The Miz headed WrestleMania 27 as WWE Champion. Ten years later, he is ready to do it again.
Miz collected his Money in the Bank briefcase Elimination Chamber, defeated Drew McIntyre to begin his first reign with the WWE Championship since 2011, right after McIntyre’s Crude elimination chamber match, then got a beating from Bobby Lashley. This sets up McIntyre-Lashley WrestleMania 37, and opens up a new opportunity with Miz as champion. Or it will help boost Raw ratings have yet to be determined, but at least for the short term, Vince McMahon has once again made The Miz his signature performer.
Credit to WWE
Less than two months away, the card for WrestleMania actively takes shape. Daniel Bryan opened the show through the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match, but immediately loses to Roman Reigns in 92 seconds in a Universal Championship match. Reigns’ post-game celebration was interrupted by Edge, who will challenge Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania
Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair also continued their story and lost in a tag team title match against Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. Since they are no longer pursuing the tag titles, the Belair-Banks program should follow its direction this Friday SmackDown, with Belair challenging Banks for the SmackDown Women’s ChampionshipAs for Raw Women’s Champion Asuka, she stayed off the chart. Her original opponent, Lacey Evans, is pregnant and taking time off from an active schedule, but not taking on Asuka was a missed opportunity, especially with a division full of rising stars like Peyton Royce, Mandy Rose and Nikki Cross.
Here are the results Elimination Chamber
—John Morrison defeated Mustafa Ali, Ricochet and Elias at the front show to enter the United States Championship triple threat game
—Daniel Bryan won the SmackDown Elimination Chamber for a title shot against Universal Champion Roman Reigns
—WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan by submission
—Matt Riddle defeated Bobby Lashley and John Morrison in a triple threat match to become the new champion of the United States
—Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax defeated Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championship
—Drew McIntyre defended the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamberand defeated Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy
– The Miz defeated Drew McIntyre to become the new WWE Champion
De Miz is probably only a transition champion, but he deserves credit for reclaiming the company’s most prestigious title. He’s starred in peripheral stories for the past few years and was never a real threat when he challenged for the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman, so earning the title and reclaiming a spot on the top of the map is a great opportunity for him.
In addition to crowning a new WWE Champion, Matt Riddle also won the United States Championship. This is Riddle’s first championship on the main list, as well as his first singles title with the company. Riddle is one of the most unique talents in the entire industry, bringing a unique blend of athleticism and authenticity from his time at the UFC. He’s also been a significant source of controversy since his arrival last spring SmackDown, stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct by a female wrestler from their time together on the independents. Keith Lee would have made the perfect choice to take the title, but since he wasn’t available at Elimination Chamber, WWE made the decision to put Riddle on the belt.
Riddle scored the win against John Morrison, who replaced Lee. This kept Lashley protected, which is especially smart considering his jump back to the world title. Feedback to last June Recoil pay-per-view, Lashley and McIntyre have unfinished business – and Lashley certainly deserved a chance to represent the company as a WWE Champion.
Elimination Chamber helped set the table WrestleMania, and it was solid pay-per-view, too. Both Elimination Chamber matches were excellent. WWE split Reigns and Kevin Owens, which was a smart choice, and the Raw Chamber match did a particularly good job of re-establishing Sheamus, AJ Styles and Kofi Kingston as contenders for the WWE Championship. The SmackDown Elimination Chamber saw Daniel Bryan win an extremely engaging opener, and the story was that he was too defeated to pose a real threat to Reigns. Edge then emerged as the one who stood up to Reigns, although it may make more sense if Reigns finds a way to put that title in the WrestleMania main event.
Since WrestleMania 37 takes place over two nights, there is a main event every night. One such spot should belong to Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, who will be struggling for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Belair becomes one of wrestling’s foremost talents and has the advantage of teaming up with a bona fide superstar in Banks on the most important show of the year. It was frustrating to see Banks in the tag match Elimination Chamber, even if it can be attributed to a derivation from Reginald. That finish took the steam away from a good race, and the focus must return to Banks and Belair – and no one else.
There is still a significant amount of story to tell in the Banks-Belair program, and an incredible amount of potential. This has the chance to be the most memorable match WrestleMania, so it’s crucial that Banks and Belair have the right time to come up with a story.
WWE has been successful with the faster pay-per-view model. That will likely be changed on WrestleMania, but it is a formula that was successful again Elimination ChamberThe show was far from perfect because you miss a woman Elimination Chamber match was a huge fragrance. Overall, the show was solid, but a much-criticized product will come under even closer scrutiny with The Miz as the new champion.
Justin Barrasso can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso