Another PPV in the books and another step closer to WrestleMania 35. Last night had some spectacular moments and quite honestly, there weren’t many disappointing moments throughout the PPV. It was a short PPV and it was not exhausting to watch like the Royal Rumble was. Like any PPV, there were some predictable results, but last night had some moments that restored faith in our favorite wrestling company. Hopefully we’ll see some of those things executed within the next little bit. With one more PPV to go before the big show in April, the next couple of nights will be something to keep an eye on.

- Men’s Singles Match – Cruiserweight Championship

Buddy Murphy (C) vs. Akira Tozawa

The cruiserweights were delegated to the Pre-Show again and the match should’ve been on the actual card. I understand why it wasn’t, but the level that the guys on 205 Live are competing at shouldn’t go unnoticed. The match had a lot of back and forth action and this seemed like another match that wasn’t predictable, by the way, that is a great thing. I did expect Murphy to retain, but the match was leaning in Tozawa’s favor for a good portion of the match. It is a shame to see the cruiserweights pushed to the side, because they are extremely talented. Most of them could legitimately compete on the main roster for major championships. As far as match quality is concerned, I’m rating this the second-best match of the night. It was pretty impressive and moving forward, I hope to see some more television exposure for the cruiserweights.

GRADE: 8.4/10

1. 6-Team Elimination Chamber Match – WWE Women’s Championship

Nia Jax and Tamina vs. The IIconics vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville vs. The Riott Squad vs. Naomi and Carmella vs. Bayley and Sasha Banks

I expected this match to kick off the show and the quality of the match could’ve been better, but it did the job. It was to be expected that Bayley and Sasha were going to win the belts, so honestly there were only so many ways that they could handle it. I mentioned in the preview article that I didn’t expect Naomi and Carmella to be a factor, and they weren’t. The IIconics were eliminated a little faster than I thought they would be, but I expect them to compete for the titles within the near future. The Riott Squad was more involved than I anticipated and team of Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose was a bigger factor than I thought they would be. So now, Sasha Banks and Bayley are the new Women’s Tag Team Champs and how the WWE handles the storylines moving forward will be interesting.

GRADE: 7.8/10

2. Men’s Tag Team Match – SmackDown Tag Team Championship

The Miz and Shane McMahon (C) vs. The Usos

Obviously going into the match, you knew that there were going to be some high-risk moves based on the fact that Shane McMahon was in the match. I love seeing him take these kinds of risks, but at his age, I’m expecting him to slow down pretty soon. Other than that, the match wasn’t anything special. Before the match, Miz and Maryse announced that they were expecting another child which was pretty cool. It was not a shock that they dropped their titles last night, although I expected them to prolong their reign until Fastlane. It will be interesting to see what they do to keep the story alive for the next few weeks. Our fellow writer, Randy thinks that the announcement of Maryse and Miz’s unborn child could turn out to be a storyline where it could possibly be Shane’s baby. Could it be? I’m not expecting it, but I’m not ruling it out either. If it happens, it would be hilarious, but it seems a little risqué for today’s WWE.

GRADE: 7/10

3. 2-on-1 Handicap Match – WWE Intercontinental Championship

Bobby Lashley (C) and Lio Rush vs. Finn Bálor

Again, not a particularly impressive match, but the outcome was one that the fans wanted to see. I knew going into the match if Bálor was going to win, it would be a ploy to make him look stronger moving forward. After the match, Lashley attacked his manager and I’m not sure if they will have a feud or if that was Lio Rush’s way out. It doesn’t seem like a potential Lashley/Rush rivalry would garner enough attention, especially at this particular point in the schedule. Now that Bálor holds the title, there is virtually unlimited potential moving forward with the Intercontinental Championship. Lashley will likely get a rematch at the next PPV, but it could be tonight on RAW.

GRADE: 6.7/10

4. Women’s Singles Match – RAW Women’s Championship

Ronda Rousey (C) vs. Ruby Riott

As far as a match goes, there isn’t much entertainment value from a squash match, and this was exactly that. The match didn’t even last two minutes, but the chaos that took place after the match is the reason this match is getting a great score from me. It is a shame to see Ruby Riott getting put in these situations, because she is a great talent. I don’t know how she’ll be used within the next few weeks, but it isn’t looking good for the leader of the Riott Squad. Charlotte Flair sat at ringside to watch the match and after the match was over, she met Rousey in the ring and they had a stare down. Then just moments later, a hobbling Becky Lynch emerged from the crowd on crutches. She then proceeded to beat Charlotte Flair with one of her crutches. Rousey then grabbed Lynch’s other crutch and it appeared that they were both going to attack Flair, but to her surprise, she found herself getting attacked by The Man. Lynch was then escorted from the arena in a similar fashion to Stone Cold in the Attitude Era. Rousey was busted open from one of Lynch’s crutch shots and I don’t think that was supposed to happen. That was another gift that adds more heat to the WrestleMania match that will presumably still include Lynch. It looks pretty obvious that we will see a Triple Threat at WrestleMania and it looks like things are starting to go back in the right direction. I would assume that Lynch will have to fight her way back in the match, but we will see.

GRADE: 9/10

Here is a little message that The Man had for the CEO last night.

.@VinceMcMahon pic.twitter.com/8oXSrvzOc4
— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) February 18, 2019

5. No Disqualification Singles Match

Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin

This was probably the worst match of the night and that was to be expected. They have worn out this feud and it looks like they will continue to wear it out. I mentioned in the preview article that Corbin had a shot in this match if he had the help of Drew McIntyre. He had his help and Bobby Lashley’s help to win the match, but to my surprise, Strowman had nobody to come to his aid. Obviously they have something brewing for another match down the line, but it just isn’t making sense right now. I don’t know what they could do at this point to keep the rivalry fresh, but I have an idea. I read a report today that Roman Reigns could be close to his return, because all of the reports are mentioning that his recovery process is going very well. This would be a great way to slide The Big Dog back into action and since Dean Ambrose is reportedly on his way out, they could give him an opportunity to fight alongside his Shield brother one last time. Another possibility is that Kevin Owens could be worked into the match, because he is expected to make his return pretty soon. Also, watch out for Bray Wyatt as he is waiting for the right storyline to jump in.

GRADE: 6/10

6. 6-Man Elimination Chamber Match – WWE Championship

Daniel Bryan (C) vs. Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

*MATCH OF THE NIGHT*

The main event was the best match of the night and they couldn’t have booked it any better than they did. I expected Samoa Joe to be a big player in the match, but was the first one eliminated. As I expected, Jeff Hardy wasn’t much of a threat, but boy was Kofi Kingston a major player in this one. If there was an MVP award for this PPV, Kofi would be the unanimous winner. I have not seen a crowd react like this in a very long time. Everyone and their mother wanted Kofi to become the new champion and now there seems like there is more to tell in this story. This match was easily the Match of the Year so far in the short year, but it will take a heck of a match to top it. At the moment, it feels like the WWE Universe will get shortchanged if we don’t see another match between these two. Kofi Kingston has definitely earned a shot at the WWE Championship and this would truly be a feel-good story if he wins the title. At this point, the WWE Championship isn’t a title that has been featured too much lately, so it would be the perfect opportunity to push someone like Kofi. I wonder if this was the push that Mustafa Ali was supposed to get? Possibly, but I’m really glad it is Kofi getting this shot, plus I want to see the Freebird Rule become a reality again. It would not hurt a thing to put Kofi and Bryan in a WrestleMania match for the WWE Championship and at this point, I would be disappointed if we don’t get to see that.

GRADE: 9.9/10

Yacs

Elimination Chamber 2019 Results and Reaction