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Elimination Chamber (2018)

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Elimination Chamber (2018)
Promotional poster featuring the WWE wrestlers of the men's and women's Elimination Chamber matches
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
DateFebruary 25, 2018
CityParadise, Nevada
VenueT-Mobile Arena
WWE Network event chronology
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Royal Rumble (2018) 		Next →
Fastlane (2018)
Elimination Chamber chronology
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Elimination Chamber (2018) (also known as No Escape (2018) in Germany[1][a]) is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for the Raw brand. It will take place on February 25, 2018, at T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas Valley, in Paradise, Nevada.[2] It will be the eighth event under the Elimination Chamber chronology and the final Raw-exclusive pay-per-view under the second brand split as following WrestleMania 34, all WWE pay-per-views will be dual-branded, featuring wrestlers from both the Raw and SmackDown brands.[3] The 2018 event will also be the first to feature a seven-man Elimination Chamber match, and the first event to include a women's Elimination Chamber match.

Storylines

The card will include matches resulting from scripted storylines and have results predetermined by WWE on the Raw brand.[4][5] Storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television show Monday Night Raw.[6] The card will be highlighted by two Elimination Chamber matches, one of which will be the first to involve women, and the men’s chamber match will be the first to have seven participants.

At the Royal Rumble, Shinsuke Nakamura won the men's Royal Rumble match and decided to stay on SmackDown to challenge for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34.[7] This left Brock Lesnar, who at the same event retained his Universal Championship in a triple threat match against Braun Strowman and Kane,[7] without an opponent at WrestleMania. In response, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle scheduled an Elimination Chamber match to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania. Six qualification matches were scheduled. The first three were contested on the January 29 episode of Raw. In the first, Strowman defeated Kane in a last man standing match to qualify. Kane was taken to a local medical center after the match. Elias then qualified by defeating "Woken" Matt Hardy after a distraction from Bray Wyatt, and free agent John Cena defeated Finn Bálor to qualify.[8][9] The following week, Elias defeated Cena and Strowman in a triple threat match to determine who would get to enter the chamber last. That same episode, Roman Reigns and Intercontinental Champion The Miz qualified by defeating Wyatt and Apollo Crews, respectively.[10] On the next episode, Cena defeated The Miz in a match where the loser would enter the chamber first. Later, the final qualification match took place in what was originally a second chance fatal four-way match between Bálor, Wyatt, Hardy, and Crews. However, Angle added Seth Rollins, thus making it a fatal five-way. Rollins and Bálor both simultaneously pinned Wyatt,[11] and it was decided that both would be a part of the Elimination Chamber match, marking the first chamber match to feature seven participants.[12] The following week, all seven men participated in a Gauntlet match that began with Reigns and Rollins. Reigns was eliminated followed by Cena. Elias then eliminated Rollins, but was in turn eliminated by Bálor, who was eliminated by The Miz. Strowman won the Gauntlet match by pinning The Miz in what was the longest match in WWE history, lasting nearly two hours.[13]

On the January 29 episode of Raw, Commissioner Stephanie McMahon convinced Asuka, who won the inaugural women's Royal Rumble match the previous night at the Royal Rumble,[7] to wait until after Elimination Chamber to pick which championship to challenge for at WrestleMania 34, as Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss was scheduled to defend her title in the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match.[9] The following week, General Manager Kurt Angle announced that Bayley, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, Sasha Banks, and Sonya Deville would be the other competitors in the match. Bliss came out and questioned Angle as to why she had to defend her title in the Elimination Chamber match while Universal Champion Brock Lesnar did not and accused Angle of sexism. Angle retorted that Lesnar retained his title at the Royal Rumble, but Bliss had not defended her title since TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in October. Bliss made the point that she was not the one who schedules matches. Angle then took an audience vote if Bliss should defend the title, and the audience agreed that she should.[10] The following week, Bayley defeated Banks, and Rose and Deville defeated Bliss and James, who Bliss tried to befriend.[11] The next episode, Bayley, Banks, and James defeated Bliss, Rose, and Deville by submission, after which, the woman brawled.[13]

On the January 15 episode of Raw, Asuka defeated Nia Jax after the referee stopped the match, who deemed Jax unable to continue.[14] Both then competed in the inaugural women's Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble, which Asuka won for the right to challenge for either the Raw Women's Championship or SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 34.[7] On the February 5 episode of Raw, General Manager Kurt Angle announced that Jax would face Asuka at Elimination Chamber and if she were to defeat Asuka, Jax would be added to Asuka's championship match at WrestleMania to make it a triple threat match.[10] The following week, after a match between Bayley and Sasha Banks, Jax attacked both women to send a message to Asuka. Whilst walking up the ramp, she proclaimed that she would be the one to end Asuka's undefeated streak.[11] The following week, Jax attacked and laid out Asuka during her interview with Renee Young.[13]

