Sami Zayn nearly handed his hometown Montreal fans the win they craved at WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 on Saturday night in Montreal.
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Sami Zayn nearly delivered his hometown Montreal supporters the win they craved on Saturday night in Montreal. However, in the main event of the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Zayn fell short of capturing the undisputed WWE global championship from Roman Reigns.
Zayn gave Reigns all he could handle for more than 30 minutes, earning many near-falls and pushing the champion to his maximum. Yet, when three referees were knocked out and Jimmy Uso intervened on Reigns’ side, Zayn eventually fell short, but he did receive some post-match vengeance thanks to Kevin Owens.
Elsewhere at the event, Austin Theory retained his United States championship following a crazy Elimination Chamber match courtesy of Logan Paul’s intervention. On the women’s side, Asuka defeated five other ladies in the Chamber to earn a WrestleMania showdown with Raw women’s champion Bianca Belair.
The women’s Elimination Chamber fight was one of the most entertaining matches we’ve seen in a long time, but it was all about turning one lady into a celebrity. Asuka has been practising on a new level since her comeback at the Royal Rumble. She has taken on the character of her previous Counterpart and has become the most lethal lady on the team.
The Empress of tomorrow was responsible for two of the five contestants that were eliminated on her own and two with the assistance of others. She definitely had the most dominant run in a contest that featured several outstanding efforts.
The way she was scheduled in this match suggests that management regards this version of her persona as essential to the division’s future; more marketable, and maybe the one to dethrone Bianca Belair at WrestleMania. Following years of erratic booking, it appears like WWE has finally figured out how to use Asuka to her greatest potential. Let us hope that this is all it takes to keep The Empress in the limelight.
Winner: Asuka
| Order | Entrant | Elimination |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liv Morgan | Nikki Cross (Rodriguez) |
| 2 | Natalya | Liv Morgan (Natalya, Asuka) |
| 3 | Raquel Rodriguez | Natalya (Carmella) |
| 4 | Nikki Cross | Raquel Rodriguez (Carmella, Asuka) |
| 5 | Carmella | Carmella (Asuka) |
| 6 | Asuka | Winner: Asuka |
This was hyped as the huge rematch between Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley after their first meeting ended with a relatively cheap pin from The Beast Incarnate, therefore many fans expected a cleaner finish. Lesnar’s match ended after he administered a low blow to prevent tapping out to The Hurt Lock, resulting in a DQ.
The Beast then proceeded to demolish the ringside area and eliminate the referee before departing. We didn’t get a Hurt Business reunion, we didn’t get Bray Wyatt to follow up on his SmackDown promo, and we didn’t get a satisfactory finish.
With Wyatt putting down a challenge for ‘Mania, it’s difficult to predict how this will play out. That might develop into a Triple Threat, but we’ll have to wait and see how WWE handles it in the following weeks.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Edge pounced on Balor quickly before tagging in Phoenix for a double-team. Ripley and Phoenix exchanged insults, followed by clotheslines, with neither lady falling. After taking control, Ripley sought for Riptide, but Phoenix managed to flee before ultimately dropping Ripley with a clothesline.
Dominic Mysterio attempted to distract Phoenix, causing her to pursue him before redirecting her focus to Ripley and forcing her down the ring steps. Mysterio interfered once more, crouching Phoenix on the top rope before being driven away by Edge.
Momentum remained high, with Mysterio coming to ringside only to be met with a superplex by Ripley. Edge and Phoenix both had submissions locked in, but Mysterio tossed brass knuckles into the ring for Ripley to save.
Ripley attempted to strike Phoenix with a Con-chair-to outside the ring, but Phoenix evaded to hit a Glam Slam. Returning in the ring, Phoenix and Edge used a Shatter Machine to defeat Balor. Ripley losing to a bulletproof pair of legends in her first bout following winning the Royal Rumble was a curious decision. The bout was well-organized to disguise Phoenix’s flaws owing to age and general ring rust, and it pleased the Montreal fans.
Winner: Edge and Beth Phoenix
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The match was started by Gargano and Rollins, who immediately engaged in some chain wrestling. Theories was the first to emerge from his pod, striking both Rollins and Gargano and putting Gargano back into it. Gargano and Rollins finally turned the tables, collaborating to bounce Theory about the ring before locking themselves in a pod with the champion to fire down strikes.
With no one out, Priest was the next guy in, immediately bringing down Rollins and Gargano with a series of huge moves. Reed was the next guy in, leaving Ford to await his turn as the match’s last participant. Reed lifted both Rollins and Gargano onto his shoulders before delivering a double Samoan drop for a near-fall on Rollins.
