RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss retained her title at tonight’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in the first-ever women’s Chamber match. Bliss will now go on to defend her title at WrestleMania 34.
Below are photos and videos from tonight’s match along with entrances & eliminations:
Order of Entrances:
1. Bayley
2. Sonya Deville
3. Mandy Rose
4. Mickie James
5. Sasha Banks
6. RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss
Order of Eliminations:
1. Mandy Rose (eliminated by Sasha Banks)
2. Sonya Deville (eliminated by Mickie James)
3. Mickie James (eliminated by Bayley)
4. Bayley (eliminated by Alexa Bliss)
5. Sasha Banks (defeated by Alexa Bliss)
The New Day defeated Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin on tonight’s WWE SmackDown to become the new #1 contenders to SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos.
The New Day will get their title shot at the March 11th WWE Fastlane pay-per-view from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.
Randy Orton vs. WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode has also been announced for Fastlane, as has Ruby Riott vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
Below is the updated Fastlane card:
Fatal 5 Way for the WWE Title
Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin vs. AJ Styles
WWE United States Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode
SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
The New Day vs. The Usos
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte Flair
The main event of the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view will now be a Fatal 5 Way with WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler.
Tuesday’s SmackDown opened with Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler with the winner earning a spot in the Fastlane main event but that match never happened due to beatdowns from Sami and Owens. The blue brand bosses then booked Sami vs. Ziggler and Owens vs. Corbin singles matches with Corbin and Ziggler advancing to Fastlane if they won their matches, which they did.
Fastlane takes place on March 11th from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio and will be the final pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34.
The main event of the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view will see WWE Champion AJ Styles defend his title against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a Triple Threat.
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan made the Triple Threat after tonight’s #1 contenders match between Sami and Owens ended with no winner and interference from the WWE Champion, who was on commentary.
Fastlane will be the final WWE pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34, where Styles is currently scheduled to defend against Shinsuke Nakamura. No other Fastlane matches have been announced as of this writing but we will keep you updated.
Fastlane takes place on March 11th from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Below are a few photos and videos from tonight’s SmackDown main event:
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan revealed the first SmackDown Top 10 List on tonight’s episode. The new ranking system is voted on weekly by the SmackDown Superstars but they cannot cast votes in their own name.
Bryan noted that he and SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon also have no input on the rankings.
The first edition of the SmackDown Live Top 10 List was:
10. Tye Dillinger
9. Randy Orton
8. Becky Lynch
7. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos
6. The New Day
5. WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode
4. Naomi
3. Shinsuke Nakamura
2. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
1. WWE Champion AJ Styles
It was noted before that Bryan and Shane will use this list to make brand decisions and to plan matches. A new list will be revealed each Tuesday night.
Monday’s WWE RAW saw two Superstars qualify for the men’s Elimination Chamber spot to pick up the 4th and 5th spots – Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt and WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz defeated Apollo Crews.
Next week’s RAW from San Jose will see one Superstar pick up the 6th and final men’s Chamber spot as Wyatt, Crews, Matt Hardy and Finn Balor compete in a Second Chance Fatal 4 Way.
In other men’s Chamber news from tonight’s RAW, Elias defeated Braun Strowman and John Cena in the main event to earn the final entrance during the Chamber match. Elias now has the advantage of entering the Chamber last at #6.
RAW also saw General Manager Kurt Angle announce 5 female Superstars to challenge RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss in the first-ever women’s Chamber match – Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Mickie James. Angle then announced Nia Jax vs. Asuka in singles action for the Chamber pay-per-view. Per the stipulations, Jax will earn a spot in the WrestleMania 34 RAW Women’s Title match to make it a Triple Threat with Asuka and the champion, if she wins the singles match at the Chamber pay-per-view.
The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view takes place on February 25th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This will be the final RAW pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34. Below is the updated card coming out of tonight’s RAW:
Elimination Chamber to Crown a New WWE Universal Title #1 Contender
John Cena vs. Elias vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. TBA Elias enters at #6. Winner faces WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34.
