WWE Elimination Chamber results — Becky Lynch and Drew McIntyre are headed to WrestleMania،
PERTH, Australia — In the center of Optus Stadium, Rhea Ripley stood alone, holding the women's world championship aloft. Fireworks exploded on the stage and on the roof of the venue as the crowd — they, the Australian crowd — roared their approval as she marked the retention of her title and arranged a meeting with the winner of the women's Elimination Chamber match, Becky Lynch, at WrestleMania XL.
In the men's room, Drew McIntyre, with major help from the already eliminated Logan Paul, pinned Randy Orton to set up a fight with Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. Cody Rhodes and Rollins, meanwhile, were forced to continue their storyline without Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Roman Reigns in a special edition of Grayson Waller Effect, while Finn Balor and Damian Priest retained their undisputed tag team championships against Pete Dunne and Tyler. Fight in an entertaining match with a predictable outcome.
Indeed, the absence of key players such as Reigns and Johnson, as well as CM Punk's injury, meant that the evening, while still entertaining, was largely devoid of surprises. Of course, this is probably a good thing for WrestleMania since it ostensibly ensures that the narratives presented there will have clear underpinnings and motivations.
Here are the highlights from WWE Elimination Chamber 2024:
Rhea Ripley's Night
Indeed, Australia's Ripley, defeating Nia Jax in the main event, at a show in her home country where she was the undisputed face, with her family sitting in the front row and a noisy crowd behind her, was one of the easiest. predictions you might have made before nightfall. And while it was hardly a surprise, it was exactly what we needed.
Getting emotional during her entrance and not quite able to stop herself from bubbling with nervous energy during the match's opening exchanges, Ripley had the crowd eating out of her hand, ending the show with a blast of pyro in and around from Optus Stadium, a hug. with her family and Australian flags scattered in the background as she held up her title.
When it came to the match itself, she was put in a different position, as not only was any pretense that she was portraying her heel persona dropped for the show Down Under – not that her character and appearance meant that she is booed with any ferocity at the match. at the best of times – but he was also asked to portray the less physically dominant underdog.
Doing well to sell the physical toll the contest was taking on her, she was unable to lift Jax for a powerbomb on the outside, leading to her taking a Samoan Drop and an elbow onto the announce table . This finally set the stage for her to rally, get out of an Annihilator, hit a Superplex and a Riptide for the finish.
Already one of the faces of the company and one of the most accomplished women in its history despite being just 27 years old, her performance in Perth and growing momentum could possibly herald a real turnaround ahead of her match with Lynch.
Australians and Australia in the spotlight
Even though not every Australian on the WWE roster was able to appear on the show, Bronson Reed revealed on social media he didn't travel so he could be with his wife during the birth of their child – Ripley's climactic moment was accompanied by two other Australians picking up their flowers in Perth.
Melbourne-born Indi Hartwell appeared on the launch show as she teamed up with Candice LeRae to unsuccessfully challenge the Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) while Waller – as Ripley, nothing he could do couldn't stop him from being given a main role for the evening by the Australian audience – received another show of faith from WWE in being given the task of helping advance the main storyline of the company with Rhodes and Rollins. And it was notable that while his partner Austin Theory ate a Cody Cutter and a Stomp, Waller escaped unscathed. And it was the right decision: WWE was probably aware that top faces Rhodes and Rollins were likely to be booed if they got their hands on the Sydney-born performer.
Time zone challenges and the tyranny of distance with which Australia is forced to compete in most areas mean that, logistically, hosting WWE televised events in Australia is a difficult undertaking. The performers did not return to the hotels after the show, but directly to the airport in order to return to San Jose in time for Monday Night Raw. But with the Western Australian government investing a significant amount of money to bring WWE to Perth as part of its major events-focused strategy to boost tourism, those dollars made sense.
And with WWE Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque taking to the ring before the main event, thanking the crowd and declaring an attendance of 52,590, it was a good night for Australian wrestling.
Becky Lynch goes to Mania but it's Tiffy Time Down Under
Given their interactions at the WrestleMania 40 press conference earlier this month, Lynch still stood out as Ripley's most likely opponent in Philadelphia and The Man made it official on Saturday as she was traveling the country in the women's Elimination Chamber match. After getting things started against Naomi, the Irish-born star then finished the match by pinning Liv Morgan, hitting her with a Manhandle Slam after Morgan rolled up Bianca Belair after Lynch broke free from a KOD attempt.
