wrestling / TV Reports
Hawke’s WWE Elimination Chamber 2017 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...February 12, 2017
Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Mauro Ranallo, JBL, & David Otunga
Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James
This was a solid contest and an effective opener for sure. The match featured some sound in-ring storytelling.
It was 50/50 at the start until Mickie managed to target Becky’s left arm to get the advantage. Becky fought back more and more. It seemed like she was not going to be able to complete the comeback, but she managed to pull off a jackknife pinning combo to keep Mickie down for the three.
The smart work helped this one compensate for the lack of genuine spark to the proceedings. (***)
Dolph Ziggler vs. Apollo Crews & Kalisto
What in the world was this bullshit?
The story was that Dolph jumped Kalisto during the latter’s entrance. The match was seemingly on its way to just being a very bland singles contest between Dolph and Apollo.
Then Kalisto made his way to the ring in order to make a hot tag. That eventually led to Apollo putting Dolph away cleanly.
Dolph then got his heat back after the match by destroying both of his opponents single-handily (including Pilmanizing Apollo’s ankle twice). The crowd loved Dolph for all of this.
What in the world was this bullshit? (1/2*)
Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango) vs. The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch & Aidan English) vs. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) vs. American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) vs. The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)
This was a tag team turmoil match for American Alpha’s WWE Tag Team Championship.This was as much of a slog to get through as you would expect unfortunately. Tag Team Turmoil matches have an incredibly small margin of error, and this one really came nowhere close to delivering something consistently fun. There weren’t even much in the way of standout moments. It felt like a way to kill time if anything to be honest. American Alpha won by beating The Usos and The Ascension in the final two bouts of the TURMOIL. (*)
Nikki Bella vs. Natalya
This one was a bore. Natalya just controlled way too much of the match, and she worked it in such a sluggish manner.
The hate and mean brawling that was showcased during the pre-match hype video was not employed here. Instead, it was just methodical for the sake of methodical, and it was nearly impossible to remain invested by the time Nikki made her comeback.
Natalya just is not very good. The fact that it ended in a double countout only made the lackluster journey all the more unsatisfying. (3/4*)
Luke Harper vs. Randy Orton
Against all odds, Randy Orton joining the Wyatt Family has been one of the best creative decisions WWE has made in recent years. It was a classic example of making choices to spotlight performers’ strengths and hide their weaknesses. The Orton/Bray tag team has been excellent and continued the bizarre trend of The Wyatts accidentally being one of the best in-ring teams in WWE history. It’s downright strange how well this had all been going.
The breakup angle led to a match here that managed to be satisfying while also not quite delivering on the promise of what it could have been. The two big issues with the match were that it was worked at a “Randy Orton Pace” and that the story of the feud was not really conveyed effectively with the action.
The Randy Orton Pace has plagued countless matches of his over the years. It’s methodical for the sake of the methodical. It does not make the most of the time given. It does not set up much in the first half of the match to pay off in the second half. It’s just about reestablishing well-known face/heel roles and attempting to not actively lose the crowd completely before the finishers/reversals sequences kicks in. It’s just an unsubstantial way of working matches.
Orton dictating the pace of course was related to the second main issue of the contest: where was the hatred? This was worked as if it was a Harper test balloon for future WWE main event. While it may have very well been that to people in the company, the style of the match did not match up with the storyline. Harper felt that Orton stole his family. HIS FAMILY! Where was the hatred? Where was the frustration? Where was the violence? The bout lacked soul as a result.
Despite those two glaring and important issues here, the work itself was still just fun enough to call this match a success! It could have, and should have, been more. Harper came out of this looking strong though, and Orton got a decisive and competitive victory on the road to his Wrestlemania world title match. (***)
Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi
This was for Alexa’s Smackdown Women’s Championship.
Alexa Bliss has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the past year. She has really developed into one of the most promising prospects in the WWE. She clearly has a bright future ahead of her.
While she has delivered big time in matches with Becky and Bayley, she’s clearly not at the level where she can make a title change match feel like a big deal yet. This one just felt a little off and seemed reminiscent of past years when the women were booked as an afterthought.
The silver lining though was that the title change felt like a big moment and was sold very well by Naomi and the crowd absolutely loved it. It’s not clear if Naomi is capable of reaching the heights of Becky, Bayley, Sasha, or Charlotte yet, but hopefully it works out. This was a fine start to her reign. (**1/2)
John Cena vs. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Baron Corbin vs. The Miz
This was an elimination chamber match for Cena’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
This was JUST satisfying and enjoyable enough to compensate for the fact that it went on a bit too long and it ended with Bray Wyatt of all people becoming a world champion.
Everyone worked very hard and a number of the eliminations were done quite well. The Big Breakfast being the dominant but overzealous rookie who got caught by Ambrose’s fruit roll-up was fantastic.
It was a great use of ol’ Banter, and his continuous rise over the last few months has been great to witness. The Miz gloriously covering Ambrose after the Breakfast post-elimination attack was almost equally as satisfying. Good stuff.
They also did a great job of eliminating Cena. The match was structured in a way that made you believe he was at least going to be in the final two if not win the whole thing. Bray making John the fourth person eliminated came off very well and gave the AJ/Bray final stretch far more buzz and excitement.
Doing all of this to lead to a Bray Wyatt world title win though is pretty weak though. Bray is far from useless, but he’s not the guy to carry a brand. A Bray/Orton world title match at Wrestlemania also does not really sound all that appealing on paper. Hopefully, it overdelivers though almost every other aspect of the Orton/Wyatt shenanigans.
Overall, this match was fun and only dragged on occasion. The macro booking decisions seem very, very questionable right now, but they at least took a fine journey here. (***1/2)