First-Ever Women’s Elimination Chamber for the RAW Women’s Title
Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Mickie James vs. Sonya Deville vs. Sasha Banks vs. Champion Alexa Bliss Winner defends against Asuka or Asuka & Nia Jax at WrestleMania 34.
Asuka vs. Nia Jax If Jax wins, she’s added to the title match at WrestleMania 34 to make it a Triple Threat with Asuka and the champion.
Next week’s WWE SmackDown in Kansas City will feature Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens to crown a new #1 contender to the WWE Title. The winner will go on to face WWE Champion AJ Styles in the main event of the March 11th WWE Fastlane pay-per-view from Columbus, Ohio, which will be the final pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34.
Sami vs. Owens was made after SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan acknowledged the referee made a bad call in AJ’s 2-on-1 Handicap Match win over Sami and Owens at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday.
Next Tuesday’s SmackDown will also feature WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode defending his title against Rusev. Rusev earned the title shot by winning a Fatal 4 Way over Kofi Kingston, Jinder Mahal and Zack Ryder on tonight’s SmackDown.
Stephanie McMahon kicked off this week’s week’s edition of Monday Night Raw with a major announcement. Next month, the RAW Women’s Championship will be on the line in the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match.
Alexa Bliss will defend her title against 5 other competitors still to be determined.
The men’s Elimination Chamber match to determine Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania opponent will also feature 6 competitors. Qualifying matches for that match will take place over the next two weeks.
WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 takes place on Sunday, February 25th from Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena.
Ronda Rousey was interviewed by WWE after her big debut at the conclusion of Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view from Philadelphia. The former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion interrupting Asuka’s post-Rumble win, just as it appeared Asuka would declare if she’ll challenge for the RAW or SmackDown Women’s championship at WrestleMania. Rousey pointed at the WrestleMania 34 sign, took a look at both titles and tried to shake Asuka’s hand but Asuka slapped it away. Rousey also shook Stephanie McMahon’s hand at ringside to squash their storyline beef.
Rousey says she really doesn’t know how to process everything but this is not something she does every day and is something very different from fighting. Rousey says it was a real pleasure being able to soak everything up and she’s very aware of how lucky she is. Rousey says coming to WWE has been her dream since before she could talk. She talks about asking late WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper if she could use the “Rowdy” nickname when she got into MMA. Rousey says no matter what else she did in life, pro wrestling kept following her around and it was time to take a hint from the WWE Universe.
Rousey also reveals that the leather jacket she wore at the Rumble was brought to her by Piper’s son Colt, who flew the jacket in from Las Vegas to Philadelphia. Rousey says she wants people to remember Piper every time she’s out there and says she wouldn’t be here or had her run in UFC if it weren’t for Piper. Rousey says Piper taught her so much from afar and showed her that she can also touch people from afar. Rousey says she is a better person because Piper lived.
Regarding the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match, Rousey says she was thinking about how a women’s Rumble would have been laughed at before and how she’s been laughed out of gyms in the past. Rousey says women have been brushed aside in combat sports for so long but to see everyone give a standing ovation to the women’s Rumble was big, and how fans were really invested in the match, and how it was well-accepted by the fans, not forced on them. Rousey says she didn’t even know about women’s wrestlers when she was a kid but she wants to make sure there’s not another generation that doesn’t know about women’s wrestlers when they’re little.
When asked about pointing to the WrestleMania 34 sign, Rousey says she thinks it’s a big fat hint that she’s going to be there in New Orleans at the big event.
As seen Sunday night at the Royal Rumble, the big surprise of the men’s battle royal was Rey Mysterio making his first time in a WWE ring in several years. According to sources close to the situation, the deal for Mysterio to participate in the event came together over the past week. The company did a great job of keeping it a secret.
At this time, Mysterio’s appearance in the Rumble was a one-time thing, although his strong performance could motivate WWE to try signing him. It’s worth noting that Mysterio has been training his son Dominick, so the prospect of plugging back into the WWE machine could be an appealing prospect for Mysterio.
The former World Heavyweight champion (and 2006 Royal Rumble winner) had been negotiating with Impact Wrestling to appear at their most recent set of tapings, but Impact couldn’t close the deal.
Mysterio looked to be in peak physical shape on Sunday night, sporting a tanned physique that was leaner and more athletic than his last WWE run when he was carrying a lot more muscle. Mysterio has reportedly undergone stem cell treatments on his knees, which have allowed him to compete at a level not seen in a decade.
– Below is video of Charly Caruso talking to “The Hurricane” Shane Helms after his quick Royal Rumble appearance on Sunday. Helms says the WWE Universe spoke to him again and as soon as the music hit, the signal went up and it said stand back as the Universe knew a hurricane was coming. Helms tells Cathy to always remember through howling winds and pouring rain, all evil shall fear The Hurricane.
– WWE posted this new promo for The Road to WrestleMania 34 on the WWE Network – RAW’s Elimination Chamber on February 25th, SmackDown’s Fastlane on March 11th and the biggest show of the year on April 8th.
– RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle and SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon tweeted the following on the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches, which were won by Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka. As noted, Nakamura vs. WWE Champion AJ Styles is the only official match for WrestleMania 34 as of this writing.
I could not be more proud of all the women who competed in the first ever women’s #RoyalRumble match and every woman who paved the way. Their sacrifices, their perseverance, and their incredible talent led to this moment. I’m in awe. Congrats ladies, you deserve it! #RumbleForAll
– Below is video of Heath Slater talking to Charly Caruso after his WWE Royal Rumble appearance on Sunday. Slater says he eliminated new RAW Tag Team Champion Sheamus in .8 seconds, beating the previous 1 second record set by Kane and Santino Marella. Rhyno joins the interview and gives Slater props for showing a side he’s never seen before. Rhyno says Slater never gave up and that’s what matters.
– Ronda Rousey returned to the ringside area after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view went off the air and greeted fans who were hanging around. Below is video from the post-show segment:
– WWE Champion AJ Styles posted the following Twitter comments after his win over Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in the 2-on-1 Handicap Match at the Royal Rumble and after Shinsuke Nakamura won the men’s Rumble match to earn a WrestleMania 34 title shot:
They wanted the match. They got the match. But they were never going to get my title.
Time to watch the Men’s #RoyalRumble match with MY @WWE Championship.
– Below is video of Rey Mysterio talking to Cathy Kelley after his return in the 30-man Royal Rumble match on Sunday. Rey says it was awesome to hear the WWE Universe react to his return and he’s truly blessed to come back and realize that the fans and WWE family hasn’t forgot about him.
– Below is video from Ronda Rousey’s first official photoshoot with WWE. As noted, the former UFC Champion has reportedly signed a full-time deal with WWE.
– Sheamus tweeted the following after he and Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan to become the new RAW Tag Team Champions at the Royal Rumble. As noted, The Bar are now four-time RAW Tag Team Champions.
The Bar #4time Raw Tag Team Champs on my 40th… 4x @ 40. Made up for being eliminated No.11 entrant at the #RoyalRumble in 1 second. #11 in 1… numbers can make or break ya. pic.twitter.com/ryohzoYywt
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos spoke to Charly Caruso after retaining in the 2-of-3 Falls Match over Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin at the WWE Royal Rumble on Sunday night. They brag on making it through 2 falls, their success in Philadelphia and how they are still the champions, then leave to go celebrate.
– WWE announced 17,629 fans in attendance at the sold-out Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for this year’s Rumble pay-per-view. WWE announced 17,289 fans for the 2004 Rumble and 17,164 fans in attendance for the 2015 Rumble, which both took place in the same arena.
– Shinsuke Nakamura reveals why he chose AJ Styles as his ideal opponent at WrestleMania 34 after The King of Strong Style finally “did it” in the 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble Match.
– As noted, Nigel McGuinness did not call Saturday’s WWE NXT “Takeover: Philadelphia” event as he was under the weather. F4Wonline.com notes that Nigel is currently recovering from the flu. Takeover was called by Mauro Ranallo and Percy Watson.
– As noted, Alicia Fox was pulled from the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match due to an injury. WWE reports that Fox is suffering from a broken tailbone. A new Mixed Match Challenge partner for Goldust should be revealed this week. Fox wrote the following on missing tonight’s big match:
We noted last week that it appeared Samir Singh suffered an injury during the ringside angle with WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode in the tournament match with Jinder Mahal.
Samir missed weekend WWE live events and was not at tonight’s SmackDown but took to Instagram during the show and revealed that he tore his ACL and underwent surgery.
No word yet on a timetable for Singh’s return but the usual recovery time for a torn ACL is 6 to 9 months. This is the same injury that Big Cass is currently recovering from after suffering the injury in August 2017.
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan opened tonight’s WWE 205 Live episode and announced that Enzo Amore has dropped the WWE Cruiserweight Title and will no longer be a part of the brand. Bryan then announced that a new 205 Live General Manager will be named next week and their first task will be to address the status of the vacant Cruiserweight Title.
Enzo was fired by WWE today after a woman claims he raped her at a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona last October. The Phoenix Police have been looking into the allegations since last October. The woman went public with detailed of the alleged assault today and Enzo responded with a statement from his lawyer, denying everything.
You can see video of the accuser talking about the alleged incident at this link and you can read the statement from Enzo’s lawyer at this link.
– Below is backstage video of Curt Hawkins and The Brooklyn Brawler at RAW 25. Brawler says he can feel what Hawkins is going through with the losing streak and he can relate. Brawler tells Hawkins to never get down on himself because eventually he will win.
– Matt Hardy talks to Dasha Fuentes after his loss to Bray Wyatt at RAW 25. Hardy says he was happy to have the Manhattan Center as a battlefield in The Great War but he is disappointed. Matt says this was not the outcome he wanted but he will get revenge at the Royal Rumble on Sunday because he will delete until Wyatt and Sister Abigail are over.
– Christian’s Peep Show segment at Monday’s RAW 25 event was originally scheduled to take place inside the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, according to PWInsider. The segment was held at the Barclays Center with appearances by The Bar and RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan. Below is video from the segment:
– Below is video of WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus talking to Charly Caruso after her brief appearance at RAW 25 on Monday night. Trish talks about how it always feels familiar when she returns, no matter how long she’s been gone, and how the fans still pop for her after all this time.
– As noted, Chris Jericho returned to WWE TV for RAW 25 and did a backstage segment with Elias, adding him to The List. Below is Fallout video with Jericho adding more names to The List – Tom Phillips, Mike Rome, Cathy Kelley and others working backstage.
– Below are videos of The Balor Club reflecting on their big RAW 25 moment with DX, Triple H discussing what RAW 25 meant to DX and a rare photo-op with DX, The Balor Club and WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall. Also below is footage of Triple H speaking to the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom after RAW ended.
– Below is new video of WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz talking to Charly Caruso after his big win over Roman Reigns at RAW 25. Miz talks about how fans witnessed a match they will talk about for the next 25 years, and how he’s made the title relevant again. The segment ends with Miz leaving to go to the Manhattan Center for the dark segment with RAW Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins and DX.
– As noted, Jeff Hardy appeared backstage during the poker game that The APA held at RAW 25. Jeff reunited with brother Matt Hardy inside the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom after Matt’s loss to Bray Wyatt. The Hardys’ theme hit to a big pop and out came Jeff to console his brother after the loss. Matt cut a promo on losing a battle in The Great War, then had Jeff sing his “Obsolete” song to taunt Wyatt for a future meeting.
– It looks like WWE Hall of Famer Lita was not invited to the RAW 25 special as she tweeted the following in response to being included on the commemorative ringside chair that fans took home:
– As noted, WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin opened Monday’s RAW 25 special by delivering Stunners to Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon in the opening segment. Austin talks to Mike Rome in this new RAW Fallout video.