But again, just because it's the most obvious outcome doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. Having already laid the groundwork, WWE has now set up arguably its two biggest female stars to face off on the biggest stage possible in what will be their first ever one-on-one clash at a Premium Live event.
And importantly, the Chamber has also laid the groundwork for its other competitors to have plenty to do in the weeks to come. Belair's look of frustration and desperation as Lynch celebrated gave her clear opportunities with Lynch and Morgan, and her earlier takedown of Raquel Rodriguez – hitting her with a KOD after the latter hit an impressive double powerbomb – opens the possibility of a program between two power stations. Morgan, for her part, also pinned Tiffany Stratton with a springboard flat on the turnbuckle, earning dangerous chants for work from the crowd after eliminating the weekend's performer.
In her first appearance in a premium live event, a day after putting the Australian crowd on edge at the official media event, Stratton, 24, was extremely impressive in the match, including a memorable dive from the top of a gondola. over a mass of opponents on the grid. The impression she left was so strong that a “Tiffy Time” chant broke out during the men's chamber match later in the series.
Indeed, while Lynch may be headed to WrestleMania, the future may very well turn out to be Tiffy Time's.
Rhodes wants The Rock
Despite the best efforts of Western Australian Prime Minister Roger Cook – who posted a letter to The Rock on social media begging him to travel to the West Indies – there was no surprise appearance on Saturday. Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns was also absent.
Instead, it was left to Rhodes and Rollins to take the next steps on the road to WrestleMania on a Grayson Waller effect, with a challenge then posed for a one-on-one match between Rhodes and Rock (the chant immediate “now” (from the Perth crowd falling on deaf ears). Rollins, who said he was days away from being medically cleared to compete, said the Royal Rumble winner wouldn't take on this challenge alone – ostensibly setting up a tag team match between Rhodes and Rollins on one side and Reigns and Johnson on the other at some point in the future.
Ultimately, without The Bloodline's presence, the segment probably didn't live up to the Perth audience's hopes. After interactions with The Bloodline in recent weeks, Waller has done his best to serve as something of a proxy and antagonist – asking the Perth audience to recognize Reigns and blaming the American education system for Rhodes' inability to complete a storyline – but as a favorite of his home country, he could not provide a major villainous counterpoint to the play's two heroes.
McIntyre keeps rolling, Paul adds more enemies
McIntyre took it to another level in recent months when he took the ball and ran with it after Punk tore his triceps at the Royal Rumble. He will now have the chance to capitalize against Rollins at WrestleMania. Taking the title at Mania, following his victory over Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 36 in an empty Performance Center during COVID, is probably a fitting reward for the Scot who is producing some of the best work of his career.
As Lynch had done in the women's equivalent, the 38-year-old started and finished the chamber, crawling through Orton after a brass knuckles from Paul – who was pinned after an out-of-nowhere RKO moments later previously. Indeed, McIntyre, in keeping with his new heel persona, was quick to take advantage of the misfortune of others in Perth: eliminating Bobby Lashley with a Claymore after he failed to lock in a Hurt Lock on LA Knight (Lashley, who also received a thank you chant for spearing Paul through a pod, sold the arm injury inflicted by Karrion Kross on the pre-taped Smackdown the night before), then eliminated Knight after being beaten by AJ Styles , who had interfered with a chair that he had finally delivered. a clash of styles.
In general, the match had a more violent feel than the Women's Chamber match, with the lugs, chain, and rack being used more as weapons. But it was a slower engraving that lacked the same degree of highlights or artistry as Stratton. That said, Paul now appears to be locked in to face both Orton and Kevin Owens, at least, in the build-up to WrestleMania. Knight, too, will focus on a match with Styles, while the program between Lashley's Hurt Business and Kross' Final Testament faction may add another wrinkle.
Another of the key storylines in the match that will likely play out in the coming weeks was Orton's back, which he sold wonderfully just months after returning from spinal fusion surgery at Survivor Series. Indeed, as McIntyre moves on to a title match, the Chamber was reminded that not only is Orton one of WWE's most popular stars, but he's also one of the best to ever make it to do it.