Following Asuka's Royal Rumble match victory at the Royal Rumble, former UFC star Ronda Rousey made an appearance and interrupted Asuka, Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, and SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair. Rousey's appearance confirmed that she had signed full-time with WWE.[7] On the February 12 episode of Raw, it was announced that Rousey would sign her Raw contract at Elimination Chamber.[11][15]

After losing a feud to Elias, Matt Hardy was defeated by Bray Wyatt on the November 27, 2017 episode of Raw. Following the match, Hardy had a mental breakdown where he sat in the corner and repeatedly shouted "delete" with an arm gesture.[16] This would be the genesis of Hardy's transition into "Woken" Matt Hardy (WWE's version of his "Broken" gimmick from Impact Wrestling) where he debuted as the character the following week, interrupting a promo by Wyatt.[17] Over the following month, the two went back and forth in promos as well as a couple of in-ring confrontations, and they finally had a match on Raw 25 on January 22, 2018 in which Wyatt again defeated Hardy.[18] The two then faced off in the Royal Rumble match, where they eliminated each other.[7] On the February 19 episode of Raw, another match between the two was scheduled for Elimination Chamber.[13]

Matches

No.Matches*Stipulations
1Braun Strowman vs. Elias vs. Finn Bálor vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. The MizElimination Chamber match for a WWE Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 34[19]
2Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Mickie James vs. Sasha Banks vs. Sonya DevilleElimination Chamber match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[20]
3Asuka vs. Nia JaxSingles match; If Jax wins, she will be added to Asuka's championship match at WrestleMania 34[21]
4"Woken" Matt Hardy vs. Bray WyattSingles match[22]
5Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Titus O'Neil and Apollo CrewsTag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship[23]
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
*Card subject to change


Notes

  1. ^ For Germany, it was feared that the name "Elimination Chamber" may remind people of the gas chambers used during the Holocaust.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "WWE No Escape". WWE (in German). Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 tickets available now". WWE. February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  3. ^ WWE.com Staff (February 17, 2018). "WWE pay-per-views just got bigger for 2018!". WWE.com. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  4. ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  5. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  6. ^ Steinberg, Brian (2016-05-25). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Powell, Jason. "WWE Royal Rumble 2018 live review: Men's and Women's Royal Rumble matches, Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane for the WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a handicap match for the WWE Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  8. ^ "Elimination Chamber Qualifying Matches begin". WWE. January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Powell, Jason. "WWE Raw Live TV Review: Three Elimination Chamber qualifying matches, The Miz vs. Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Title, the night after the Royal Rumble". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Keller, Wade (February 5, 2018). "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 2/5: Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt in Elimination Chamber qualifying match, more Elimination Chamber developments". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d Powell, Jason. "WWE Raw Live TV Review: Finn Balor vs. Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Apollo Crews in a four-way Elimination Chamber qualifying match, Sasha Banks vs. Bayley". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  12. ^ Martin, Adam. "Ronda Rousey to sign contract at Elimination Chamber, Men's Chamber match gets big change". WrestleView. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d Powell, Jason. "WWE Raw Live TV Review: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias vs. Seth Rollins in a gauntlet match match, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Mickie James vs. Alexa Bliss, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville, final push for WWE Elimination Chamber". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  14. ^ Keller, Wade (January 15, 2018). "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 1/15: Angle addresses Strowman after last week's big angle with Lesnar and Kane, more Rumble hype, Jax vs. Asuka". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Burdick, Michael (February 12, 2018). "Ronda Rousey's official Raw Contract Signing to take place at WWE Elimination Chamber". WWE. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  16. ^ Keller, Wade (November 27, 2017). "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 11/27: Reigns addresses crowd with his newly won IC Title, Elias vs. Reigns, Page & Co. vs. Mickey & Sasha & Bayley". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  17. ^ Keller, Wade (December 4, 2017). "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 12/4: Reigns defends IC Title against mystery opponents, Sasha vs. Paige, Cruiserweight Fatal Four-way, Bar vs. Shield". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  18. ^ Keller, Wade (January 22, 2018). "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 1/22: 25th Anniversary of Monday Night Raw including Vince McMahon, Two Locations, Parade of Superstars". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  19. ^ Pappolla, Ryan (January 29, 2018). "Men's Elimination Chamber Match (Winner to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at WrestleMania". WWE. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  20. ^ Burdick, Michael. "The first-ever Women's Elimination Chamber Match". WWE. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  21. ^ Burdick, Michael. "Asuka vs. Nia Jax". WWE. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  22. ^ Burdick, Michael. ""Woken" Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt". WWE. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  23. ^ Middleton, Marc. "New Title Match Set For WWE Elimination Chamber". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
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