WWE Elimination Chamber continued to take shape on Friday Night SmackDown.
With the Raw side of the event well on its way to being set, the blue brand took a big stride in the same direction with confirmation of its own Chamber match.
Unlike Raw’s WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending inside the Chamber, however, there appears to be no such plan for Roman Reigns. The Universal Champion eased himself out of a defence on a technicality - his aide Paul Herman insisting he was only contracted to defend his title at the event, not specifically within the structure.
Authority character Adam Pearce did get some of his way; among the competitors named for the Chamber match, the winner of which will immediately challenge Reigns in a singles bout, were his cousin Jey Uso and arch rival Kevin Owens.
The other combatants were confirmed courtesy of tag team matches on the show. Cesaro and Daniel Bryan punched their Chamber tickets by overcoming Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler - though Cesaro earlier had his hands full after being attacked by a returning Seth Rollins once the Swiss Cyborg had refused to follow Rollins' "vision." He eventually recovered to lock a Sharpshooter in on Ziggler.
Rey and Dominick Mysterio had less luck - they were overcome by Sami Zayn and King Corbin who advanced to the Chamber with a win, Zayn’s Helluva Kick doing for the younger Mysterio at the end.
Tensions continue to simmer over the Intercontinental championship. Present incumbent Big E had brushed aside the advances of Apollo Crews on his way to a title defence over Shinsuke Nakamura, but Crews remained a presence at ringside during the bout and, as E closed in on the win, nailed him with a dropkick to cause a disqualification.
The night's other in-ring action again saw the brand's women feature comparatively fleetingly; Bayley was typically underhand in gaining a win over Liv Morgan, while potential WrestleMania opponents Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks teamed up to silence Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler who'd complained about being overshadowed by talk about the pair's suggested battle at the April spectacular.
Elsewhere, The Street Profits were victorious over Otis and Chad Gable.
Image - WWE
Comments