Miz is now twice a WWE champion.
WWE
Elimination Chamber 2021 closed with a surprise: The Miz won his Money in the Bank contract and won the WWE Championship from Drew McIntyre. He did this with the help of Bobby Lashley, who after losing his US championship looks like he will rival Drew McIntyre by going to WrestleMania.
He capped a strong pay-per-view, which started with a fantastic Elimination Chamber match won by Daniel Bryan. In what would become the show’s theme, Bryan was immediately defeated by Universal Champion Roman Reigns in the ensuing fight.
Elsewhere, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair failed to win the women’s doubles championship and Riddle won the US title by pinning John Morrison.
Continue reading for a complete recap of the Elimination Chamber.
The Miz makes money and becomes WWE champion
Bobby Lashley ambushed Drew McIntyre after the Chamber, destroying him outside the ring and then placing him in Hurt Lock. Miz’s music played and he ran into the ring, officially discounting his Money in the Bank contract.
The bell rings. Miz got a count of two after a DDT, but managed to win after a Skull Crushing Finale. The show goes off the air while The Miz celebrates its championship victory.
Yes really.
Drew McIntyre maintains the WWE championship
At the show’s main event, Drew McIntyre maintained his WWE championship by winning the Elimination Chamber match. McIntyre eliminated AJ Styles for the last time to maintain his championship.
The fight turned into a final showdown between Sheamus and McIntyre, with Sheamus being the last participant in the match. Sheamus eliminated Kofi Kingston with a Brogue Kick, and McIntyre eliminated Jeff Hardy with a Claymore Kick, so it looked like the two were going to clean the house and battle to close the fight. It was not meant to be, as Sheamus was defeated by AJ Styles after a phenomenal forearm.
Randy Orton was the first to be eliminated, which was also a surprise. Kofi Kingston entered the Chamber in fourth place and quickly caught Orton with a creative roll up. Following his pin, Orton made RKO Kingston and Hardy before leaving. AJ Styles, who had not yet officially entered, took the opportunity to instruct Omos to break down his Chamber door. Omos did, and AJ ran outside and went through the Chamber door and tried, unsuccessfully, to immobilize Kingston and Hardy. Note that this makes absolutely no sense, as AJ is not a nice man until his Chamber door is unlocked. Woe is me.
The fight was good, but much more disjointed than the opening of SmackDown. This is especially true during the period when there were five men still active – AJ, McIntyre, Sheamus, Kingston and Hardy – where there was often action in several areas. But it improved after Hardy and Kingston were eliminated, when AJ, Sheamus and McIntyre closed tight.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax keep the tag titles
Nia Jax defeated Sasha Banks with a Samoan Drop after a bizarre distraction thanks to Reginald, Carmella’s sommelier.
The fight started out slow, with Nia Jax fighting Banks and Bianca Belair. Things got better when Baszler came in, and we finally got a good deed, courtesy of Baszler and Banks’ excellent counter-wrestling. The end came when Jax and Banks were the cool women. Reginald came into the ring with fancy champagne and a glass, and rolled the champagne in the ring while telling Banks to break it because of Jax. Sasha refused and was hit by Jax, Samoan Dropped and then immobilized.
The distraction was planned, Banks looked silly and Jax’s execution was sloppy.
Rating: 2 stars. It seems highly likely that Banks will face Belair at WrestleMania, so this match was hampered by the knowledge that Jax and Baszler would certainly retain. It was also hampered by a bad ending and by Jax, who is usually not much fun to watch. Shayna Baszler dominates with certainty and was the highlight of the match.
Riddle wins the United States Championship
John Morrison replaced Kieth Lee in this fight from the Triple Threat in the United States, which also featured Riddle and champion Bobby Lashley. Riddle won the fun fight by pinning Morrison.
It all started with Lashley being a monster, easily destroying Riddle and Morrison. Riddle and Morrison then decide to team up to bring the beast down. At first, even that doesn’t work, but eventually they get the better of Lashley and cripple him with some offense together.
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 swings him with a V-Trigger ripchord, but Lashley ends up cleaning the house. Morrison takes MVP’s crutches and tries to hit Lashley, but Lashley avoids him and puts Morrison on Hurt Lock. Riddle takes the crutch and smashes Lashley in the back – the announcers quickly tell us it’s No Disqualifications – causing Lashley to step back and regroup outside.
Riddle then planted Morrison with his BroDerrick headstone for the win. He immediately fled Lashley, a true fighting champion.
Rating: 3.5 stars. A fun game with three talented guys. It’s silly to see Riddle, a supposed baby guy and real-life tough guy, made to look so weak compared to Lashley. But it was nice to see Morrison’s talents on display.
Roman Reigns defeats Daniel Bryan
This Universal Championship match was short but pleasant. Bryan, stumbling and barely able to walk, tells the referee to ring the bell. Roman immediately goes for a spear, but he is hit when Bryan blocks Yes Lock. Announcer Michael Cole is going crazy, shouting that Bryan is going to perform a miracle. Fantastic time.
It was not meant to be, as Reigns fired and bombarded Bryan with mounted punches. He then fought a Guillotine and choked Bryan to victory.
Just as Bryan didn’t have a chance, neither did Reigns. It was launched by Edge, who announced that he would face Reigns at WrestleMania.
Daniel Bryan wins the SmackDown Elimination Chamber
The main show started with the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match. It featured Cesaro, Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Corbin and their eventual winner, Daniel Bryan. Bryan started the fight with Cesaro and, after about 50 excellent minutes, eliminated Jey Uso to win the fight.
After five minutes of solid fighting between Bryan and Cesaro, Corbin was the third to enter the Chamber. He was a destructive machine, knocking them both down and destroying Bryan’s knee. However, Corbin would be the first to leave the Chamber, being eliminated by Cesaro’s sniper.
Zayn was in fourth, followed by Owens and finally Uso. A highlight came when Zayn climbed the Chamber, and was followed by Cesaro. Cesaro, holding on to the top links of the Chamber, kicked Zayn to the floor of the Chamber. Zayn was the second to be eliminated, when Owens surprised him and immobilized him.
After Zayn’s elimination, Uso pinned Owens’s arm to the Chamber door and hit him with superkicks. He then immobilized him after a splash from the upper rope.
After Cesaro eliminated Uso on the outside, we had an excellent round-trip action between Cesaro and Bryan. The moment it looked like Cesaro was going to eliminate Bryan – amid a one-legged Giant Swing on Bryan’s injured leg – he received a Use superkick. Usage then immobilized Cesaro with a splash of upper rope.
Use and Bryan remained. Usage promptly nailed Bryan by two. He then climbed the top of a Chamber pod and attempted a giant splash, but Bryan lifted his knees and hit Uso with his knee running for a restraint, winning his third fight in the Chamber.
The good news? Bryan wins a chance against the Roman Reigns Universal Championship. The bad news? Roman Reigns leaves immediately to start this match. No rest for Bryan.
Rating: 4.5 stars. Excellent material. Bryan fans like me are likely to be disappointed: it looks like their victory will be worthless, as Reigns now focuses on his WrestleMania fight with Edge. In fact, Bryan was probably chosen to win the Chamber over Cesaro, precisely to lose to Reigns. Nevertheless, this was an excellent fight.
Kickoff Show Results
John Morrison defeated Ricochet, Elias and Ali to win a spot in the triple fight for the United States Championship at the main show. Bobby Lashley will now defend his US title against Morrison and Riddle.
Morrison won the fight by wrapping Ali up while Ali was distracted by his powerbombing Ricochet from the Retribution faction outside.