment. Really, really awkward and the crowd didn’t react at all. Ryback eliminated R-Truth, then Sheamus eliminated both Henry and Ziggler after Brogue Kicks. Ryback hit a big powerbomb and Shell Shocked for the final pin on Sheamus to win his first singles title in WWE.

What we learned: As much as I love, love, love the Elimination Chamber, it really needs more build-up and better stories going into it. The tag title match was decent, but this one actually bordered on bad, which is a rarity for the Chamber. There needs to be a reason for an Elimination Chamber match to happen. “Six people want the Intercontinental Championship” doesn’t quite do it, especially with two weeks to build it up and Rusev (the only person in the match who had a current beef with another person in the match) getting injured just a few days earlier.

Ryback, huh? Let’s see where it goes. No idea who they might run him up against now. Sheamus, probably.

For one glorious minute, it appeared as though Dean Ambrose was the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The referee in the match got knocked out after Rollins pulled him in front of an Ambrose attack. With the referee knocked out, Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds and covered Rollins, while a second referee ran in to make the three-count and award Ambrose the match. A few moments later, the first referee came to and explained that Rollins was disqualified for grabbing the official. Thus, Ambrose won the match, but the title cannot change hands on a count-out or disqualification. This type of emotional switcheroo is referred to by wrestling fans as a “Dusty finish” and it is basically ... well, take it away, Jean-Ralphio:

The Authority started to give Ambrose a beatdown, but Roman Reigns came to his aid. Reigns and Ambrose then departed through the crowd ... with Ambrose carrying the title.

What we learned: This feud will roll over into Money in the Bank. Ambrose has a legitimate claim to the title and actually walked out of the Elimination Chamber with physical possession of the belt. Expect a no-disqualification match at Money in the Bank in two weeks. As bad as it is to be jerked around by the end of the match, I actually like the emotional weight this adds to a feud that’s already got plenty of bad blood in it. Also, this match was terrific and I could definitely get behind these two going at it again.

★★★

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