Reed continued to attack everyone in the bout until Ford was able to enter and hit Reed with a hard punch and kick. Ford attempted to strike Theory with a People’s Elbow, but Reed cut him off. Rollins and Gargano nearly eliminated Reed with an aided poisonrana, but Reed kicked out, averting the match’s first elimination.
Ford then climbed the chamber’s edge, dangled from the top, and landed on the remainder of the field. Reed was eliminated after Gargano landed a Last Beat, Rollins stomped, and Ford finished with a frog splash.
Bronson lifted both Rollins and Gargano onto his shoulders before delivering a double Samoan drop for a near-fall on Rollins. Then, Reed continued to attack everyone in the bout until Ford was able to enter and hit Reed with a hard punch and kick. Ford attempted to strike Theory with a People’s Elbow, but Reed cut him off.
Rollins and Gargano nearly eliminated Reed with an aided poisonrana, but Reed kicked out, averting the match’s first elimination. Ford then climbed the chamber’s edge, dangled from the top, and landed on the remainder of the field. Reed was eliminated after Gargano landed a Last Beat, Rollins stomped, and Ford finished with a frog splash.
After being ousted, Ford brought multiple referees and officials to the ring, leaving the entrance to the Chamber open, allowing Logan Paul to come in and strike Rollins with a Buckshot Lariat and a stomp before Theory hit A-Town Down to retain his championship.
Winner: Austin Theory
| Order | Entrant | Elimination |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Rollins | Bronson Reed (Ford) |
| 2 | Johnny Gargano | Johnny Gargano (Priest) |
| 3 | Austin Theory | Damien Priest (Ford) |
| 4 | Damian Priest | Montez Ford (Theory) |
| 5 | Bronson Reed | Seth Rollins (Theory) |
| 6 | Montez Ford | Winner: Austin Theory |
Following Reigns’ takedown, Zayn locked in a headlock until he was thrown off and elbowed. Zayn retaliated by sending Reigns over the top rope and then diving on the title. Reigns regained control with a right-hand counter before tossing Zayn out of the ring. Reigns continued to mock the audience as well as Zayn’s wife, finally putting the fight straight in front of her and telling her that it was all Zayn’s fault.
Zayn ultimately rushed back, punching Reigns and slamming him with a clothesline that sent the champion over the top rope and to the outside. When Reigns stood on the middle ring, Zayn got his first legitimate near-fall with a sunset flip powerbomb.
Zayn responded to Reigns’ first Superman punch attempt with an exploder into the turnbuckles, but ate the blow seconds later, resulting in a Reigns near-fall. Reigns missed a spear and landed in the corner before exploding into the turnbuckles. Zayn then delivered his own Superman punch and a Helluva kick for a fantastic fake finish, with Reigns kicking out at the last possible amount of time.
Outside the ring, Reigns missed another spear, smashing over the barricade before Zayn hauled him back into the ring for another two-count with a blue thunder powerbomb. Reigns resisted by bashing Zayn into the referee as Zayn attempted another blue thunder bomb.
Zayn then blasted another Helluva kick and had a clear victory, but there was no referee to count it. This, of course, prompted Jimmy Uso to drop Reigns with three superkicks and a splash before pulling him into Zayn. Despite this, Zayn was able to kick out before the count of three as a new official entered the ring.
Zayn shoved Reigns out of the ring and landed a Helluva kick on Jimmy before wheeling around into a Reigns spear for another near-fall. Zayn dodged another Superman blow, this time with Reigns taking down the second official before hitting his own Superman punch. Jey Uso entered the ring and stood between Reigns and Zayn, but Paul Heyman pulled a chair out from beneath the ring and handed it to Reigns.
Before handing up the chair, Reigns told Jey that he had to decide between his cousin and his buddy. Jey refused to move until Reigns seized the chair and stepped out of the line of a Zayn spear, prompting Zayn to take Jey out. Reigns then repeatedly struck Zayn with the chair before hitting a spear and pinning until one of the previous referees slid into the ring to call the fall.
Winner: Roman Reigns
During the contest, Jimmy Uso and Roman Reigns continued to assault Zayn until Kevin Owens’ music began to play, at which point he pulled out Jimmy and attacked both Bloodline members with a stunner before throwing Jimmy through a table with a pop-up powerbomb.
Heyman attempted to assault Owens after grabbing a chair, but Owens easily dispatched him. Owens then got out of the way for Zayn to land one last Helluva kick on Reigns. A heated crowd always improves a wrestling contest, and Montreal was on fire.
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