A Review of the WWE Elimination Chamber Matches

Published: Monday, March 10, 2025

by Matt Nazario

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match- Bianca Belair punches her ticket to WrestleMania 
Grade: A 

By all accounts, one of, if not the greatest Women’s Elimination Chamber matches in the concept’s history. It set the tone for what was a memorable and impactful night on the road to WrestleMania. 

A “Storm” hit Rogers Centre with the much-anticipated return of Jade Cargill, who mercilessly attacked Naomi before the match had even begun. It was a logical and exciting way to continue the story of who attacked Jade and put her out of commission for months, and based on what transpired it was Naomi all along as the mystery assailant. 

The action which ensued afterwards was a great display of what is a stacked women’s division under the WWE umbrella. With creative ways to display the brutality of the Chamber, everyone involved shined and provided memorable moments. 

The following Monday on Raw, Belair’s distraction caused Rhea Ripley to lose her Women’s World Championship to Iyo Sky in a shocking turn of events. With Belair having a guaranteed showdown with Iyo Sky, or whoever the champion is at WrestleMania, it will be interesting to see if this becomes a triple threat or if they opt to keep the bout a 1v1. 

Tiffany Stratton and Trish Stratus get the last laugh over Nia Jax and Candice LeRae 
Grade: B 

While some may have seen it as a filler, it was still a fun time with good action.  
Seeing Trish Stratus being able to compete in front of her home country was great to see for the Hall of Famer. In the process it elevated Stratton quite a bit to team up with such a legend of the business.  

Considering the two are set in the faceoff for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania, I was a bit surprised by the lack of any sort of faceoff between Stratton and Charlotte Flair after the match.  Hopefully the build to their feud begins to ramp up as the bout is only about a month away. 

Regardless, this was harmless fun and effective for what it was. 

Kevin Owens defeats Sami Zayn in the most violent encounter of their long-standing feud yet 
Grade: A+ 

Owens and Zayn can fight for over a lifetime, and they will continue to find ways to make it feel fresh and exciting each time. Barbed wire wrapped around steel chairs, broken tables and broken bones, as well as unbridled anger from these men really sent this bout into potential Match of the Year territory.  

Once the bout ended, Toronto erupted as Randy Orton made his much-anticipated return to save Zayn from further damage and seek revenge on Kevin Owens for putting him on the shelf. 

Owens vs Orton at WrestleMania seems to be the gameplan, and if that is the case fans are in for a treat. However, it is unclear what lies ahead for Zayn, as it was announced Monday he would be out indefinitely to recover from his injuries. 

This was as brutal of a match as it needed to be, and another great chapter in the Owens/Zayn Rivalry. 
Men's Elimination Chamber and Cody Rhodes answers the Rock: Why Cena Why?! John Cena turns heel and punches his ticket to WrestleMania 

Match Grade: B+ 

Post Match Segment: A 
While most may only look back on what happened after the match, the Men’s Elimination Chamber match itself was great.  It did a great job of setting up some potential WrestleMania bouts, such as Drew Mcintyre vs Damian Priest and CM Punk vs Seth Rollins. 

The final three between Seth Rollins, CM Punk and John Cena was incredible on all levels. Ending with Rollins hitting Punk with a massive curb stomp following his elimination, allowing Cena to capitalize and punch his ticket to Mania, with an STF causing Punk to pass out. 

Following the match, Cody Rhodes came down to the ring to address The Rock. Rhodes rejected The Rock’s offer to be his corporate champion using words that I am afraid are not safe for use in this article, which led to Cena embracing Rhodes for his heroics. 

However, with a sinister look in his eyes and upon receiving the signal from The Rock, John Cena did what nobody thought was possible and turned heel for the first time in his 20-year career, turning a hug into a brutal beatdown leaving Cody Rhodes a bloody and bruised mess to end the show. 

With many fans going into this show feeling very much underwhelmed by the WrestleMania build so far, John Cena’s historic heel turn was all that needed to be done to get that interest back. Receiving media attention in spades, and countless reaction videos on the internet of broken hearted and shocked fans, we are in for the heel run of a lifetime.  

John Cena had been WWE’s equivalent of Superman for over two decades, no one could have ever envisioned what had transpired on Saturday night. On no planet would Cena ever become a corporate sellout, or so we had thought. It is an incredibly interesting character dynamic which highlights his desperation to win his record-breaking 17th World Championship. 

All eyes are set towards Las Vegas in April, where Cena will attempt to win his 17th world championship by any means necessary against Cody Rhodes. 

Matt Nazario can be reached at matthew.nazario@student.shu.edu. 

 

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