Elimination Chamber 2018 results: Winners and highlights from Sunday night

WWE’s Elimination Chamber 2018 is over, which means we now know who is facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34 (Roman Reigns), whether Alexa Bliss is still RAW Women’s Champion (she is), and maybe, just maybe, what Ronda Rousey is doing at Mania, too (fighting with Stephanie McMahon in a tag match, probably).

Don’t worry, this is a safe space where I will not refer to her as “Hot Ronda” even though WWE is begging the world to do just that.

Here are the results from Elimination Chamber 2018, courtesy of our live blog.

Brock Lesnar is the WWE Universal Champion, and the winner of this seven-man Elimination Chamber match will go on to face him at WrestleMania 34. We’ve still got the four wrestlers in pods, one opening at random every five minutes, but instead of two wrestlers to start, we’ll see three to accommodate the seven total performers in the match.

Miz will be the first one in the ring wrestling, and Elias will be the last one out of the pod — they lost and won those rights, respectively, in the lead-in to this show.

It’s Elias, Braun Strowman, John Cena, and Roman Reigns in the pods to begin the Elimination Chamber match, which means it’ll be Seth Rollins and Finn Balor joining Miz to kick things off.

Miz vs. Braun at Mania, calling it now.

Miz tried to too sweet Balor before the match began, and then tried to unite with Rollins when that didn’t pan out. Bless him for trying it with the two faces, though.

We know the next man in the chamber won’t be Elias, but we’ll find out who it is momentarily... and it’s John Cena! Cena and Rollins get into a literal shoving match, probably because a pissing contest isn’t PG.

Cena has Balor and Seth on his shoulders, which is impressive, but Balor weighs like 190 pounds so don’t get too excited.

Finn Balor’s blue gear is good. Seth losing the fire pants is good. Cena’s armbands are as loud as ever.

Tandem superplexes from the corners, which leaves all four dudes lying in the middle of the ring as the clock winds down and we see if it’ll be Reigns or Strowman entering next. And it’s Roman Reigns, so Seth has himself a friend. Or, a friend until it’s time to get down to business, anyway.

This Elimination Chamber match is going a bit slower than the women’s was. Braun Strowman just entered, however, so business is about to pick up. Braun just climbed up onto a pod after Miz and then threw Miz onto the other four wrestlers down below, so yeah, what I said.

Braun just walked around destroying anyone who dared stand up, and then eventually pinned Miz right before Elias’ pod opened up. Everyone besides Elias is laying on the ground, Strowmaned.

Elias closes the door to stay protected, briefly, and then Reigns, Rollins, Cena, and Balor all decided they need to work together to end Braun Strowman. They’re going to triple quadruple powerbomb Strowman! All four men then tried to pin Strowman and he kicked out with authority. Then Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment on Strowman, and he kicked out with authority. Strowman rolls out of the ring after getting hit with a Blackout, and then eats a Coup de Grace from Balor on the outside. At least he can’t be pinned, though.

Elias leaves the pod with everyone laying on the ground after hurting each other while Strowman was on the outside. Elias went 0-for-4 on pin attempts, but 4-4 on making other wrestlers angry at him.

Strowman is awake again, sorry Elias. Elias is eliminated after a powerslam, giving Braun both eliminations to this point. We’re down to five, and four of them might need to gang up on Strowman again.

Well, four of them can’t do it, because Cena just got eliminated by Strowman, too. Reigns, Rollins, and Balor remain, and Strowman is waiting for one of them to stand up. Reigns did, and got punched in the mouth. Rollins did, and got the same. Balor is fairing better, however, flying around the ring to kick Braun when he can.

Balor looked well on his way to pinning Roman Reigns, but Braun caught him from behind, and now Strowman gets his fourth elimination of the night instead. We’re down to Braun, Reigns, and Rollins.

Two-thirds of the Shield is all they’ve got here against Strowman, but it’s going to have to do. I’d say they’ve got the credentials to do it, but so did everyone else in this match besides Elias — the rest are all former WWE or Universal Champions just like Seth and Roman.

They don’t have the power of friendship, though! But maybe neither do Rollins and Reigns, as Rollins immediately went after Reigns once Braun went down via their joint assault. This probably wasn’t a great idea, Seth, you know you can beat Roman one-on-one!

No hard feelings from Roman, as they’re working together again now that Strowman is back up. Rollins is on top of the pod, and just hit a Frog Splash from the top of it onto Strowman... and it’s not enough, somehow.

Braun hits a reverse powerslam on Seth while Reigns is on the ground and unable to save his buddy, so now we’re down to Strowman vs. Reigns. This was such an amazing feud in 2017, and here they are once again.

Will Strowman run the table and eliminate all six men to earn a shot at Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34? Or will Reigns get the only elimination that truly matters to earn a rematch against Lesnar and maybe finish what he started at Mania 31?

