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Miz is now a two-time WWE Champion.
WWE
Elimination Chamber 2021 ended with a surprise: The Miz cashed his Money in the Bank contract and won the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre. He did so with the help of Bobby Lashley, who after losing his American Championship seeks a feud with Drew McIntyre before heading to WrestleMania.
It capped off a strong pay-per-view, which began with a fantastic Elimination Chamber match won by Daniel Bryan. In what would become a theme of the series, Bryan was immediately defeated by Universal Champion Roman Reigns in the fight that followed.
Elsewhere, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair failed to win the women’s team championships and Riddle won the US title by pinning John Morrison.
Read on for a full Elimination Chamber recap.
Miz cashed in and became WWE Champion
Bobby Lashley ambushed Drew McIntyre after the House, destroying him outside the ring and then putting him in the Hurt Lock. Miz’s music played and he ran into the ring, officially cashing his Money in the Bank contract.
The bell rings. Miz got a count of two after a DDT, but got the win after a Skull Crushing final. The show ends as The Miz celebrates his championship victory.
Yes really.
Drew McIntyre retains WWE Championship
In the main event of the show, Drew McIntyre retained his WWE Championship by winning the Elimination Chamber match. McIntyre knocked out AJ Styles for the last time to retain his championship.
The match turned into a showdown between Sheamus and McIntyre, with Sheamus being the last participant of the match. Sheamus took out Kofi Kingston with a Brogue Kick and McIntyre took out Jeff Hardy with a Claymore Kick, so it looked like the two were going to clean up the house and fight to close the fight. It wasn’t, as Sheamus was pinned down by AJ Styles as a result of a phenomenal forearm.
Randy Orton was the first to be eliminated, which was also a surprise. Kofi Kingston walked into the Fourth Chamber and quickly grabbed Orton with a creative roll up. Following his pin, Orton RKO had Kingston and Hardy before he left. AJ Styles, who had not yet officially entered, took the opportunity to order Omos to break down his bedroom door. Omos did, and AJ ran from outside and through the door to the Chamber and unsuccessfully attempted to pin Kingston and Hardy. Note that this makes absolutely no sense, as AJ is not a legal man until his bedroom door unlocks. Alas.
The fight was good, but a lot more disjointed than the first SmackDown game. This is especially true during the period when five men were still active – AJ, McIntyre, Sheamus, Kingston and Hardy – where there was often action going on in several areas. But it got better after the elimination of Hardy and Kingston, when AJ, Sheamus and McIntyre put on a solid fencing section.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax retain tag titles
Nia Jax pinned Sasha Banks with a Samoan Drop after a strange distraction thanks to Reginald, Carmella’s sommelier.
The fight started off slow, with Nia Jax fighting both Banks and Bianca Belair. Things got better once Baszler joined in, and we finally got some solid action thanks to some excellent counter-wrestling from Baszler and Banks. The arrival came when Jax and Banks were the legal women. Reginald came to the ring with some fancy champagne and a drink, and rolled the champagne in the ring telling Banks to smash it on Jax. Sasha refused and was punched by Jax, Samoan Dropped and then pinned.
The distraction was made up, Banks looked silly and Jax’s execution was sloppy.
Rating: 2 stars. It seems very likely that Banks will face Belair at WrestleMania, so this match suffered from the knowledge Jax and Baszler were sure to retain. He was further hampered by a poor finish and Jax, which is usually not particularly fun to watch. However, Shayna Baszler absolutely reigns and was the highlight of the game.
Riddle wins the United States Championship
John Morrison replaced Kieth Lee in this Triple Threat USA match, which also featured Riddle and champion Bobby Lashley. Riddle won the fun fight by pinning Morrison.
It started with Lashley being a monster, easily destroying Riddle and Morrison. Riddle and Morrison then decide to team up to defeat the beast. At first it doesn’t even work, but eventually they get the upper hand on Lashley and neutralize him on the outside with a tandem attack.
Inside the ring we have a big fight between Riddle and Morrison. Morrison is tragically underutilized. Eventually, of course, Lashley returns to the ring. Riddle cradles him with a V-Trigger ripchord, but Lashley ends up cleaning the house. Morrison takes MVP’s crutches and tries to swing at Lashley, but Lashley avoids him and puts Morrison in the Hurt Lock. Riddle takes the crutch and crushes Lashley in the back – announcers hastily tell us there is no disqualification – forcing Lashley to step back and regroup outside.
Riddle then planted Morrison with his BroDerrick gravestone slam for the win. He immediately ran away from Lashley, a true fighting champion.
Rating: 3.5 stars. A fun match with three talented guys. It’s silly to see Riddle, a pretended babyface and real-life badass, made to appear so weak compared to Lashley. But it was nice to see Morrison’s talents on display.
Roman Reigns defeats Daniel Bryan
This universal championship game was short but sweet. Bryan, stumbling and barely able to walk, tells the referee to ring the bell. Roman immediately goes for a spear, but he is countered as Bryan locks the Yes Lock. Announcer Michael Cole loses his mind, shouting that Bryan is going to perform a miracle. Fantastic moment.
It wasn’t, as Reigns powered off and barred Bryan with mounted punches. He then locked a guillotine and choked Bryan for the win.
Just as Bryan had no opportunity, neither did Reigns. He was harpooned by Edge, who announced he would face Reigns at WrestleMania.
Daniel Bryan wins SmackDown Elimination Chamber
The main show kicked off with the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match. He introduced Cesaro, Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Corbin and his future winner, Daniel Bryan. Bryan started the match with Cesaro and, after around 50 excellent minutes, knocked out Jey Uso for the last time to win the fight.
After five minutes of a rock solid fight between Bryan and Cesaro, Corbin was the third to enter the Chamber. He was a demolition machine, taking both down and wrecking Bryan’s knee. Corbin would ultimately be the first to leave the Chamber, being sidelined by Cesaro’s sniper.
Zayn was fourth, followed by Owens and finally Uso. A high point came when Zayn climbed the Chamber, and was followed by Cesaro. Cesaro, standing with the links at the top of the Chamber, sent Zayn back to the Chamber floor. Zayn was the second to be eliminated, when Owens knocked him out and tackled him.
After Zayn was eliminated, Uso trapped Owens’ arm in the chamber door and blitzed him with superkicks. He then pinned it down after a splash from the top rope.
After Cesaro took Uso out on the road, we had a great back-and-forth between Cesaro and Bryan. Just as it looked like Cesaro was going to take out Bryan – in the middle of a one-legged Giant Swing on Bryan’s injured leg – he was timed with a superkick by Uso. Uso then pinned Cesaro with a splash from the top rope.
This left Uso and Bryan. Uso quickly hit Bryan for two. He then climbed to the top of a chamber pod and attempted a giant splash, but Bryan raised his knees, then hit Uso with the knee running for a pin, winning his third chamber match.
The good news? Bryan wins a shot against Roman Reigns Universal Championship. The bad news? Roman Reigns comes out immediately to start this match. No rest for Bryan.
Rating: 4.5 stars. Great stuff. Bryan fans like me will likely be disappointed: it looks like his victory will come to naught, as Reigns now focuses on his WrestleMania match with Edge. In fact, Bryan was probably picked to win the House over Cesaro precisely so that he could lose to Reigns. Either way, it was an exceptional fight.
Kickoff Show Results
John Morrison defeated Ricochet, Elias and Ali to earn a spot in the U.S. Championship Triple Threat match on the main show. Bobby Lashley will now defend his American title against Morrison and Riddle.
Morrison won the match by curling Ali while Ali was distracted by his powerbombing Ricochet faction on the outside.
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