The entertaining Elimination Chamber pay-per-view ended with The Rock victorious, setting up “Twice in a Lifetime” as he will defend the WWE Championship against John Cena at WrestleMania. Jack Swagger won the Number One Contender Elimination Chamber match, while The Shield defeated WWE’s “All Star Team,” and Antonio Cesario and Alberto Del Rio retained their respective championships.
A few quick thoughts on last night’s event:
- Swagger winning the Elimination Chamber wasn’t a total shock considering how strongly he’s been put over since his return, but it was surprising that WWE actually pulled the trigger and went that route. The buildup to an Alberto Del Rio v. Jack Swagger WrestleMania match will likely be full of that trademark WWE racism.
- It was absolutely the right move to have The Shield beat John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus. I was afraid, though, that we would see The Shield go the route of Nexus and be crushed by the hand of SuperCena. The three faces aren’t hurt at all by the loss and really wouldn’t have gained a ton by a win, especially since John Cena is heading into the main event of WrestleMania to challenge for the WWE Championship.
Had The Shield lost, they would pretty much be a worthless group. But with the win, they stay relevant. The Shield’s cohesiveness was a storyline – even though the broadcast team didn’t really mention it – as the group consistently utilized tags to do triple team moves and kept their opponents in their own corner. It makes sense from a booking standpoint that Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns were able to win thanks to their smarts and familiarity with each other as teammates.
- The Rock – CM Punk match was decent, but nothing spectacular. I thought the inclusion of the stipulation that The Rock would lose the title if he were disqualified or counted out would lead to some shenanigans and a CM Punk win, therefore giving us a triple threat match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. It didn’t happen, though, and The Rock won after a few ref bumps.
- The Antonio Cesaro – Miz match, and its finish, basically was just to keep this thing afloat so they can wrestle again at WrestleMania. I wouldn’t be shocked if Cesaro drops the title to The Miz and then moves on to a main event feud with one of the world champions.
(Photo courtesy WWE.com)