Update: The crowd does not want Roman Reigns to win.

Strowman took a spear and got back to his feet, but the second spear did the job. The crowd actually responded with quite a few cheers! That or WWE muted so much audio that you can’t hear the boos over Reigns’ theme. One of the two.

So, we get Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34. We figured this was where things were going, but there was always hope for Strowman.

Don’t worry, buddy, there are other wrestlers with titles you can wreak. Remember how much Miz annoys you?

Ronda Rousey gets a big video package before her contract signing, which is kind of weird since it’s almost 10 p.m. ET already and we still have another Elimination Chamber match to get through.

Best scenario possible, by the way, is Stephanie McMahon teaming up with Triple H to take on Ronda and Shane McMahon at Mania, because then the Ronda, Triple H, and Shane match are all the same match, and there’s room for a lot more on the card.

Ronda has got some nerves to work through, and I get it, she loves the WWE and has for a long time! It just doesn’t work very well on camera right now.

Ronda will get a match at WrestleMania 34 when she signs her contract — it won’t be for a championship, according to Triple H, and Ronda is fine with that, as she doesn’t want any special treatment.

Kurt Angle is out here letting Ronda know that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are trying to set her up, and he successfully gets Rousey to stop smiling and feel murder-y towards Stephanie, so at least this awkwardness is all going somewhere.

Ronda takes down Triple H! Stephanie slaps her, asks her who she thinks she is, and then remembers in a real hurry who Ronda Rousey is and backs off while Rousey signs her new contract, which is a one-way ticket to kicking some McMahon-Helmsley ass at Mania.

That all worked much better when they just let Ronda look pissed off and dangerous. Remember that part, WWE, because these segments will go much better if you just let her do the thing people want to see her do: hurting other people.

So, we’re getting Steph and Triple H vs. Ronda and Angle if this segment is any indication. Fun!

Again? Come on, man.

Matt played a round of hide and seek with Bray before the match started. Can we move on to tag next? As in, just form a tag team of weirdos? It has much more potential than doing these one-on-one matches again and again and again.

People, when you do the “Delete!” chants and arm motion, you need to be cognizant of your arm angle, and hold out two fingers. Go too high, and you’re accidentally a Nazi. And on television, even.

The crowd is paying attention to beach balls, which I despise, really, but also, these two have been feuding nonstop and not a single moment of it has been entertaining and it’s not their fault, really, it’s whoever keeps putting them against each other without letting them actually do anything. Also this match is still going what the hell oh God yes now it’s over, Matt Hardy wins we can stop now.

This match isn’t for a title, but there are two major items of interest. Asuka is an undefeated 246-0 across NXT and WWE, and this video package is talking about how she’s achieved things that legends like Rock and Ric Flair have managed in the past. Nia Jax, if she can defeat Asuka, will be added to the RAW Women’s Championship match against Alexa Bliss at WrestleMania 34.

It’s worth pointing out that Asuka, as Royal Rumble winner, doesn’t have to challenge Bliss at Mania when Charlotte Flair and the SmackDown Women’s Championship are also on the table. For now, though, the focus is on that RAW title.

Nia and Asuka have tangled before on multiple occasions, and they’ve been great. Here’s hoping for another one of those here tonight.

Nia is dominating in the early going, stopping Asuka every time she tries... well, anything. And the results are violent. Good, good.

When Asuka and Jax faced off for the NXT Championship a couple years back, Nia ended up losing because she let her foot off the gas (and also Asuka’s throat). She does not appear to be making a similar mistake tonight, as it’s big power move after big power move.

Asuka manages to avoid a few big moves long enough to lock in the armbar, but Jax forces the end of the hold by lifting Asuka up and slamming her into the turnbuckle. Asuka looks like the lights are on and no one’s home, but hoooold on she just countered Jax into a rollup and juuuuuust managed to hold it for the three count.

Asuka remains undefeated, Jax doesn’t have a clear path to WrestleMania and oh Jax just attacked Asuka from behind so this is not over yet even if the bell rang.

Ah shit Nia just crunched Asuka through the barricade, and Asuka is still down. Short, sweet, violent. Into it.

Nia and Asuka clearly have some things left to work out, so we’ll have to wait to see how this all gets sorted out on RAW. Asuka won, as said, but a grudge is a grudge, and she’s got reason for a grudge.

Titus O’Neill and Apollo are here to challenge Sheamus and Cesaro, the current RAW Tag Team Champions, for those titles. Titus Worldwide have racked up three Ws against The Bar already, but none of them were for the title, and, well, this is the one that matters, yeah?

The Bar seem to be handling things better than you’d expect given that “Titus Worldwide have racked up three Ws” thing.

There is a lot of impossibly strong dude in this one match. Apollo Crews is somehow the smallest guy in the ring and his whole thing is about how powerful he is.

I really wish I could see the statistics that Titus Worldwide statistician Dana Brooke is writing down.

One stat she needs to jot down: Titus Worldwide is 0-1 in RAW Tag Team Championship matches against Sheamus and Cesaro, who isolate Apollo long enough to secure the pin.

It’ll be the women up first, with Alexa Bliss defending her championship against five of them. They aren’t all trying to pin her specifically — this is very much an everyone for themselves scenario, and being the last one standing is the only way to win.

Sasha Banks seems ready to put her friendship with Bayley aside if it helps her get an edge in the Chamber. Mickie James is reluctantly helping out Alexa, mostly because Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose have teamed up against her and she wanted no part of the numbers game. Let’s see how these alliances hold up.

We’ll start with two wrestlers in the ring, and the other four contained within pods within the chamber. Those pods will open every five minutes, changing the landscape of the match, and elimination occurs via pinfall or submission. Other than that, this is some lawless territory.

Alexa Bliss wasn’t pleased about having to defend her championship in the Chamber while Brock Lesnar sits at home relaxing with his title, but at least she gets to start locked up in a pod instead of starting out this lengthy bout. She’s joined by Sasha Banks, who’s got that heel edge back. Mickie James also gets a pod, so we’re down to one member of Absolution — Sonya or Mandy — in a pod, while the other kicks things off against Bayley for the first five minutes of this match.

It’ll be Mandy in the pod and Sonya waiting to beat down Bayley, who sure feels outnumbered when we think of heel vs. face alignments — Mickie is the only other face, and she’s buddied up to the heel champ to avoid being outnumbered like that.

Bayley’s been super aggressive, to the point where Sonya Deville better hope it’s Mandy Rose who is coming in next — she needs a hand against the former RAW Women’s champ, who is leaving it all out there with elbow drops to the outside and repeated pin attempts in the first few minutes of this match.

And it is indeed Mandy Rose at the buzzer, but her entrance doesn’t slow Bayley down at all. She’s keeping them separated and on the ground, but she’s got five minutes before she finds a friend — if there’s even a friend in this chamber for her, anyway.

Sonya and Mandy have their teamwork thing working out now, and since Bayley is the only one to beat on, well, let’s just say she’s literally strung up on the side of the cage now while they take turnings hitting her.

Bayley is still hanging up on the wall just in time for Sasha Banks to enter the Elimination Chamber — Mandy Rose goes head first into an empty chamber pod, and Sonya’s attempts at saving her teammate earns her double knees to the face.

Hey, Bayley’s no longer hanging on the side of the chamber, and she’s helping Sasha repeatedly bash Sonya into it. Sasha has chosen teamwork over treachery, at least to start.

Mandy Rose gets caught in Sasha’s submission finisher, and Bayley comes out of nowhere to keep Sonya from breaking up the hold. Rose taps out, and we’re down to five competitors for the RAW Women’s Championship. Sonya is now without a friend, and just in time for Mickie James to enter the match.

Mickie James climbed up the side of the chamber and on top of a pod, then jumped on top of Sonya Deville in what somehow turned into a pinning move — Sonya is gone now, too, and we’re down to Sasha, Bayley, Mickie, and Alexa, who is still in the pod.

And there goes Mickie after Sasha and Bayley double-team her!

Sasha and Bayley still look to be teaming here and lol Alexa closed her pod door after it opened, and is now trying to climb away from the pair.

And there it is! Sasha kicks Bayley in the face to knock her off the top of the pod, so she can hunt Bliss solo. Here’s the thing, though: Bayley wasn’t knocked out cold, and now she’s pissed.

I know people complain about the extra padding in the Elimination Chamber these days, but there have been some pretty stiff shots from the women here, and no amount of padding is slowing those down.

A frog splash from Banks doesn’t keep Bayley down for three, so now we’ve just got a ring with all three competitors laying down trying to catch a breath or two.

Alexa Bliss takes advantage of Bayley getting ready to pin Sasha, and instead it’s Bayley who gets pinned and eliminated. We’re down to Bliss vs. Banks. Alexa goes for Twisted Bliss, but Sasha gets the knees up, and avoids taking yet another finisher.

Alexa is atop a pod again and whatever the result, it’ll be painful. Twisted Bliss from the top of the pod, to the outside of the ring! Sasha slaps on the Banks Statement, though, and then drags Alexa inside the ring! Bliss escapes by slamming Sasha into a turnbuckle, and we’re back to thinking about what ridiculous thing they can do next to win this championship.

Alexa manages to push Sasha face-first into a pod while Sasha was planning on climbing up high, and then capitalizes with a DDT off the turnbuckle — 1, 2, 3, and Bliss is still your RAW Women’s Champion.