Austin says Vince tried to proclaim that he didn’t need anyone’s help while Austin was a big part of the Attitude Era and Vince knows that, and that’s the bottom line. Austin goes on about how it feels good to be here after being out in Los Angeles for a few years. Austin says he showed up, he raised hell and gave a few Stunners for a few time. Austin says he enjoyed talking to the Superstars who are following down the path that he set and the guys that blazed a path before him. Austin says it feels like a big ass family reunion and he’s proud, and happy to be a part of it, to deliver a can of Whoop Ass for the city to watch. Austin then rips into Rome for not having more questions ready for him. Austin calls Rome a chump and tells him to go back and do his homework. Austin wants proper interview time next time he’s back and says Rome is just out of league. Austin calls Rome a piece of trash and rips him a few more times before ending the interview.
– Michael Cole announced 15,990 fans in attendance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Monday’s RAW 25th Anniversary special. WWE did not announce an attendance number for the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom.
– There were two WWE 205 Live dark matches for fans inside the Manhattan Center during the RAW 25 special. The matches aired during commercial breaks of matches at the Barclays Center. The first match saw Mustafa Ali defeat Lince Dorado in around 2 minutes. The second match saw Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa go at it with Tony Nese and Drew Gulak until they brawled into the backstage area. They later brawled back out into the ringside area during another commercial break as fans chanted “bullshit” and “refund” at them. The finish saw Tozawa pin Gulak.
There were several upset fans at the Manhattan Center due to the lack of matches while most of the action went on at the Barclays Center. WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler also suffered from the downtime as they were caught snoozing, seen below:
– Eric Bischoff appeared on Monday’s WWE RAW 25 Kickoff pre-show with Renee Young and Peter Rosenberg and talked about coming to work for Vince McMahon years ago. Bischoff says he felt at home pretty quickly in WWE and says he knew within 3 minutes of his first phone call with Vince McMahon that he was excited to work for him former rival. Video from the segment is below:
– WWE taped the following matches on Monday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for this week’s Main Event episode:
* Goldust vs. Curt Hawkins
* Kalisto and Gran Metalik vs. TJP and Jack Gallagher
– The Undertaker returned to WWE TV on Monday’s RAW 25th Anniversary show and cut an in-ring promo at the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom. Taker talked about how many greats have tried to stop him over the years but they all failed. He then declared that those who have fallen may finally rest in peace. Videos and photos from the segment are below:
There was no dark main event after the WWE RAW 25th Anniversary show went off the air at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn but there was a special dark segment for fans at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom.
That dark segment, which took place after Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeated The Revival with DX, Sean Waltman, WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall and Finn Balor at ringside, saw new WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz cut a promo on DX and The Balor Club. Miz has traveled from the Barclays Center to the Manhattan Center following his big title win over Roman Reigns. Miz ran down DX and The Balor Club, promising not to invite them to the RAW 30th Anniversary special. RAW Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins then came out, which caused the fans to chant ROH. Rollins cut a promo on The Miz and acknowledged winning the ROH Title in this same building, saying he was proud of it. Miz then cut such a good promo that the fans turned and started cheering him on. The segment ended with Rollins hitting his Blackout curb stomp on Miz as a big “suck it!” chant rang out from the crowd.
Triple H then cut a promo to thank fans and the DX theme song played to send everyone home happy.
There was another dark segment that took place following the DX segment at the Manhattan Center with WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. Flair commented on making the mistake of returning to WCW after being at the Manhattan Center for three RAW shows, and talked about how he was lucky to be back with his friends for RAW 25. He put over the members of DX, Waltman and Scott Hall, noting how Shawn gave him the best send-off in the history of sports for his retirement.
Below are a few photos from both segments:
Worth the wait! #RAW25 seeing DX HHH Shawn Michaels Road Digg Billy Gunn x PAC Razor & Ric Flair! Wrestling Royalty. Great seeing them all at #RAW25pic.twitter.com/D1ecCkMrQE
One last moment for the live crowd – Seth Rollins made his way over to the Manhattan Center just to hit a Blackout on The Miz to send the crowd home just a little bit happier. pic.twitter.com/Uewy8qkXsd
WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin returned to TV on tonight’s RAW 25th Anniversary show for the opening segment with Vince McMahon, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon.
Austin hit a Stone Cold Stunner on Shane before ending the segment with a Stunner to Vince. Austin also celebrated with several beers.
Below are photos and videos from tonight’s segment, which opened the show from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn: