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Deadseriousness 2024 WWE Elimination Chamber Review: Rhea Ripley Becomes a Legend

From AJ Styles’s Quick Pay Day to Finn Balor’s thumb, let’s talk about 2024 WWE Elimination Chamber

2024 wwe elimination chamber

This Saturday was the 2024 WWE Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia. I’ve always loved the Chamber. Perhaps that’s childhood nostalgia seeping into my subconscious as I can never forget Shawn Michaels in the dookie brown tights but yea, 6 main eventers in a cage match. Let’s gooooo.

Disclaimer: I did not watch the preshow tag team title match but I hope the 3 or 4 Candice LaRae stans got what they needed. I did not wake up at 5am to watch this so I was able to fast-forward through the 2 bald-headed kickoff show and get right to the women’s chamber but again, congrats to Candice and Indi Hartwell for getting that PPV check.

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match — Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair vs. Liv Morgan vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Raquel Rodriguez

I want to briefly talk about Jade Cargill for a second. How bad is this woman at wrestling that she wasn’t capable of taking Raquel Rodriguez’s spot in this match? And no offense to Raquel, I see her back and everything but Jade should be shoulder to shoulder with Bianca Belair and Tiffany Stratton more often than not.

I’m rooting for Jade. Just not sure what part of the in-ring stuff she’s struggling with. She could drop everyone on their heads and I’d still rather see her in this Chamber than Raquel. And again, no offense to Raquel and her (kinda normal looking) traps.

The match starts with Becky and Naomi doing some wrasslin’ for a bit. I always forget Naomi’s signature move is slamming her pelvis onto the mat but she quickly reminded me when she did her pussy pulverizer off the cage onto Becky.

The match turned up when the best wrestler in the event entered the ring: Tiffany Stratton.

Stratton brings a level of athleticism that’s never really existed in women’s wrestling or specifically in WWE’s women’s wrestling. Charlotte Flair does flips and cartwheels and shit but she often moves in slow motion. Look at the first step Stratton takes before she runs. She moves like Ronda Rousey used to in UFC before any of the women were talented enough to beat her. Or Jackie Robinson against the old whites.

And I loved the old-school booking of everyone kicking the rookie’s ass. Tiffany Stratton took every big bump from Liv Morgan slamming her back and forth into the pods to Becky putting Tiffany in an armbar through the chainlink Chamber wall—it felt like there was a concerted effort to test her and I think she passed with flying colors.

Every time I see Bianca Belair in a ring I’m quickly reminded why they tried to make her Super Cena. She has all the tools to be the greatest of all time. I would’ve loved a Rhea/Bianca program but I don’t think it’s a coincidence these two classmates are being kept away from each other. I’m sure WWE knows they can break glass in case of emergency and bust this feud out whenever they need it.

If we are to understand title matches as rewards for one’s work, Becky Lynch is easily the most deserving among these women. Sure, Liv Morgan has more of a story as being the last woman to pin Rhea but Becky has earned her Wrestlemania match.

She started the year in a feud to help legitimize Damage Control then carried Trish Stratus through a cage match and finished 2023 building Tiffany Stratton and Zoey Stark into viable contenders.

Good for Becky. Rhea is going to beat the brakes off her.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship — Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) (c) vs. Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate

These boys sure were flipping. All I can think while watching this match is remembering all the tag team turmoil matches I watched as a kid where random tag teams would all battle and there would be like, 12 bodies flipping everywhere. I think Bubba Ray Dudley was literally in all of them.

Perhaps Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate can restore that feeling.

But as far as this match goes specifically, whatever.

I will say, it was very cool to see an entire country boo Rey Mysterio’s son. Personally, I’m completely done with any Judgement Day-related anything but I’d be okay with Dom and Rhea breaking off and continuing their own thing without their weird uncles slipping on banana peels every week.

Oh wait, we should talk about Finn Balor’s thumb almost snapping off at the end of the match. He hits his stomp but I reckon he lands with his full weight onto his thumb and just screams in agony for a few minutes while Damian Priest sort of just ignores him.

Death. Taxes. Finn Balor suffering a brutal injury.

Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins appeared on The Grayson Waller Effect

The biggest storyline heading into Wrestlemania is Cody Rhodes vs. The Rock and Roman Reigns and neither Rock nor Roman appeared at Elimination Chamber so Cody has to carry Wrestlemania 40 on his back talking to ghosts.

Seth announced he’s almost medically cleared to wrestle which is weird because there’s a no. 1 contender’s match for his title like, 6 minutes after this and there probably shouldn’t be if you can’t wrestle, right?

Men’s Elimination Chamber Match — Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton vs. Bobby Lashley vs. LA Knight vs. Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul

Randy Orton and Bobby Lashley are a combined 90 years old and were in the best shape of anyone in this match. Veins oooozing with the most exotic HGH on the planet. That shit Bane from the comic books has running through his bloodstream.

I was surprised by how much I liked Drew McIntyre and LA Knight working each other. For whatever reason, I thought it would be way clunkier and stiff but the boys did their thing to start this match.

At one point, the two elderly men were both in excruciating pain. Lashley, after he speared Logan Paul through plexiglass and Orton, after, well, every single thing he did. And I have no idea if either was actually injured but in a match with six men in the ring, I wish they didn’t do two fake-injury spots. Especially following the CM Punk tricep tear. Sometimes, I just want to watch a match and not be concerned someone hurt themselves.

Anyway, I want to quickly run through my favorite spots in the match:

  • AJ Styles took a 24-hour flight to Australia to do about five minutes worth of work in this match. That check must’ve been a new house for the Styles family.
  • I think I’ve complained about the Claymore kick in the past but it was the best part of this Elimination Chamber. Perhaps it was the way it was shot and performed as if he was catching his victims sleeping instead of shouting 1, 2, 3 before delivering it. The Claymore Kick is incredible when it’s used more like the RKO out of nowhere instead of the Sweet Chin Music.

Women’s World Championship — Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Nia Jax

We essentially just watched an entire show dedicated to Rhea Ripley and Nia Jax surprisingly didn’t send her to hospital. Or, we don’t know that for sure. At one point, Nia slams Rhea through the announce table but she doesn’t clear off the tablets and slams Rhea’s back directly onto the monitors.

Otherwise, shout out to Nia. She did exactly what she was supposed to do. Be Andre The Giant to Rhea’s Hulk Hogan in front of her home crowd. Nice.

What a year by Rhea. Sure, she didn’t have any great feuds or any match anywhere near as impressive as her original victory over Charlotte Flair at Wrestlemania 39 but she was easily the second-biggest star on Raw behind Cody Rhodes and she’s about to have another classic Wrestlemania banger with Becky Lynch to load up her resume.

 

 

 

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Written by thelesterlee

Creator of Deadseriousness. Diehard Knicks, Yankees and Giants fan who wants to create a sports and pop culture space that isn't the same copy and pasted AI content you see everywhere else.

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